Well-being for Performance
Championing the improvement of well-being and also performance at work, KoruInternational delivers cognitive, physiological, emotional fitness programmes. Each programme is bespoke, the content determined by what will make the greatest impact to individual well-being and performance. The well-being programmes take account of HSE management standards for health and well-being at work, IIP frameworks, and recognised ‘best practice’.
Stress audits, stress management, personal exercise and recharge plans, conflict resolution, nutrition, health screening and advice, changing unwanted phobic (e.g. fear of flying or public speaking) and addictive (e.g. drinking caffeine or smoking) behaviour, these are all examples of KoruInternational proactive programmes that can transform attitudes, habits and rituals, increasing energy and improving well-being.
Employee Assistance Programmes?
Many organisations tend to think of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP’s) that include gym membership, medical insurance, and counselling when it comes to workplace health and well-being. Yet they still have staff that are demotivated, not performing, taking frequent short term ‘sickies’, with increasing absenteeism, workplace stress and employee turnover. Importantly EAP’s, as Intel Corporation (UK) v Daw (Feb 2007) demonstrated, do not provide a ‘get out of jail free card’ for organisations in the UK courts when it comes to employee well-being!
There are organisations not using expensive reactive EAP’s that have staff that are motivated, healthy, fully engaged and performing well. These organisations address the causes of absenteeism, workplace stress, low levels of employee engagement etc. proactively by recognising that fitness for performance initiatives improve the well-being of their employees and are at the heart of improving organisational performance.
The investment community now takes seriously well-being and stress levels in organisation as a measure of corporate health. Henderson Global Investors recently stated that “Companies that take action to reduce stress in the workplace are likely to generate enhanced value through reduced costs, increased productivity, better customer service, lower staff turnover and greater staff morale”
Legal Duty
In the UK ‘The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)’ and ‘The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999)’ not only puts a duty on the organisation to protect the health of their employees, but also the need to risk assess. Changes to ‘The Disability Discrimination Act’ in December 2005 mean that stress is now potentially covered by this legislation, and from an organisational risk perspective, their is no ceiling on the amount of compensation that can be awarded. In the UK, Investors in People (IIP) have developed “Health and Well-being at Work”, a framework that challenges organisations to become more aware of health and well-being issues.
Fortunately more organisations are recognising that they have a Corporate Social Responsibility to their staff and the benefit of proactive well-being ‘fitness for performance’ programmes transfers directly to the bottom line.