News & Advice

With so much of our time spent at work, its clear why more and more employees believe that responsibility for their well-being is down to their employers.  But where does this leave the employers themselves? As the topic of well-being is so broad, we can understand why a lot of companies are overwhelmed at the thought of introducing workplace well-being.

Before we take a look at how employees can help with workplace well-being, we should start with what we can do for ourselves.

Within our own organisation, we promote ‘Walk a Mile’.  It was revealed that 55% of UK workers eat lunch at their desks and half of us only get up from our desks to go to the toilet during the whole working day.  Walk a Mile is exactly how it sounds.  We encourage all of our staff members to take the time on their breaks to walk a mile.  The act of walking significantly benefits our health, even in small distances.  Walking is proven to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes, increases oxygen supply to all our cells, meaning we will have more energy and healthier looking skin! Walking even boosts our immune system and allows us to take in some all-important vitamin D!

Apart from the physical benefits, walking is extremely beneficial for our minds. Studies prove that taking a walk during work breaks can reduce our stress levels, anxiety and fatigue, as well as, improving our self-esteem, mood and productivity.

There are so many benefits of walking that we feel it is vital we do more.  It is common perception that walking doesn’t benefit our health as opposed to how running, cycling or working out in a gym would.  This is completely untrue.  Just because walking is something that most of us do naturally, does not mean we aren’t benefitting from it.

Statistically, physically active employees take 27% less sick days than non-active employees, leaving them healthier the whole year round.  This means that not only does our health improve when we walk at work, but so do your employees.  This is why ‘Walk a Mile’ is so important in our organisation and it should be in yours, too!

There are so many different ways that we can improve our health during work, we just perhaps don’t know it.  Desk exercises can also be very useful. From something as simple as rotating your neck side to side so it doesn’t become stiff, to standing up and stretching, can have significant impact on your productivity and how you feel.

The beauty of technology now allows us to have everything we need at the tip of our fingers.  There are countless apps that we can download to help us, but one in particular is an app called Headspace.  “Meditation has been shown to help people stress less, focus more and even sleep better. Headspace is meditation made simple.  We’ll teach you the life-changing skills of meditation and mindfulness in just a few minutes a day.”

Part of any well-being strategy within an organisation is making your staff feel cared for.  This can be anything from spotting the signs of employees who aren’t well, supporting them through an illness and helping them to return to work.

From one-man-bands to large enterprises, if managers aren’t used to dealing with ill and / or absent employees, then making your staff feel cared for isn’t particularly easy.  What to say, when to say it, when and whether to intervene, how much to communicate with your employee, how to interpret the doctor’s Fit Note, how to make sure you’re staying on the right side of the law – there’s so much to deal with.

Healthy Business Works is the corporate arm of our business, Physiofusion.  We specialise in helping businesses care for their staff and understand the benefits of workplace well-being – not just for staff, but for the success of a business.

If or your organisation already has a well-being strategy in place but you’re not telling staff about it, you may as well not have one.  It is important that you scream and shout about it as it’s one of the most valuable strategies you will ever implement within your organisation.

For more information, feel free to contact our team – marketing@physiofusion.co.uk