Employee Wellbeing - Focus on winter health

Managing staff absence holiday during the winter months is problematic for organisations as it is often their busiest time of year. Many employees save their annual leave for the Christmas period and on top of this organisations are faced with increased sickness levels due to ailments such as coughs, colds, sore throats and winter flu.

By understanding the patterns of absence in your organisation you will be able to plan for staff shortages during the busy period. Many organisation monitor days lost through sickness absence and the causes but very few record the patterns in absence. It is good practice to monitor and record when the absences take place, why and identify particular trends such as increased levels during major sporting events or during the winter months. By having a better understanding of absence you will be able to put preventative measures in place to ensure minimum impact on your business.

If you know that you have particularly high sickness levels due to colds and flu during the winter months, it may be worth investing in flu vaccinations for staff. Many organisations now offer flu vaccinations to reduce winter sickness, as it is relatively inexpensive option. Other concerns during the darker months are increased sickness levels due to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and higher stress levels. To keep staff on top form why not offer some simple training sessions on spotting the signs of stress and simple coping mechanisms to combat it before it becomes a more serious issue.

By creating a positive working environment for your employees you will not only be helping them improve their lives but will also be benefiting the business. Organisations who invest in the health and wellbeing of their workforce report up to £3 return on investment for each £1 spent.

Support employee health this winter by encouraging:

Regular exercise - This improves the blood flow, strengthens the heart, helps beat the bulge and increases the feel good hormone ‘endorphins’ that help lift our mood. Ideas can be as simple as a lunchtime walk to a team pedometer challenge.

Healthy eating – In the summer most people eat a healthy diet but when it comes to winter we want to tuck into something that is warm, filling and often full of calories. If you have a canteen you can offer some suggestions for healthy winter warming meals or get staff involved with a recipe share. Simple ideas are leek and potato soup or roasted vegetable pasta.

More light. – It is often the case that as the nights draw in many of us are leaving for work in the dark and returning home in the dark. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
is a type of winter depression that affects an estimated 7% of the population every winter between September and April; in particular during December, January and February.1 One of the simplest ways to improve mood during the dark months is to increase levels of vitamin D from the sunshine; start a lunchtime walking group, increase natural light into the office by keeping blinds open or invest in a light box for staff who suffer from the condition. Light boxes are becoming more popular within offices and are readily available on the Internet.

For further information on the services provided by Midlands Workplace Wellbeing Ltd please visit our website: www.mwwellbeing.co.uk or call 01562 634926. 

 1 As reported by Seasonal Affective Disorder Ass

Employee wellbeing - focus on Stress Prevention

Employee Wellbeing – focus on stress prevention

We all know prevention is better than cure but sometimes it is difficult to know what prevention measures to put in place until it is too late.  By taking a proactive approach to stress in the workplace you can limit your chance of litigation and also help reduce the costs 
associated with stress related sickness absence.

What is stress?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them”.  This makes an important distinction between pressure, which can be a positive motivating force if managed correctly, and stress that can be detrimental to health.

Cost of stress to organisations

It is reported that the average cost of stress per employee per year is £1900¹ and costs UK organisations £12 billion per year². After musculo-skeletal problems, psychological problems are the primary cause of sickness absence³ and at any one time: 1:6 (1:5 including alcohol & drug dependence) UK workers will suffer depression, anxiety or problems related to stress.  The average employee absence for those suffering from work related stress  = 22.6 days per year for anxiety and 30 days for depression⁴.  NICE estimates that effective management of mental health in an organisation with 100 employees could save £250,000 per year^.

The law relating to stress

There is no specific law on stress. Instead it is mainly covered by the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (1999), although other acts such as Disability Discrimination Act 1995 & Amendments, Working Time Regulations 1998 & Amendments and Civil Law also come into play (for further details contact us)

Under the Health & Safety At Work Act (1974) both employers and employees have a responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others. It is important that employees inform the employer if they are suffering from stress as a result of the workplace.

Management Standards

The HSE has developed a set of management standards to support organisations when addressing workplace stress.

These standards focus on 6 broad categories of risk factors that if managed properly will help your organisation comply with legislation and provide a positive working environment for your employees. 

The Risk factor categories

• DEMANDS (workload & environment)

• CONTROL (choice over how work is done)

• SUPPORT (manager & peer, training, individual differences)

• RELATIONSHIPS (good/bad – e.g. bullying)

• ROLE (overload/ambiguity/conflict)

• CHANGE (need for as well as affect of ‐ how communicated/managed)

The standards

The HSE management standards are a set of goals for organisations to work towards based on each of the stress risk factor categories. They are listed as Standards and Goals - below is the standard for demands:

The standard is that: 

•Employees indicate that they are able to cope with the demands of their jobs; and

•Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.

Goals to be achieved are: 

•The organisation provides employees with adequate and achievable demands in relation to the agreed hours of work;

•People’s skills and abilities are matched to the job demands;

•Jobs are designed to be within the capabilities of employees; and

•Employees’ concerns about their work environment are addressed.

Where next?

Full details on each of the 6 standards and the specific responsibilities managers have can be found on HSE website.   Organisations should be aware that if they have 5 or more employees it is a legal requirement to have a stress policy in place (this can be built into your health and safety policy).  For training on implementing the management standards please visit our website.                         

To learn more about the benefits of employee health and wellbeing please visit our website: www.mwwellbeing.co.uk or call us on 01562 634926

1 CIPD 2009, 2 HSE 2009, 3 CIPD 2009, 4 Sainsbury's Centre for Mental Health, 2007, 5 NICE 2009.