Wellbeing - How employees feel about stress, pressure at work and life balance
The Wellbeing factor is closely linked with Fair Deal. If the scores for Fair Deal are low, the first place we’d recommend you look is Wellbeing.
If Wellbeing is also low, it may be that employees are being worked too hard and feel they are not being fairly remunerated for it.
ARAG’s Wellbeing Champions meet regularly to discuss what they can do to help staff both proactively and reactively. Recent discussions have included the benefits of music and the reasons to hold meetings whilst walking. The company puts wellbeing at the heart of its manager check-in process, so colleagues know there are spaces for tough conversations.
The leadership team and other key staff use an all-staff cinema event to communicate the company’s overarching strategic goals. These goals are utilised throughout ARAG’s performance management system to ensure all staff can clearly see what their efforts mean to those goals. Clarity of message is reinforced through fortnightly updates led by the Managing Director.
Clarity is an essential value to ARAG. Company comms are achieved through a number of ways, including online video calls from key managers and leadership team members, general initiatives and outcomes that staff are not only responsible for but passionate about, news posts, intranet pages, videos, animations, and more.
At Admiral, its employees have access to a unique benefit – its Share Incentive Plan (SIP). This came into existence with the Finance Act of 2000 to give employees Tax and National Insurance advantages when given shares in their place of employment. The organisation believes share ownership helps to motivate and reward longer-term performance.
Admiral has partnered with industry specialists Bupa and Health and Her to offer a discounted menopause service for its colleagues. Both include access to specially trained menopause GPs along with varied benefits for each. Alongside this, it has worked with Brightlight coaching who provide the Bloom project to provide line manager training on women’s health.
Its senior managers sponsor the Ministry of Fun (MOF) which encourages colleagues to enjoy their time whilst at work. Each month a different department or group of departments are responsible for organising in-office and hybrid fun events, with each month sponsored by a different senior manager.
As well as a generous leave allowance, with extra days at Christmas and Easter, employees benefit from a subsidised fitness and wellness subscription, which gives access to classes, gym sessions and experiences worldwide. Discounted gym membership is also available through the company’s private medical insurance provider, alongside mental health support.
Interns are welcome at Brandpie. A new recruit is hired quarterly – bolstering the team in any department from design to project management. They get a ‘buddy’ and are involved in all aspects of project work, from insights and research to client presentations. They also have skills training in areas like communication and IT.
The company helps young people from underrepresented backgrounds get into managerial and leadership roles through a mentorship programme with the Aleto Foundation. And Brandpie’s supporting those affected by the war in Ukraine. This has included the London to Kyiv challenge, where its team walked, swam, cycled or ran a collective 1,340 miles for sponsorship.
The ‘Alchemmy Sport’ initiative encourages colleagues to participate in group running, football and squash sessions, with plans to add more activities. There are also ‘comfortable conversation’ sessions where mental health issues can be discussed in a group setting. And mental health first aiders are always on hand for one-to-one chats.
Employees now benefit from greater transparency around the competencies they need to progress through the ‘Grades Reimagined’ scheme. It splits everyone into sub-levels within their job grade, showing what they need to do to move up the grades. The initiative has involved benchmarking with recruitment agencies and across the marketplace.
‘Alchemmy Gives’ has been set up to help local causes. Alchemmists donated coats to the ‘WrapUp London’ campaign and ran a charity raffle raising more than £1,600 for Breast Cancer Now. And there’s a half-day company-wide volunteering session every year, with the last one supporting the upkeep of a community garden.
Employees are supported by a team of Mental Health First Aiders and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for information, advice and counselling. The company has links to Sheffield Credit Union, meaning staff are helped to consolidate and manage any debt, including making payments direct from payroll. Vivedia also offers interest-free emergency loans to its employees.
As well as a pre-starting welcome gift, recruits are introduced to their company ‘buddy’ to help them ease into their new role. Every quarter, there’s a new starter event where joiners get a complete overview of the strategy and values and get to join others in the same boat for fun, team-building activities.
