Welfare Solutions

The health and welfare of the people that are around you is increasingly becoming a key aspect of running your own business. Whether you are looking at supporting your employees, your customers (or their children) or your own health has never been more important. Alongside offering services that can ease the pressure of managing on a day to day business. I shall also include information and links to sources that may be beneficial to you.

For safeguarding and child protection information please check out my Working with Children page.

Mental Health in Adults

Let me start with a question:

How are you?

I mean really, how are you?

So often in this world people ask the first question but they're doing it out of politeness and don't really want to know the answer - "I'm fine thanks" is the expected response. But what if you're not ok? What if they asked it more than once? That is someone who truly cares about how you're feeling and isn't afraid of the answer.

Mental health in adults is incredibly important because it directly affects their overall well-being, quality of life, and ability to function effectively in daily activities. As a business owner, if an employee has poor mental health, it can affect their productive, their motivation and their ability to stay focussed on tasks.

What can you do?

As an employer there are many different things that you can do to support your employees.

Firstly, what is your physical environment like? Is it cramped and crowded? Is there enough heat and light to work comfortably?

Secondly, is the work load too much? Are you expecting your employees to work long hours? Can tasks easily be completed within your timeframe or is it expected that employees with work beyond their work hours?

If you are here reading this, I'm going to assume that neither of these points is a cause for concern amongst your workforce but it's always important to just remind yourself of those questions.

You could arrange a regular wellbeing or mental health workshop to learn new strategies to help everyone manage their stresses.
Recognise their accomplishments - just telling someone that you saw what they did and you're proud of them can make a world of difference to their day.
Consider if flexible working may work for you as a business.
Add nice things to your workplace - never underestimate the joy that good quality tea bags or coffee can bring.
Recognise your employees as people - talk to them regularly, ask about their families (only if they're happy to share) Celebrate birthdays or other milestones with a nice card.

Many of these things will cost you very little financially, but you will reap the rewards of having a happy, well cared for staff.

Physical Health

How accessible is your work site? Have you considered the needs of disabled employees? What adjustments can be made? Talk to your employees and ask for suggestions on how things could be improved.

Do you promote regular breaks where your employees can move around? Is there somewhere different in your workplace that staff can have a break?

What is the work life balance like for your employees? What about for you? It is as important to look after yourself as it is for your employees.

How can I help? Adult Workforce

There is an overwhelming amount of ideas, strategies and resources on improving welfare on the internet. So how can I help you?

Policy writing - welfare, equal opportunities etc.
Create resources specifically focused on the needs of your workspace.
Lead meetings/training to build awareness of welfare needs.
Help to build a mental health toolkit for your business
Suggest reasonable adjustments for both the physical and mental health of your employees.
A general risk assessment to ensure the needs of your employees are adequately catered for.
A specific risk assessment setting out the needs of any particular employee who may need a different things that the bulk of your staff.