The “bedrock” of the CIPD Well-being Pyramid is culture, leadership and people management. These are the best ways to ensure you’re creating a solid foundation to your workplace well-being efforts:
Include a Commitment to Mental Health in your Mental Health Policy
Your overall Workplace Wellness Policy will be an essential part of your commitment to the health of your employees.
Some of the most important pillars of health include mental wellbeing, social connection and support, stress management, healthy eating, and health lifestyle choices (e.g., movement, sleep and avoiding harmful substances).
As such, it is likely your Workplace Wellness initiatives will include supports in these areas. Outlining how your organisation will promote your employees’ mental health will be an essential part of your policy.
As always, employee participation is important, even in policy development, to create an empowering and supportive environment.
Workplace dedication to employee mental health will typically include explicit information on:
- How the organisation will promote awareness of the importance of mental health and reduce stigma associated with mental ill-health.
- How the organisation will encourage work-life balance including specifically addressing remote working.
- How the organisation will design the workplace environment to minimise harm and build organisation resilience.
- Available supports for employees who are experiencing mental ill-health and workplace accommodations for time off or returning to work etc.
- Information about policies that affect mental health such as discrimination, diversity and inclusion, workplace incivility, workplace violence, health and safety in the workplace, communication, remote working or flexible working, parental leave and other short-term leave etc.
We provide many resources and templates for developing workplace policies.
It’s important to note that while incorporating a wellbeing policy is the bedrock of a sound organisational approach to workplace wellness, this may be difficult and will take time.
Working on the other activities in tandem with incremental policy development may be necessary to facilitate this level.
Increase the capacity of your managers
It’s important for your managers to fully understand the company policy and its implications. Additionally, they should know the signs of employee distress and how to appropriately engage with affected employees.
It is also important to make sure that their workload is reassessed in light of these added responsibilities to ensure that your managers are also protected from unreasonable job demands.
We provide further guidance and many resources for manager training.
Additionally, how we talk to and treat each other is very important for mental health. Positive and respectful communication styles can be modelled by senior/management staff to signal what is expected and required of all staff and particularly with regards to workplace civility.
Identify Health Champions
It is important to formally dedicate a member of senior-level staff by including these activities in their job description and performance reviews, while building their capacity with appropriate training.
Continuous commitment to the workplace wellbeing programme
It is important to incorporate the wellbeing of your employees into your core values and the company’s strategic plan.
Wellness staff and employees should be supported both with resources (budget, tools, trainings etc.) and with encouragement (job security, reasonable flexibility with time and productivity expectations when availing of initiatives, leading by example etc.)
Support Financial Wellbeing
Ireland’s Wellbeing Framework highlights that income and economic security is crucial to overall wellbeing.
Offering programmes on financial planning and money management, will improve your staff confidence and reduce financial anxiety and stress.
Guidance for all stages in the life course will ensure all employees are benefitting (e.g., pensions and preparing for retirement, mortgage counselling or purchasing property, protecting your health and the health of your family etc.).
Support Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
In addition to social inclusion legislative obligations, consider encouraging an Employee Resource Group to support connection and career development for people with shared cultures or interests.
Also see our Community Links to connect with organisations dedicated to social inclusion.
Support Night or Shift Workers
Sleep and circadian rhythms impact both mental and physical health significantly. It is extremely important to support staff who’s work schedules disrupt their natural sleep and wakefulness patterns.
We have provided many resources to optimise the health of your shift workers.
Consider an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
These programmes can help ensure that you also have supports in place for employees who might need rehabilitation or guidance through a challenging time.
Talk to your insurance provider to see what they offer and to understand your options.