Health and Wellness in the Workplace

Ideas for Health Promotion Activities

Finding ideas for health and wellness activities in the workplace can be a challenge. To help
weve compiled a list of activities for you to consider trying in your office or workplace

Set up a health and wellness in the workplace committee and have them take
responsibility for implementing the selected ideas for health promotion activities
Designate a wellness coordinator for implementing action plans
Allocate a budget for health and wellness in the workplace activities
Develop good employment practice and policies, eg, communication systems; training
and personal development; supervision, appraisal and mentoring; attendance / absence
management; equal opportunities; return to work/rehabilitation for people with
illnesses or disabilities; time off for career responsibilities (children, other dependents);
job sharing; flexi-time and flexible hours / days; dealing with harassment and bullying;
grievance procedure; disciplinary procedure
Include health and wellness in the workplace activities in managers objectives
Link green transport issues with opportunities for physical activity walking and
cycling to work
Assess the needs for different kinds of health and wellness in the workplace activities

Workplace wellbeing has many variations, extensions, and related concepts/terminology, for
example:
emotional well-being
psychological well-being
staff/employee well-being
'wellness'
health promotion (all broadly equating to the same thing when referred to in the workplace
context)
Wellbeing is also strongly influenced by factors concerned with attitude and self-image, as we
might consider via classical behavioural and motivational models, notably for example:
Herzberg's motivational theory
McGregor's XY-Theory
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory
Adams Equity Theory
Transactional Analysis
Benziger's theory on 'Falsification of Type'

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: General health activities

Health and wellness seminars / discussions with guest speakers

Wellness information notice boards, leaflet racks, information points, wellness
handouts
Regular supply of specific information / leaflets to all staff individually via wage slips,
email
Participate in national health and wellness in the workplace campaigns
Health and wellness in the workplace articles in regular staff newsletter
Employee Health and wellness newsletter
Awareness raising, workshops, training sessions on health topics
 Training in team building, assertiveness, time management, communication skills
Health promotion videos playing in waiting areas
Health and wellness in the workplace awareness days or events
Brief sections on health awareness in health and safety training and first aid training
Health policies and procedures alcohol and substance use, general health and well
being, healthy eating, HIV/AIDS, physical activity, smoking, stress and mental health
Health Risk assessments to take account of health and lifestyle related behaviors
Paid time off for staff to go for employee health screenings (via GP or other facilities,
rather than at work)
Give employees some paid time off (a certain number of hours per month or year) to
pursue activities they feel are good for their health
Share health and wellness in the workplace activities and resources with other local
workplaces
Allow staff with back or musculoskeletal problems paid time off to attend appointments
with physiotherapists or other health professionals
extending more specifically to:
natural health
alternative health
holistic health (all alluding particularly to mind/body health, as a vital aspect of well-
being)
which in turn connect to many and various methods, treatments and therapies used in
safeguarding well-being, and the prevention/reduction of stress, for example:
o yoga helps to: stretch the muscles of the body, improve circulation, strengthen

the immune system, mobilise the spine, regulate breathing and calm the mind. Yoga can be
particularly useful for preventing back pain and neck and shoulder tension caused by desk
working, especially looking at a computer screen for long periods. Yoga classes can be held
before work, during lunch hour or at the end of the working day. Duration is generally between
45 and 90 minutes.

o Reflexology
o cycle rides or swimming, fresh air and physical exercise
o various exercises and games, diet and hydration (drinking enough water)
o quizzes
o acupuncture
o reiki (see the reiki guide on this website)
o EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
o Meditation can easily be incorporated into the workplace. Meditation can be

carried out at the desk or in a specific room set aside for quiet time. Meditation has a wide
range of benefits including: inducing feelings of calm and wellbeing, relaxation and breathing
improvement, providing mental clarity, enabling improved decision focus, enabling innovative
thinking, changing negative routines and habits, recharging, improving self-esteem, seeing life
in more positive ways, Employees can be taught how to meditate at work, and/or meditation
can be led by a qualified instructor.

o Hypnotherapy

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Alcohol and Substance Abuse

 Policy for all staff to raise awareness of issues
Training for all involved in implementing the policy
Support and referral for staff with an alcohol or substance use problem
Information about agencies and organizations dealing with alcohol or substance misuse
problems

