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Umbrella Training Produces Workplace Wellbeing

Wednesday 20 September 2017, 1:27PM

By Beckie Wright

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Wellbeing is a broad term that represents positive functioning across all aspects of individual functioning, and is sometimes called ‘thriving’ or ‘flourishing’. For New Zealand employers, ensuring employees are functioning at their optimal level of physical and mental health is now a duty of care under our Health and Safety at Work Act (2015).

However, there is also a robust business case for employers investing in employee wellbeing, and a strong body of scientific research has demonstrated that individual wellbeing, and a culture of wellbeing link to important organisational outcomes, such as improved productivity and employee retention. Cost savings have been documented in terms of reductions in accidents, health care costs, mental health problems, absenteeism and staff turnover.

Applying this best practice knowledge – what does it mean for New Zealand organisations? As indicated above, in order to achieve the best business outcomes and foster employee performance and wellbeing, initiatives to improve wellbeing are in fact a business imperative, and sustained improvements in engagement and wellbeing are a function of employee ability to cope with the demands of their workplace.

Expanding employees’ capacity for sustained high performance so they can remain fully engaged despite high stress, demanding working conditions, and ongoing organisational challenges can be improved by training and support. Again, there is clear evidence from scientific research that is possible to improve individual resilience and wellbeing, and   specific interventions and skills can be learnt which help people strengthen their resilience to stress and the demands of their job.

Specific resilience competencies developed in Umbrella training include optimum physical health, which is linked to high performance, improved recovery from stress, and mental focus. Clarity of thought and flexibility of thinking is associated with more adaptive emotional responses and broader behaviour options, and emotional agility

Clarity of personal meaning and purpose improves role engagement, focus, motivation, energy and life satisfaction, and creating and maintaining daily routines supports enduring high performance and resilience habits.

Scientific research and Umbrella’s experience strongly indicate that for wellbeing and engagement interventions to be most effective and to provide a return on investment certain factors need to be met.  A 2010 Harvard Business Review identified these as effective leadership at all levels, alignment with organisational practices, relevance and high quality programmes, accessibility of the programme and material, development and care of key partnerships and clear communication of the programme and its purpose.

Umbrella partners with their clients to ensure that these factors are in place alongside their resilience and mental health training, so to find out more about mental resilience, corporate wellness and emotional resilience training please go to http://umbrella.org.nz .