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Creating Stronger Wellness At Work With Umbrella Health

Tuesday 12 December 2017, 7:13PM

By Beckie Wright

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People that work spend more hours in their week at work than anywhere else. By nature of proximity and time alone, employers therefore have a strong influence on their employees’ health and wellbeing.

Encouragingly, an increasing number of organisations are recognising the value of supporting wellness at work, and creating environments that nudge people towards improved wellbeing.

When it comes to promoting physical health, this support and nudging is relatively easy. Initiatives such as offering fresh fruit in the office, winter flu jabs, providing subsidised access to fitness programmes, encouraging exercise challenges such as the 10,000 steps sign up, and prompting people to stretch at work are common. Participation is also straight forward to measure, and most leaders are happy to be seen to be personally supporting work-place health programmes.

Creating successful initiatives to foster mental and emotional wellbeing can seem more challenging. It can also be harder to measure the take up, and success of programmes. Details that are important to organisations that want to invest wisely in effective strategies.

From Umbrella’s experience, working across many different types of businesses there are some key factors, that when executed well, can make a real positive difference:

Get data

There is enormous value in using a wellbeing assessment tool to collect accurate data. A good tool provides individual employees feedback on how they are tracking, as well as benchmark data back to the organisation:

https://umbrella.org.nz/umbrella-wellbeing-assessment-tool/

Provide mental health check ups

There are many different options for how to do this: providing “drop in” clinics (either on or off site) for people to talk with an experienced health professional can work well. So too can providing short online or paper quick quiz’s for people to check in on themselves, alongside useful educational information with tips for what to do to improve.

Find and embed motivating and inspiring role models

Advertise who these people are and how they can be contacted. Host events where role models can speak, and answer questions.  Provide videos and chat forums for people who may prefer to have conversations more privately.

Encourage a diverse approach

There is no one-size-fits all solution to wellness – encourage role models, communications resources and support that foster a “what works for you” message.

Encourage connection

Psychological research shows us that people feeling a lack of social connection in their lives is twice as dangerous as smoking as a health factor. Providing physical spaces that foster connection, as well as encouraging diverse opportunities for people to connect can strengthen these connections and therefore wellness.

At Umbrella their passion is supporting people and organisations to thrive. They provide consultation for creating stronger wellness at work, including the use of their Umbrella Wellbeing Assessment.

For more information on stress management NZ, stress management Auckland and workplace wellness, please go to http://umbrella.org.nz .