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Healthy Eating

Ensure healthy options are available in canteen / vending facilities

Training for catering staff
Negotiate with local restaurants or cafes to provide some healthy options
Allow staff to take paid time off for appointments with dietitians about any eating
problems
Let staff eat or drink at regular intervals if they need to as part of medical treatment for
various eating disorders or diabetes

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Physical Activity

Encourage people to use stairs rather than elevators

Provide marked routes, with distances, for walks during breaks
Provide bicycle racks, showers and changing facilities: to encourage people to cycle to
work or to do some physical activity during breaks
Allow people to arrive 5 or 10 minutes late and leave 5 or 10 minutes early (without
loss of pay) if they walk or cycle to work
Arrange for intra-company games and sports teams
Provide an onsite fitness center
Provide onsite group exercise classes like yoga, tai chi or similar sessions before work
/ in lunch breaks / after work
Arrange corporate memberships or negotiated reduced fees for local health clubs and
facilities

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Smoking

Policy on smoking and protecting staff from passive smoking

Total ban in the workplace to provide a smoke-free environment
If smoking is allowed then restrict it to designated smoking areas
If smoking is allowed then restrict it to designated smoking times
Help for staff who want to give up smoking: paid time off to attend stop smoking
counseling or group sessions
Training for volunteers who want to help others to give up smoking

Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Stress and Mental Health

Stress audit to identify problem areas / jobs

Develop a stress action plan to tackle problems
Awareness raising sessions for all staff on recognizing stress and mental ill health
symptoms in themselves and others
Training for managers, supervisors, trade union representatives on recognizing stress
and mental ill health symptoms in themselves and others
 Avoid stigmatization of people who have taken time off or sick leave for mental health
reasons
Relaxation, aromatherapy, yoga or similar sessions before work / in lunch breaks / after
work
Counseling service in-house or referral to outside agency
Rehabilitate back into the workforce anyone who has been off sick with mental health
problems
Encourage social activities among work colleagues

The Management Standards were launched by the HSE, specifically to address issues of
poor health, lowered productivity and increased sickness absence. The standards offered
guidelines on stress for employers, and highlighted six aspects of work which if managed
poorly could create stress in the workplace. The standards were introduced to encourage
good practice and raise awareness of how organisational/working methods and activities
influence stress.
Demands - such as workload and work environment.
Control - a person's individual influence over how their job is carried out.
Support - from the organization; management and colleagues.
Relationships - to reduce conflict and deal with unacceptable behaviour.
Role - understanding of what the job entails; what is expected and needed.
Change - how change is managed within the organisation.
In addition to these categories, the HSE produced an assessment tool for companies to
evaluate performance. This was a 35 item survey, useful in terms of raising stress awareness
and encouraging organisations to investigate the problems caused by stress.
Workplace stress has been defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as "...The
adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on
them at work..."
This type of stress occurs where employees feel unable to cope with work demands or
environment, and can result in decreased productivity and reduction in physical or mental
health. The costs to the organization are high in terms of reduced productivity, absenteeism,
staff turnover, and potentially, legal cases arising from stress-related claims.
The cost to the individual can be high, for example undermining quality of life,
relationships, self-esteem and health.
Causes of stress can be varied and include:
High workloads
Coping with change
Interpersonal conflict
Bullying
 Ineffective management
Lack of resources
Unsociable or inflexible working hours
Lack of respect (for the individual worker)
Unclear job specification
Little or no involvement in decisions
Few opportunities for training or personal development
Threat of redundancy
A formal organizational 'staff wellbeing policy' can be created.

