Organised Wellbeing

Proven and Practical Lessons from Safety Excellence

Tim Marsh, Louise Ward

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138368422
• eBook ISBN: 9780429769368
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Negocios en general

Wellbeing is now at the top of almost everyone's agenda and many technical books have been published on the topic. More than that, an ever-increasing number of organisations are understanding that getting wellbeing right is a win-win that can boost profits or simply make sustainability viable.

Organised Wellbeing: Proven and Practical Lessons from Safety Excellence seeks to present, in a user-friendly way, all of the key wellbeing themes. It views these through the lessons learnt from safety excellence because, at present, UK safety is world class but, frankly, wellbeing seldom is. In any organisation, culture is even more important than strategy and tactics, and training is just the base of a process in which facilitation and embedding of key behaviours and mindsets is the essential element. Practical and coordinated processes, not initiatives, are required. This book, therefore, seeks to show how aspects of wellbeing, both organisational and personal, are inexorably interconnected.

From an organisational perspective, approaches need to address the truth that 'good work is good for you'. This book, also an individual guide to thriving with passion, compassion, humour and style, is essential reading for health and safety, occupational health and HR professionals at all levels. It is also highly recommended for all managers and staff who seek to maximise their potential and that of their colleagues.

1

Introduction

A handbook of wellbeing by one of the world’s leading safety organisations and someone known for their work in safety culture and safety leadership? At a glance, you might ask, ‘What that’s all about?’

Some context:

•Britain is a world leader in safety. Its figures are outstanding and its expertise is sought worldwide.

•Britain lags behind in wellbeing, even though James Tye (who founded the British Safety Council and who inspired the HSW Act that underpins much of the UK’s basic excellence) was an early advocate of wellbeing.

•Safety is, of course, a part of wellbeing – indeed, a key element at the sharp end!

•We think it’s really clear from where we sit that many of the hard-won lessons of safety excellence are not being replicated in the wellbeing field (something the Campbell Institute White Paper also says of the US). Here, as in the US, wellbeing initiatives often look to be making many of the same mistakes we were making in safety 25 years ago!

These lessons being, among others:

•Education and training are but base one, because on a day-to-day basis ‘temptation’ (or ABC theory) kicks in, and we are apt to act in a short-term way if the environment isn’t supportive.

•We’ve learnt to target the ‘back of the room’, as unless we make a concerted effort to effectively target those that most need it, we just subsidise the ‘already well’ with apples, gym membership and step-counting watches they would have bought anyway.

•Objective analysis and targeted facilitation are key to behaviour and culture change.

•Initially, an organisational, not an individual, focus is key.

•Nothing is more important than genuine senior management buy-in.

•Lessons from the world of behavioural economics (or nudge) research should be utilised by SHE.

•The win-win case must be made convincingly to engage all stakeholders.

•An interlinked and holistic approach that is both bottom-up and top-down is essential.

It’s clear that substantial improvements have continued decade after decade. If we ease off we’ll drift backwards, but massive improvement from here simply isn’t possible. Three other points are worth making. The first is that figures for working people who took their own lives last year would fit in perfectly with the 1900–1920 figures to the left. The second is that in recent years almost twice as many schoolchildren took their own lives as people who were killed in work accidents. The third is that the number of people who died as a result of exposureat work last year (to quote the deliberately conservative estimate from the Rushton Report) is over three times the 1900 to 1920 fatal accident rate illustrated here. Debate continues as to whether things are actually getting worse.

In terms of wellbeing and productivity … Both the UK and Iceland are around 30th in the world …

At 0.8 the UK is bested only by the small country of Iceland. Comparing it to other countries of a similar size and demographic we see that France, Germany and Japan are around 3, the USA just under 5. (Note that many developing countries are at 20 or more).

This book therefore sets out to write a practical guide to the win-win that is wellbeing excellence. We’re world leaders in safety so we really ought to be world leaders in wellbeing, because there’s far, far more at stake both ethically and financially. Much of this book will be about the likes of Joe in the prologue, and about what we all need to thrive rather than merely survive. First, however, it’s worth considering the massive cost to organisations and families regarding those who are struggling to get by.

The UK young persons’ mental health service (CAHMS) is officially in crisis according to a recent White Paper, and the number of young people struggling with mental health (MH) issues appears to be increasing at an alarming rate.

The problem is prevalent among adults, too, with figures published by the mental health charity MIND indicating that one in four people in the UK are affected by mental illness in any given year. ONS statistics show that suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45, and studies in the construction industry indicate that male workers are six times more likely to die through suicide than through a fall from height.

Stories about these issues are all over the media; this suggests increasing numbers of staff are struggling with their own mental health or are distracted by family issues, which means organisations need to consider this as part of their risk profile. When, using average rather than worst-case figures, a fifth of people are struggling and the trend is towards a quarter, then UK plc is clearly going to suffer.

We might hope that the government has a coordinated strategy to deal with these issues, but a glance at the papers will tell you how well that’s going. There may be the will and there are warm words, but there’s no money. We look to have a neo-liberal (and Brexit-distracted) government in place for some time. Any significant improvements in the next decade or so are going to have to come from business. The good news is that business has a track record of being quicker to identify trends that pose a risk to survival and of coming up withproactive solutions to mitigate. In fact, for right or wrong, that is the mantra of the currently dominant neo-liberal socio-economic view (‘Get government out of the way and let us deal with it’).

Proactively identifying and tackling risks to sustainability is what good businesses do, and wellbeing is at the core of a sustainable business.

