Healthy workplaces

On average, people who are in full-time employment, will spend more than one third of their day, five days a week, in the workplace.

The workplace, therefore, provides an important setting for protecting and promoting health, as well as preventing illness. It is a place where interventions can be developed to reduce risks to health, improve the quality of life for workers while improving their personal effectiveness and productivity.

Workplace wellbeing can also reduce costs to the employer that are associated with being absent, showing up for work without being productive and also high staff turnover.

Northamptonshire Workplace Wellbeing Standards

We have developed workplace wellbeing standards that provide a summary picture of best practice in workplace wellbeing. They also provide a systematic way to create a culture of wellbeing in the workplace, using up-to-date, relevant evidence of best practice.

The standards enable businesses to map their own position on the ‘Road to Wellbeing’. They help businesses to identify what they are doing well, what needs to be strengthened or may be missing from their workplace wellbeing initiatives.

The standards provide building blocks for improving the corporate, staff wellbeing and organisational aspects of a workplace wellbeing plan.

The 13 standards are:

Corporate Leadership - There is executive level understanding of the importance of workplace health and wellbeing as well as commitment to making this a reality by providing the necessary budgetary and other resources necessary.
Attendance - The business supports employees to attend and engage with work and identifies, addresses and where possible prevents the issues related to poor attendance, including being absent and showing up for work without being productive.
Health and Safety - The business creates an environment where both managers and employees are engaged in efforts to improve health and safety in the workplace.
Mental Health - The business recognises that mental health is as important as physical health and is a thread that runs through all that we do. There are policies and a culture that allows staff and management to make mental health a priority, and all have access to information and support to sustain good mental wellbeing.
Smoking - The business is a smoke free workplace and employees are enabled to access Stop Smoking Services.
Physical Activity - The business understands the importance of physical activity for the health and wellbeing of its employees, meets minimum legal requirements for breaks, raises awareness of the importance of physical activity and has work patterns/shifts that allow people to make time for physical activity.
Healthy eating - The business understands, and raises awareness of, healthy eating to prevent, and reduce, the risk of lifestyle diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. The food provision enables healthy eating choices to be the easy choice.
Alcohol and Substance Misuse - The business recognises that alcohol/substances can be a silent epidemic provides information to staff about the possible links between poor mental health and alcohol/substance misuse. The business provides awareness training and confidential support for employees who may need the support.
Caring responsibilities - The business recognises that some of its employees may be unpaid carers and not always free to talk about it in the workplace. The business has flexibility for, and supports people with, caring responsibility to fulfil their caring responsibilities while continuing to have the same opportunities as everyone else in the workplace.
Domestic Abuse - The business understands that domestic abuse is a major issue in our communities and may affect a significant proportion of the workforce. The business has zero tolerance of domestic abuse and provides confidential support and signposting for employees who may need this support. The business is open to cooperating and working with agencies that raise awareness of domestic abuse and provide training to address it.
Financial Wellbeing - The business recognises the importance of financial wellbeing and works with employees, employee representatives and agencies such as the Money Advice and Pension Service (MAPS) to raise awareness and to improve the financial wellbeing of its employees.
Menopause Support - The business recognises that menopause may affect a significant number of staff who may not be free to talk about it or know where to go for support. The business provides information in a supportive way and those employees feel supported through their experiences.
Disability and Inclusion - The business is committed to the Equality Act 2010 and takes practical steps to raise awareness and provide support to those who need it.

Detailed copies of the standards, an easy-to-use self-assessment tool and action plan are available by emailing [email protected].

The Road to Wellbeing - engagement and delivery aspects

Our offer to businesses is summed up in the engagement and delivery aspects of the Road to Wellbeing, whose stages are:

An initial discussion template/survey questionnaire to get to know the business and their staff better, and to understand their needs, priorities and ambitions for workplace wellbeing and establish where they are on the Road to Wellbeing.
Exploring and sharing what works well to improve wellbeing, and providing evidence-based recommendations.
Co-creating a plan - working with the business (including employees where possible) to develop and agree a plan for improving workplace wellbeing.
Using the Northamptonshire Workplace Wellbeing Standards to introduce/support best practice in workplace wellbeing.
Working collaboratively to improve workplace wellbeing and support businesses to stay on course.

For more information please email [email protected].

The Road to Wellbeing Delivery Collaborative

The Road to Wellbeing Delivery Collaborative is a group of organisations that are working together to offer their expertise, skills, and experience in workplace wellbeing to business across Northamptonshire.

In leading the creation of a culture of wellbeing in Northamptonshire workplaces, we acknowledge that collaborative working is vital, and we embrace it as a key component of our approach.

The skills, expertise and experience needed to deliver workplace wellbeing effectively across Northamptonshire are many and varied. It is unlikely that any one organization will have all the skills, expertise, experience, and capacity required to effectively cater for all the needs of the businesses that we may be working with. We have, therefore chosen to work collaboratively.

For more information please email [email protected].

Last updated 03 October 2022