Management of wellbeing at work

1. Positive work culture
Create a positive work culture.
A positive work culture is one with clear vision and purpose and where staff are aware of
their individual contribution.
This enables staff to be engaged with the success of the company.
Staff do not generally become truly involved with the aims and successes of the
organization without being encouraged and enabled to do so.
Where staff support each other and feel valued this tends to generate and maintain an
atmosphere of confidence.
This is developed by:
Having a clear business purpose and ensuring this is communicated throughout the
organization.
Effective and ongoing communication between all levels of the organization. Particularly,
senior management must be accessible to all staff, especially those on the front line
(typically 'customer facing', or 'factory floor' employees), so that concerns and issues are
exposed and transparent, rather than staying buried and hidden, which is often the case in
organizations with a less-than-open (typically) X-Theory communications culture and
management style.
Ensuring that any conflict issues that arise are dealt with appropriately and quickly, while
acknowledging confidentiality and differences in points of view.
Providing opportunity for training and personal development.
Encouraging teamwork through relevant training, exercises, rewards or recognition.
See the specific ideas for developing a more positive work environment below.
2. Organizational management structure
Flat simple management structures enable better management of staff wellbeing and stress
prevention/reduction. Striving for a flat simple management structure must be balanced
against other needs of the business/organization (strategy, international operations, for
example) which typically act in an opposite way, i.e., increasing the depth and complexity
in management structure.
That said, try to keep management structures as simple and flat as possible, because this is
better for relationships, communications, and maintaining a cohesive approach to
wellbeing.
Where there are disconnections or gaps in organizational management structure, properly
dealing with stress and wellbeing tends to be more difficult, and generally places greater
onus on individuals to ensure that wellbeing needs are met.
We all like to be involved in decisions which affect us, our work environment and future.
Keeping management layers and reporting complexities tight and minimal enables better
management and communication of stress and wellbeing issues.
3. Training and development
Training and development opportunities add value to both the workplace and the
individual.
This may be observable directly through increased performance, sales and/or improved
customer care.
Training exposes people to new and interesting learning and development, which being
generally positive and motivational, tends to counteract negative stressful pressures.
Training also demonstrates to the member of staff that they are valued and worth investing
in for the future.
Training, particularly induction training (for new starters), also offers excellent
opportunity to establish expectations and awareness among staff about stress and
wellbeing, and to explain relevant organizational policies.
4. Pay and remuneration, working hours, pressure, and other conditions of employment
Contractual pay and conditions should reflect the responsibilities of the particular role, and
the value the role represents to the organization.
People working overtime should be compensated fairly with either overtime payments or
be given time off in lieu. When employees are expected to work longer hours with no
reward, this can lead to increased stress, lower performance and staff fostering resentment
towards the organization. Over a period of time, this can lead to talented and experienced
staff leaving an organization.
Psychological Contract theory offers an excellent way to consider pay issues, and to gain
deep appreciation of workplace wellbeing in a wider sense.
5. Job security and risk of redundancy - and organizational change
Job security, and especially the feeling that the job itself may be at risk, is a significant
source of stress for employees and tends to impact far beyond job performance, to the
home and family lives of staff members.
Where possible reassure staff and in the case of potential redundancies, visibility and good
communication are essential.
Keep staff appraised of developments wherever possible and consider specialist support
packages or services for those involved in redundancy.
Transparency and honesty are vital - especially if news is bad. People need care and
reassurance, but they also need openness and clarity from leaders and managers, to plan
and prepare mentally and practically for personal and sometimes very difficult change.
Erikson's Psychosocial Life-Stage Theory also provides an insightful perspective of
generational issues, among other helpful revelations about personality and behaviour in
response to change and threat.
Grievance and dispute resolution procedures and employment termination processes also
relate to this area.
Staff appraisals and motivation are closely related to job security and the feelings arising
from employment continuity concerns.
Exit interviews are particularly useful in discovering hidden sources of stress and
discontent.
6. Communications
Aim for good communications between all levels of the organization, between
departments, managers and staff, and between colleagues.
This fosters a culture of trust and cooperation, which results in less conflict and more
efficient working.
Good communications encourage a positive work culture, which helps to promote
wellbeing.
There are several wonderful communications theories/concepts, which can be incorporated
within a wellbeing strategy/policy. These methodologies can operate on a number of levels
within communications:
People can be trained to use them, so improving communications, especially for managers
and leaders in their communications with their people.
The methodologies each enable people to know themselves better, and in many cases to
develop emotional maturity and resilience to stress and wellbeing threats.
They help improve corporate/organizational culture, by providing structures, standards,
meaning and integrity to relationships and communications (which are otherwise rarely
subject to standards on a genuinely sophisticated level).
 These communications models include notably:
Transactional Analysis - very accessible and meaningful psychology concept and methods,
for self-development and communications in relationships - in work and life.
Neuro-linguistic Programming - as above - powerful and very accessible methods for self-
development, and human communications.
Emotional Intelligence - a very humanistic model for communications and relationships
which helps recognise and foster emotional maturity and resilience.
Johari Window - Ingham and Luft's wonderful model for understanding and improving
self- and mutual awareness.
Clean Language and Emergent Knowledge - more specialised counselling/therapeutic
methodologies, but potentially very applicable and helpful in workplace wellbeing
development.
Buying Facilitation - Sharon Drew Morgen's methodology was at first developed for
sales/selling, but it is also a powerful model for coaching, counselling, facilitating,
mentoring, etc.
7. Work/life balance
Create a work culture, which respects and encourages a healthy work/life balance. Again,
this is a significant aspect within The Psychological Contract.
Encourage staff to take time off after working long periods of overtime to give them chance
to rebalance and maintain a healthy home life.
Offering job share, part time working, flexi-time and weekend working can also be highly
beneficial for wellbeing, particularly for those with a long commute, onerous family
commitments, young children or elderly relatives.
Offering time in lieu or overtime payments for additional work allows staff to be suitably
rewarded for their efforts, which improves self-esteem and feelings of personal value, and
encourages commitment and job loyalty.
8. Job fit
Hire people who fit the culture and vision of the company, and obviously also the role.
Revisit your recruitment and interviewing methods/processes, and ask yourself: are we
doing enough to protect people's wellbeing at the very beginning of their relationship with
the organization, by ensuring we get the right people in the right roles?
For those already employed in a role, ensure that the job is suitable for them. People
change. Roles change.
Where employees are struggling to work happily and effectively, discover the reasons for
the discord and develop remedies, whether addressed through additional training, or
perhaps a move into a more suitable role within organization.
 Where such opportunities exist for moving people into more suitable roles, especially good
quality staff, the benefits for organization and individual and be remarkably positive.
9. Confidential counselling
Counselling can be offered to employees when there are particular issues arising in the
workplace that might initiate stress.
Counselling can be particularly useful for those who have reported conflict situations
within their job due to manager/colleague relationships, also for those who may be under
threat of redundancy or who are not coping well with changes in the work environment.
Counselling can also be offered for all employees as an additional benefit.

10. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) specifically apply in the UK. There are local
national equivalents in many other countries, which can form a relevant and necessary part
of a wellbeing strategy/policy.
11. Mind/body therapies and stress reduction/prevention activities
Happily, organizations today are far more open to the benefits of introducing positive
mind/body activities and holistic therapies into the workplace, both to prevent stress, and
to reduce it when it arises.
A vast range of activities and experiences is available to imaginative employers.
Consult staff. Discover what staff would enjoy and find helpful.
Bringing helpful mind/body activities and therapeutic experiences into work can
dramatically improve people's mood and feelings about themselves, each other, and about
their work and the perceived quality of the employer.
12. Management responsibilities for wellbeing
The protection and fostering of staff wellbeing needs to be embedded in management
methods and systems.
Merely adding 'Protect the wellbeing of staff' to every manager's job description is not a
viable approach.
Consideration of staff wellbeing must be part of the management and leadership function.
Leaders and managers should see wellbeing as a fundamental performance driver, and so
should be measured and rewarded in managing it properly.
13. Monitoring and testing - stress and wellbeing
Linked to management responsibility for wellbeing are organizational systems for
measuring and testing wellbeing across the workforce.
Like anything else, to manage wellbeing properly, it must be measured.
14. Wellbeing policy commitment
Committing to formulate a strategy and policy for wellbeing is vital for successfully
introducing and maintaining effective wellbeing protections in any organization.
The commitment must come from the top.
It will not work otherwise.
See the guidance and tools relating to the Psychological Contract, if you have not already
done so.
Ask people what they want. Use your imagination.
It is not natural to work in the way we do these days. We evolved as active human beings,
out in the countryside, using far more of our senses and physical capabilities than we do
sat at a desk or on a production line or in a meeting room.
It is no wonder that aside from pressures of work and deadlines, we feel stressed when we
are not able to use our minds and bodies in more natural ways.
Preventing and reducing stress, and by implication protecting and improving personal
wellbeing, does not always have to be complicated.
Sometimes it can be as simple as a walk in the park.