Workplace Wellbeing

Workplace health is promoting and managing the health and wellbeing of staff and includes managing sickness absence and ‘presenteeism’ (a person who is physically at work, but unproductive).

Workplace health interventions are activities undertaken within the workplace by an employer or others to address these issues. It also includes action to address health and safety risks.

Stage 1: Analyse

This stage identifies the needs of the workforce, current provision in the organisation and lays the foundations for the other stages.

1. Establish internal support from employees – ensure employee involvement from the start.
2. Gain management support to ensure allocation of resources and support for the processes.
3. Establish a steering group within the organisation or identify a lead.
4. Assess needs – this includes the health needs of the workforce and what health interventions the workplace currently offers. A health-needs assessment is an effective evidence-based method to determine the needs of employees.
5. Set the goals and desired outcomes – use the SMART approach (Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Relevant, Timely).

Stage 2: Plan

The aims for this stage are to prioritise outcomes for the interventions, identify tasks for the steering group and make plans for interventions.

1. Prioritise goals and intended outcomes – goals should be clearly defined and take into account the needs of employees; consider organisation structure and available resources.
2. Plan evaluation strategy – the findings of the needs assessment can be used to set goals and outcomes which can be used as part of the evaluation strategy.
3. Assign tasks to the steering group.
4. Identify role models and wellbeing champions in the organisation.
5. Develop a communication strategy.
6. Consider who will deliver the interventions.

Stage 3: Implement

How the interventions are implemented in each workplace is dependent on desired outcomes and interventions planned.

1. Ensure clear organisational roles in the organisation and steering group.
2. Pilot interventions if possible.
3. Monitor progress.

Stage 4: Evaluate

Evaluation allows organisations to determine what works and what should be continued or adapted.

1. Decide what the evaluation should measure – how the intervention was done, how effective it was at achieving its aims and any savings that have resulted.
2. Gather information on the workplace health intervention to determine exactly what the intervention consists of, how it is meant to work and whether it had been implemented before.
3. Formulate key questions that the evaluation should answer.
4. Develop an evaluation design – it is recommended that the evaluation tool (or tools) is piloted to ensure it collects the desired information.
5. Review the organisational context.
6. Reflect on practice.

Key take-away points

Effective workplace health interventions can have many valuable outcomes for individuals, families, communities, organisations and businesses.

Senior support in your organisation can dramatically increase success; if possible form a group to drive the work.

A health-needs assessment can be used to give a baseline, identify need and set goals for the workplace interventions.

Plan how you will evaluate the interventions, so you know if they have been effective.

Carry out some evaluation to measure impact and effectiveness. However, not all steps are necessary or possible for many businesses.

Evaluation leads back to the analyse stage and the cycle continues with interventions adjusted as needed to improve effectiveness and address the desired outcomes.

Do what you can, rather than do nothing at all.

Local authority provision of workplace health support

Many local authority public health teams provide free evidence-based workplace health support for businesses in their area. Search ‘workplace health’ or ‘health at work’ in your area or contact your local authority public health team to see if your local authority offers workplace health support.

Further information

This toolkit can be used alongside a RAND Europe report ‘Promising practices for health and wellbeing at work 2018’ which provides a wide range of information, case studies, interventions and recommendations that can help businesses improve workplace health and wellbeing.

Resources providing additional information and tools to help the process of developing and evaluating workplace health interventions include:

• Business in the community/PHE employer toolkits. https://www.bitc.org.uk/toolkit/health-and-wellbeing-at-work-summary-toolkit/
• NICE (2017) Overview | Healthy workplaces: improving employee mental and physical health and wellbeing | Quality standards | NICE
• Public Health England (PHE) Workplace health needs assessment (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Workplace health program development checklist
• https://euroqol.org/eq-5d-instruments/eq-5d-5l-about/ – a self-reported, standardised measure of health-related quality of life on 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression)
• Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) | Versus Arthritis provided through Arthritis Research UK
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workplace-health-applying-all-our-health

PHE resources are:

• Health Matters: Health and work - UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk)
• Better Health - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
• Campaign Resource Centre (phe.gov.uk)
• Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
• Workplace health needs assessment
• BITC/Public Health England: Health and Wellbeing Toolkits - Business in the Community