Most people spend as much time, if not more time, at work as they do with their families. Their interaction with their employees and colleagues is utterly central to any coordinated approach.

Successful wellbeing programmes are often referred to as the ultimate win-win: good for the individual and good for the company. We’d like to suggest a third win: good for society as a whole.

With that third win in mind, the Erasmus project in Spain, Iceland and Poland is encouraging the over-50s to ‘train’ for their retirement. In 20 years or so, the over-65s will make up a full 25% of the UK population. Hopefully, we’ll be fit, healthy and will have experience that could be channelled into studying those subjects we always promised ourselves we would, and volunteering and/or coaching and teaching.

There are two reasons why organisations might want to support such schemes. The first, of course, is they may develop a cheap resource, and the second is that presenteeism is an ongoing issue. This can be especially true of the older worker, with little chance of further promotion, who is coasting to retirement. These people do not always lead by example as we want them to, but, on the other hand, direct action against them will seem heartless and unfair and will have negative consequences for morale.

In this age when senior managers come and go quickly, these experienced, time-served mid-management staff are key. They are the organisational ‘memory’ and they have a huge role in determining the day-to-day culture and tone.

Surely, energising them cannot fail to make business sense?

Again, the interconnectedness of the wellbeing field is illustrated. We need to feel that we are contributing. Empowerment programmes deliver this directly, and Erasmus-like programmes engender a mindset that ‘I’ll be contributing for a while yet’.

The Campbell Institute White Paper sets out the challenge well. It summarises that the best organisations they talked to (from a self-selecting sample of the best of the US organisations) have good programmes that ‘have yet to become excellent wellbeing systems’.

For us, an excellent wellbeing system is one that is holistic, coordinated, user-friendly and systemically embedded within a culture of care and health.

Background and context

Traditionally, focus has fallen on safety rather than health issues in the workplace. Huge progress has been made over the last 40 years, and the number of fatalities and serious injuries has reduced significantly. The economy has changed too, placing different demands on workers, and as the number of accidents has decreased, there has been an increasing awareness of longer latency health issues.

Today, skilled and knowledgeable people are at the heart of the modern British economy. Employers recognise that their workers are a key asset and are keen to support and retain them. Brexit has sharpened this focus too, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality and construction, where there is currently a dependence on skilled labour from other EU countries. There has been a blurring of the boundaries between life and work, as technological advances – and the changing nature of work – mean that many people can now operate effectively from any location with an Internet connection. This can result in excessive working hours, but also allows people to work much more flexibly to accommodate personal and family requirements. The gig economy is changing employment relationships too, and an increasing number of people work remotely, outside of a traditional workplace, which can impact negatively on mental wellbeing.

The time is right to focus on health as an enabler to work. However, it’s not just about employing and retaining people with disabilities or long-term health conditions. There is also a need to focus on health and wellbeing for the existing working population. People are living longer, and pensions are frequently no longer sufficient to support early retirement. As a result, the workforce is ageing, and many more people are having to manage the health effects of getting older while still at work. People need information and support to help them make healthy decisions, and timely access to medical services is a key requirement. Short-term illness and minor injury can easily result in long-term sickness absence if the issues are not addressed promptly. This has negative effects on the physical and mental health of the individual, results in costs for the employer, and places demands on the medical and social care systems.

There is a need for more openness and effective engagement between individuals, employers and medical and social care services, supported by revised and streamlined systems that recognise work as beneficial to physical and mental wellbeing and that enable effective employment.

There is no doubt that the right work delivers positive benefits, both physically and psychologically, for individuals, but also for the employer and for society in general too.

What’s holding us back?

Scientific and technological developments mean that we now know more than ever about how our bodies and our minds work; how they can go wrong, and what we can do both to keep ourselves healthy and to treat illnesses and injuries when they occur.

For the last 40 years, we have focused on keeping people safe at work, and we’ve seen remarkable improvements, but the management of health at work lags way behind. The business case is clear, so why aren’t we better at it? Could it be our very ‘Britishness’ that is holding us back?

Research suggests that British people are far less confident about their bodies than their counterparts in other areas of the world. On holiday, it tends to be the Brits who are covered up by the pool or changing under a towel, and at work we are equally inhibited. But this attitude is preventing us from managing our biggest asset effectively.

We all need to get more comfortable talking about health. This isn’t a static thing. There are lots of different factors that affect our physical and our mental health in both positive and negative ways. We all need to get better at recognising this and reaching out for support when we need it.

We need to work on establishing a positive wellbeing culture in our workplaces. Work can be really beneficial for both physical and mental health, but there are also times when we need to take a break or get specialist support in order to let our bodies and our minds recover. Every case is individual, and the best way forward is for employers and employees to feel comfortable discussing issues as they arise, and building a plan together that ensures that the right action is taken at the right time.

Peer support is really important too. People have great capacity to help and support each other, but we need to move away from the traditional British stereotype and the ‘stiff upper lip’, ‘grin and bear it’ type of culture if we are to support each other effectively. It’s normal to feel unwell sometimes, and when we do it’s good to ask for help! Recognising this will help to develop an engaged working culture that will bui...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Prologue: a week in the life of Joe Egg
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The business case
• 3 Wellbeing and the individual: a holistic framework
• 4 Five key lessons from safety
• 5 Individual resilience
• 6 The job itself
• 7 Non-technical skills
• 8 Organisational strategy and tactics
• Glossary
• References and suggested further reading
• About us
• Index