It is common knowledge that a happy and healthy workforce is conducive to a great working environment and productive company. It is unfortunate, therefore that with mounting evidence, that it seems that many businesses don’t promote their employees’ health and well-being enough.

As more and more evidence link the state of people’s health with production at work, there has never been a better time to focus on improving health and well-being in the workplace. Any company who takes their responsibilities towards their employees seriously as well as strive for a productive workforce would benefit from promoting a healthy lifestyle and caring culture in the workplace.

There are a number of things that you can do to promote health and well-being where you work.

1.   NEBOSH Certificate

Although most employers and managers know what they should be doing in terms of the health and well-being of their employees, it can be difficult sometimes to know how to implement changes. NEBOSH (National Examination Board of Occupational Safety and Health) have therefore designed a certificate which aims at helping managers, supervisors, HR personnel and occupational health workers to understand what is needed, what can be done and how to implement it.

The NEBOSH Certificate in the Management of Health and Well-Being at Work covers both issues of well-being, but also related health and safety issues in the workplace. It is aimed at reducing absenteeism, increasing productivity and generally making the workplace a better place to be.

2.   Professional Health and Well-Being

Although there are many things that need to be looked at away from ‘work’ it is important to ensure that employees are satisfied at work. This means making them feel appreciated, listened to and valued both professionally and as a person.

A person who feels fulfilled in their work will usually do their best for their work. This means having a degree of recognition as well as help in pushing employees towards their personal goals and rewarding them for their achievements.

3.   Physical and Mental Health

Physical and metal health programmes are also important aspects to keeping your workforce happy, productive and loyal. The approach that a business takes in promoting physical and mental health can vary from business to business. Some ideas that you might want to incorporate into your workplace to help to promote mental health could include:

• Having regular dialogue and communication between all staff of all levels.
• Having senior management endorse your attitudes to mental health as a company.
• Encouraging sensible working hours and the taking of regular breaks and lunch breaks.
• Discouraging the working from home – especially at weekends where possible.
• Trying to incorporate flexi-time or hours which can fit in around the lives of employees.
• Supporting and encouraging teamwork and collaboration
• Implementing robust and effective policies about bullying and workplace harassment.
• Trying to organise regular social events and team building.

There are also some things that you can try, in order to promote the physical well-being of your employees, including:

• Ensuring that office space and furniture or work equipment is safe and proper to use, with all employees having been trained on how to use it.
• Encouraging physical exercise.
• Encouraging walking or cycling to work instead of driving.
• Discouraging the bringing in of cakes and unhealthy snacks and trying to steer people to bring in healthier ‘treats’
• Setting physical challenges to promote a healthy lifestyle as well as help with tram building.
• Try to encourage the seeking of medical attention when needed.

4.   Health and Safety

Health and safety in the workplace is also essential – firstly, to keep employees and visitors safe, but also in the message that it sends out to those around you. By showing that you care and are prepared to do what it takes to keep them safe, they are more likely to return the favour by respecting the business and working well for it.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a government agency in the UK who has the job of ensuring that people are safe at work – through the implementation and monitoring of guidelines, laws and regulations.

Ensuring that your colleagues and employees are being looked after at work is vitally important for a business. It not only helps with productivity, keeping the figures heading in the right direction, but, perhaps more importantly, helps to keep employees motivated, happy and, hopefully at your company for a long time.

If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge further, our NEBOSH General Certificate course is a great place to start. It’s designed for anyone looking to develop practical skills and gain a respected qualification in workplace safety. To find out more, get in touch with the ACT team today.