Some resources to help health, wellbeing and inclusion at work

Our latest resource suggestions from external sites to help health, wellbeing and inclusion at work include:

• advice for employers on managing work-related stress
• a new code of practice for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace
• a guide on how to recruit neurodiverse candidates
• the results of an annual health and wellbeing at work survey, including the views of employees

Advice for employers on managing work-related stress

Acas has introduced new advice for employers on managing stress. This follows a poll in March which revealed that 3 out of 5 (63%) employees felt stressed due to the rising cost of living. In response to whether British workers felt their organisation was managing work-related stress effectively, the results showed that although 34% felt their workplace was effective at managing stress, 33% felt their workplace was ineffective at handling stress at work, with 23% neither agreeing nor disagreeing. The advice includes tips on spotting signs of stress, helping to manage it, and creating an environment where staff can feel comfortable talking about stress at work.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace - Code of Practice

This summer the British Standards Institute (BSI) released a new code of practice, PAS1948. It provides practical guidance, recommendations, and a workplace toolkit to help any organisation - irrespective of size, sector, or location - seeking to develop and implement an effective DEI framework. The aim is to break down a topic that’s commonly seen as complex and costly, into 5 clear and understandable steps that are easy to transform into action.  It is free to download and available using the link in the title above.

Guide on how to recruit neurodiverse candidates

A practical guide on the Recruitment and Employment Federation's website and helpful not just for those involved in recruitment. In addition to providing an introduction on recruiting neurodiverse talent, it also includes a glossary of key related terms, tips for working more neuro-inclusively, as well as some ideas for how to be a lead and help bring the topic of neuro-inclusion to both your team and organisation.

Health and wellbeing at work 2023

The results of CIPD’s annual health and wellbeing at work survey were published in late September. A standout finding this year is that sickness absence levels have soared to an average of 7.8 days per employee, comparing to 5.8 days before the pandemic. The survey report is based on responses from 918 organisations covering more than 6.5million employees. In addition to the results, it offers recommendations in the following areas:

• Approaching health and wellbeing through a standalone strategy
• Providing wellbeing support through the employee lifecycle
• Evaluating the outcomes of your health and wellbeing activities
• Tackling stress and poor mental health
• Tackling presenteeism and leaveism
• Improving absence management

Health and wellbeing at work – View of employees

This year, in addition to the above survey, the CIPD have also reported on what employees think about health and wellbeing at work. Using data from their CIPD Good Work Index 2023, they have examined how employees feel about their physical and mental health, how they think work contributes to health-related conditions, plus sections on how employees feel about line managers, workload, and presenteeism.

These external resources to help health, wellbeing and inclusion at work were included in our Autumn 2023 newsletter.  If you would like future editions of our quarterly newsletter sent directly to your inbox, please sign up here.