Employees are empowered to own their development. They're free to suggest courses or training relevant to their role or personal growth, and internal courses cover various behavioural, people and management skills. There's also coaching supported by personality profiling and opportunities for secondments, additional responsibilities and internal moves.
Everyone benefits from generous annual leave and flexible working with no set days in the office. Staff also get free healthcare – which includes 'staying well' initiatives, as well as an Employee Assistance Programme and a Cycle to Work scheme. In addition, all employees received £1000 to ease cost-of-living pressures.
During their induction, new recruits get time with the Managing Director to help them understand the company's history, vision and values. They also get to meet many key people from all levels, from the finance director to the admin team, to reassure them that there's always somebody on hand to help.
As it's a challenging process to become chartered and can take years to achieve, Tenos offers its employees expertise and project diversity to ensure they have the experience they need before they put in their Chartered Engineer applications. The company also has a formal mentor scheme.
Mental Health First Aiders are on hand across the organisation for any employees who may need a listening ear. National awareness days are used as a focus for wellbeing activities, such as stress management webinars, and positive wellbeing is encouraged through charitable giving, volunteering, team socials and exercise challenges.
Almost one in five new hires have come via Node 4’s generous employee referral scheme. Staff get £1200 if they successfully recommend a candidate. An initial £500 is awarded when they complete their three-month probationary period and the remaining £700 after they’ve been employed for six months.
Node4’s Trans4mation Leadership Development Framework is an internal five-level training programme for all tiers of management and leadership across the business, from helping new managers navigate policies and processes to boosting senior leadership experience, including the option of an ILM Level 5 qualification. The principles of ‘Exceptional Service as Standard’ (ESaaS) are embedded throughout.
Reduced mental health-related sickness has saved the organisation more than £90,000 thanks to a range of wellbeing initiatives, including the We Care employee healthcare portal, which provides services including 24/7 GP access and counselling. There's also a dedicated month-long initiative championed by Mental Health First Aiders, a bi-monthly HPG Wellbeing newsletter and an intranet mini-site.
New managers – new to management or new to the organisation – are supported through a bespoke management induction, including toolkits to get them up and running quickly. And the Group offers two management development programmes – one for aspiring managers and one for new or future heads of service focused on leadership and strategy.
The Group's Homes Plus My Community Fund provides grants of up to £30,000 annually for grassroots organisations looking to make a difference to communities. This has included sponsoring the Best Kept Village Community Competition in Staffordshire, helping young people make music in a Scout and Guide Band and supporting a group of women taking-up football.
Barnsley Hospice takes the wellbeing of its staff very seriously, offering a number of programmes to support them, including a 24/7 helpline, up to 6 counselling sessions covered by the hospice, psychological debriefs to help colleagues come to terms with their experiences, and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives such as a walking group.
With the cost-of-living crisis affecting workers throughout the UK, Barnsley Hospice has ensured that its staff, whatever their role or position within the organisation, are receiving a fair salary that is above the real living wage. In 2022, 100% of the organisation’s staff received a pay rise.
All employees are invited to the monthly Staff Forum where they can share any concerns or suggestions. Feedback provided at these events have resulted in several improvements within the organisation, including a suggestion box which is reviewed during the following month’s forum, a book swap club, EV charging points, and coffee and cake days!
Cornish Bakery runs a Mental Health First Aiders course for all of its teams. Every new employee completes a level one MHFA as part of their induction. Additionally, the organisation has created the Hardship Fund to help its employees with the cost-of-living crisis by enabling them to lend money from the business interest free.
Every year, the organisation takes its teams away for a night and two days of fun, camaraderie, and competition. Employees participate in fun activities, enjoy excellent entertainment and food, and stay in 5-star accommodation. There is also an awards ceremony that celebrates the teams’ successes and colleagues leave feeling rewarded, bonded, and motivated.
With 50 bakeries across the country, Cornish Bakery encourages each bakery to fundraise independently for local charities. In 2022, employees walked 20 miles in Cornish pasty outfits, created village-wide treasure hunts, cycled over 185 miles, sky dived, and shaved their heads to raise money. The organisation’s bakeries also donate leftover food to foodbanks every day.
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