HR leadership: boosting inclusivity in your workplace
After years of hiding my own disabilities from employers, I’ve come to realise that employers can play a vital role in helping employees embrace their personal challenges and create a more inclusive place to work. As an IT contractor going from job to job, I always worried that I would miss out on a contract […]
Why financial wellness is a crucial part of your employee wellbeing strategy
Poor financial wellbeing can negatively impact employees’ ability to be productive at work, so employers need to up their game when it comes to supporting their staff in this area. Financial wellness encompasses a range of elements and these vary from individual to individual and will change over time as their circumstances and needs change. […]
A lesson from Winnie the Pooh on ‘doing nothing’
What can we learn from Winnie the Pooh in the new Christopher Robin film? That doing nothing from time to time should not be sniffed at. Last week, I went to the cinema to see the Christopher Robin film with my mum (we are both big fans of Winnie the Pooh). I was anticipating a […]
Employee benefits: the changing face of company perks
The millennial workforce has different priorities and concerns to previous generations, so it stands to reason that the perks companies offer to engage and retain them should change too. Many would agree that company perks and benefits can make all the difference to employees today, especially creative or valuable ones. Whether it is the opportunity […]
Wellbeing at work: future-proofing your business in a shifting economic landscape
Economic and technological developments are creating a faster-moving and more volatile business environment. Business leaders must pay close attention to employee wellbeing and act now to future-proof their workforce against the challenges this brings. “Airbus threatens to leave the UK over Brexit” screamed newspaper headlines in the UK, capturing the unprecedented levels of volatility […]
Helping employees deal with grief in the workplace
The loss of a colleague is hard for the whole team, but when handled sensitively it can help to bring people together. Often we view our workplace as a safe place, somewhere we can leave our personal lives at the door as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the working day. […]
“If financial wellbeing becomes a handcuff, you haven’t solved an engagement problem, you’ve just given it a different shape.”
Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the the impact poor financial health can have on both people and businesses – and of the urgent need to address this pervasive issue. But what does an effective financial wellbeing strategy look like? Paul Bartlett, Independent Reward and Benefits Development Consultant of Hawk Incentives, provides insight on how to […]
Employee engagement: how to achieve a workplace benefits culture to be proud of
If engagement with your employee benefits schemes is low, there are steps you can take to improve this. Here’s a handy guide to transforming your workplace benefits culture. Workplace benefits are a vital part of your employee engagement strategy, impacting all sorts of areas including the attraction and retention of staff, as well as […]
Employee wellbeing: do you foster a culture of self-care in the workplace?
Employee wellbeing should be a priority for all businesses, as neglecting self-care could cost your organisation more in the long-run. The long standing ethos of market economics, ‘more, bigger, faster’ is based on a misguided assumption that our personal resources are infinite. Indeed, our personal resources are far from infinite (as we all know), and if we […]
The true value of financial wellbeing
When it comes to employee wellbeing, financial wellbeing is key. When talking about good ‘financial wellbeing’ we mean a state someone is in when they have control over their financial lives. As such, financial wellbeing is intrinsically linked to financial resilience and the ability to comfortably manage one’s finances. More specifically, being able to manage […]
Time to reflect – why does it matter in the workplace?
Reflection can be a very empowering process. It can help you to make sense of your day, to come to decisions, to set a course of action, to step away from your habitual way of doing and thinking to discover new freedoms and opportunities. Consider just how many of us go about our days on autopilot, […]
Managing the wellbeing needs of a multigenerational workforce
Demographic change is expected to significantly impact the UK labour market over the next two decades, and it’s not unusual today for an organisation to have five different generations working side by side. According to the CIPD, the pension crisis, growth in service industries, migration patterns and the expansion of university places are all […]
How to use technology to support healthy living and boost the employee experience
The essential elements of living a healthy, happy life have been consistent for years: move more, eat well, get some sleep and balance your life. Meanwhile the world of technology is evolving at a pace faster than most of us can keep up with. One area of huge interest is the question of how to […]
Seven practical ways to support working carers
There is a large portion of the UK workforce who also have caring responsibilities for family members with a disability, illness, mental health problem or those who simply need additional assistance as they get older. According to the Work Foundation, the number of working caregivers is estimated to be 2.6 million people. As people work […]
Bipolar disorder in the workplace: what do businesses need to be doing?
Approximately 2 in every 100 people in the UK have bipolar disorder, but bipolar is still considered to be a taboo subject. Even superstar Mariah Carey, who recently decided to speak out about her experience with bipolar disorder, highlighted her constant fear that someone would expose her. This stigma around bipolar disorder, as well as […]
Death by overwork: quantity at the expense of quality
From subsidised gym memberships to ‘stop smoking’ programmes, businesses are increasingly taking responsibility for the wellbeing of their staff. However, one aspect of employee health has taken a step backwards: mental and physical exhaustion caused by overworking. Sleep famine has simply become an intrinsic part of daily life for many workers, both white collar and […]
Employee wellbeing: the increasing appetite for digital health benefits
Digital tools are transforming the world of employee benefits, so it’s essential that organisations stay ahead of the curve to reap the rewards of this. Financial and mental wellbeing have both been revolutionised by the introduction of EAP services, instant access to online blogs and the availability of anonymised employee data to aid employers in […]
How real-time technology is supporting the future of employee wellbeing
Never before have UK and international workplaces experienced such a rapid influx of new services for employees. Real-time wellbeing technology represents a booming business. But can virtual GPs and fitness apps actually deliver on promises to help make employees healthier and happier? And are there hard facts to support this? Employer provision of health and […]
Three ways to improve employee’s physical wellbeing
Maintaining and improving physical health and wellbeing in the workplace is enormously important for both employers and employees alike. From a business perspective, employees are your most important asset; without a healthy and engaged workforce, organisations will struggle to achieve productivity and profitability. In other words, companies need to take employee health and wellbeing seriously, […]
How leaders can help millennials address workplace stress
This year, Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May) is shining a spotlight on stress. In the UK, one in six adults experience depression, anxiety or issues relating to stress at any one time. MHFA England has partnered with the Mental Health Foundation to launch new research that looks at stress in the workplace. Our research found […]
