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.
Square One's round-the-world fitness challenge proved a brilliant way to improve wellbeing and develop a “we're all in this together” attitude after lockdown began. Staff could run, walk or cycle to contribute their portion of the mileage. A virtual running club and weekly fitness challenges also boosted mind and body.
Square One offers a unique company car scheme; once employees have achieved certain criteria they are entitled to a company car or a cash alternative. At the top end of the scheme, they can drive a car worth up to £35,000.
Square One's charity initiatives remained as creative as ever despite the pandemic. Under the dress down code, employees donate £2 a month to be able to dress casually for work. One staff member raised £1,500 in 48 hours by having his head shaved live.
The company has introduced an official development scheme, called #TrainToGain, which is founded on a philosophy of self-development and empowers staff to take ownership of their progression. It will support employees working towards industry qualifications as well as continuous professional development activities.
At Christmas, the elves from the Source Community Team asked all staff what was top of their Christmas wish lists, then wrapped the presents – valued at up to £100 each – and delivered them by courier. Staff posted videos and photos of themselves opening and enjoying the gifts.
Source has introduced a “Me Day” that can be taken spontaneously by staff to boost their mental wellbeing by recharging or relaxing. The day does not count as sick leave, and was promoted to employees even while they were working from home.
During the pandemic, the executive board supported staff working at home by backing three key initiatives: staying informed about the business, keeping in touch with each other and being recognised for personal achievements.
The business created a wellbeing information pack, which contains practical advice to help colleagues manage all aspects of their health. It also gave each colleague £50 to spend on their own or their family's wellbeing and will be introducing a £150 annual wellbeing allowance.
Silva Homes manages a six-acre community garden. It provides an environment to grow produce and engage in activities to support biodiversity and the natural environment. The garden features an orchard, vineyard, polytunnel and three acres of cultivated ground. There are plans for a sensory garden.
A group was set up for parents during the pandemic so they could share ideas on home-schooling and keeping their youngsters entertained. Letters and sweets were sent to the children, thanking them for supporting their parents while they worked from home.
The mutual's employee rewards include performance-related bonuses and pay rises, extra holiday on birthdays and instant recognition awards. Sometimes staff do something that deserves an immediate response, so managers are able to offer on-the-spot rewards such as chocolates and gift vouchers.
Shepherds is working on making the business kinder to the environment. Initiatives include ordering fruit from a company that promises to plant a tree for every basket purchased. The number of letters sent out last year was 14,000 fewer than in 2019, thanks to digitised communications.
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SafetyCulture gave staff two recharge days (paid days off) and introduced “Summer Fridays” where employees finished at 2pm. Staff were sent restaurant DIY kits for the virtual Christmas party and team leads have a quarterly budget to organise team birthday and anniversary gifts and drinks and dinners, currently virtually.
SafetyCulture usually holds an annual event called ShipIt, flying all employees off to an international location for a week of collaboration, innovation and learning. It was in New Zealand in 2018. Last year, the Manchester team created its own mini ShipIt hackathon with workshops, speakers, barbecues and activities.
SafetyCulture created a virtual pub called Wolfpack Inn with various rooms for people to join every Friday night to mimic the feeling of going to different bars. It also sent staff monthly gifts, including hampers with champagne and home-baked goods, wellness boxes during Wellness month and Christmas sweaters.
In December Randstad launched a weekly lockdown wellbeing programme which includes managers forums on wellbeing topics and expert speaker sessions on issues such as resilience, stress, bereavement, and financial wellbeing. It also runs peer forums on topics such as working parents and lone workers.
Randstad offers attractive salaries and a competitive commission structure for recruitment consultants. For shared service/head office employees, it offers a bonus scheme ranging between 2.5% - 7.5% of total annual salary. Other perks include a medical cash plan, income protection, gym membership discounts, discounted cinema tickets and your birthday off.
Randstad has banned plastic cups at its head office and has provided all employees with a reusable travel cup to cut down waste. Its printing suppliers are committed to balancing out its environmental impact by planting trees and have planted 1,000 “Randstad” trees last year, reducing the firm's carbon footprint.
Pure Planet provided full IT kit for those who needed it during lockdown, and even paid for desks in some cases. Once the initial lockdown lifted 10% of employees could come into the office, under safe social distancing guidelines, if they wanted a change of scenery or peace away from flatmates or family. Everyone gets the same parental leave and pay – regardless of gender, identity or sexual orientation, or whichever way they become a parent.
Along with an employee assistance programme and trained mental health first aiders Pure Planet has a Slack channel focused purely on mental, physical and financial wellbeing. Resilience-building videos by an external trainer and free remote yoga sessions have been offered company-wide. 80% of staff took part in a virtual walk from London to Lapland, adding their steps daily to a calculating app.
Pure Planet pays to carbon offset the commute of all employees – a policy that has remained in spite of the transition to remote working since March 2020. Company benefits are environmentally friendly, such a cycle-to-work scheme that includes e-bikes, a green car leasing scheme that supplies only electric vehicles and hybrids and an ethical pension fund.
An instant values-led recognition scheme has been introduced to recognise staff going above and beyond. Nominations can be made by peers or line managers with the recipient receiving a personalised “thank you” card and shopping vouchers plus a shout out each quarter on the intranet.
In addition to a Wellbeing Week and personal resilience and mindset webinars, Porterbrook has promoted free workouts that staff might enjoy doing at home with their and run virtual social events including quizzes. It also arranged regular welfare checks on staff living alone.
In response to Covid-19 Porterbrook increased the limit on its Cycle to Work scheme from £1,000 to £5,000 to encourage staff to bike in. It also installed electric car charging points at its Derby office and is reviewing the company car fleet with a view to being carbon neutral.
A quarterly employee recognition scheme recognises those going the extra mile with online vouchers. Rewards for employees going above and beyond on projects or tasks include restaurant vouchers or bottles of spirits. There are also long service awards for those putting in five or 10 years' service.
The comprehensive benefits package includes private healthcare, heavily subsidised gym membership and free access to mental health support during the pandemic. Peak Indicators also invests in ensuring that the office is a nice place to work and has also funded yoga and basketball sessions.
Staff donated their time pro bono to help to client Devon County Council identify Covid cases in schools and care homes and helping it streamline practices to avoid duplication across the county. Staff also planted trees as part of an Annual Team Day event (pre pandemic).
The Employee of the Month, who is nominated by colleagues is awarded £500 and there is Dinner with Phil, the chief executive, for all winners at the end of each quarter. The top three prizes for Employee of the Year range from £500 to £2,000 for the winner.
Several informal societies been formed including a Strava group who cycle, run and walk to quizzers, Scrabble players and a Fantasy Premier League. P2 has offered free laptops to employees whose children require them for home schooling and has continued to send staff birthday and special event hampers.
A company-wide bingo night and virtual fundraising events including quiz nights, a charity auction and best and worst Christmas Jumper competitions raised £2,606 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alzheimer's Society. Two company-wide competitions - bike riding in June and running in July - brought in £577 for the NHS.
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