Thriving at Work - Everything you need to know

Posted on January 1, 2023
What does it mean to thrive at work?

According to the Stevenson Farmer PDF review commissioned in 2017, thriving at work is a result of the effective recognition and management of mental health and wellbeing at work. The outcome of this government funded research was an influential document called ‘Thriving at Work’.

What is the key to wellbeing in the workplace?

While crowding our desks with scented candles and potted plants may provide a welcome distraction, we need to think harder about what we can provide that will have a greater, long-term impact on staff wellbeing.

In a currently candidate-driven market, there is an increasing demand for wellbeing and working towards that mystical work-life balance. This has been partly created by the COVID pandemic and for the first time ever, flexibility within working hours or location of work is becoming more important than pay.

Two-thirds of staff think work-life balance is more valuable than pay - Ciphr

Work-life balance creates a multitude of rewards for an individual, including decreasing stress and increasing their physical health and sleep.

Having access to a range of employee support mechanisms is another key to achieving the Thrive level. In some cases, employees with mental health issues are more likely to disclose their situation at work than to their families. Where there is someone to listen and provide practical support and signposting to Occupational Health or an Employee Assistance Programme, a route to change is possible.

Developing the confidence and competence of managers to have those conversations about wellbeing and mental health should now be a focus for all workplaces. Mental health can become an agenda item in a one-to-one. Managers also need the tools in which to have those awkward conversations about absence and expressing concerns about someone’s conduct or performance. ignoring any issues is not doing the organisation or the employee any favours and may delay help or support being sought.

Manager using a Mental Health Toolkit during an appraisal with a staff member
How do you ensure wellbeing in the workplace?

Firstly, this takes financial and people resource investment. A sticking plaster over an accident waiting to happen is likely to be ill-received by staff and not glean return on investment.

Mental health core standards recognised by Farmer and Stevenson in their document, thriving at work, are a great place to start. They can be implemented by any organisation of whatever size, whatever industry and you have a ready-made framework for action.

Employment legislation requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for disability so it is worth creating confidence within your workplace that you will seriously consider reasonable adjustments for someone with mental health conditions. Also, be proactive and creative about reasonable adjustments. It may be that an individual requires some home working for a short period of time, or needs time off per week to attend an appointment. Instead of focusing on the time lost, think of the long-term mutual reward that this reasonable adjustment will bring.

Investing in a programme of enriching and practical wellbeing initiatives is another effective way of meeting the HSE mental health management requirements. Initiatives that truly demonstrate your commitment to valuing individual wellbeing and personal growth will also increase employee engagement, performance and outputs. These may include relaxation and mindfulness techniques, access to coaching or empowering courses on confidence building, motivation and managing sleep and physical wellness.

In summary, to support your organisation growth, grow your brand and reputation with clients and employees (present and future), seriously consider a range of support mechanisms and initiatives for your staff. This will enable people to really thrive at work and give you their best attendance, performance and engagement.

How do you implement thriving at work standards?

The Farmer Stevenson review sets the following Thriving at work 6 core standards:

Develop and communicate a plan:

Every employer of every size and within every industry can develop and communicate a wellbeing or mental health plan/policy/strategy. This may already be in place informally or something that is on that never-ending to-do list. It is important because it communicates what kind of organisation you are, what support is on offer and how people access it.

Safe and healthy working conditions:

We are all familiar with the long-established Health & Safety at Work Act. Providing safe working conditions has been enshrined in law since 1974. The Health & Safety Executive goes one step further to state that companies must consider ways to manage mental ill health in the workplace which are appropriate for the organisation. There are many ways in which an employer can demonstrate this legal requirement, but it requires a real commitment and financial investment from Board level to look after the overall health of their staff.

Raise awareness:

Reduce stigmas about mental health and the devastating impact of not taking action soon enough when someone’s mental health starts to decline. Employers have a real opportunity to start conversations around mental health and develop awareness within their workforce.

Time to talk:

When there are signs that an employee is struggling (and mental health can demonstrate in many different ways), line managers need to take it seriously and provide support immediately. If the organisation has access to occupational health, managers need to refer the individual to this resource or know where to signpost people to. For this local support network to be effective, managers also need training in how to have these conversations with colleagues and be confident about next steps referrals.

Effective people management:

For me, as a very practical HR professional, this can be summarised quite simply:

  • Have clear terms and conditions of employment that provide the main structure of mutual responsibility and expectations.
  • Have a range of policies in place that support capability, disciplinary, sickness absence, pay and reward.
  • Stick to your own policies (no brainer but you would not believe how many huge companies fall foul of this at tribunal)
  • Who delivers people management? Line managers. Please don’t assume they know how to be a manager. Train them, give them the tools to do their job, and not just learn from mistakes.
  • Treat your employees how you wish to be treated.
Routinely monitor employee mental health and wellbeing

However you collect sickness data, you should be requesting the reasons for sickness absence. There is little point in recording ‘unwell’ or ‘off sick’ on a return to work form because the real reason behind it is not known. Again, managers need the confidence and competence to ask further questions “Can I ask what symptoms you have?” “And how long have you been feeling like this” Once you have this data, look at it to spot trends and patterns across individuals, teams and shift patterns (if appropriate).

Employee Engagement surveys or wellbeing surveys can be developed free of charge on one of the various survey platforms and distributed across your organisation to capture more insightful data. At On Your Feet we can save you time and money by doing this for you, as part of our wellbeing programme offering.

Back to blog

For further information on how we can help you create a happier, healthier workplace, book a free introductory call

Book now