Opinion – Page 2
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OpinionLovewell's logic: The changing shape of employee wellbeing
When I first entered the world of employee benefits more than 20 years ago, many organisations’ approach to health and wellbeing was markedly different. Back then, the focus was on more traditional healthcare benefits, such as private medical insurance (PMI) and health cash plans. Wellbeing benefits were often viewed as ...
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OpinionRiaan van Wyk: What positive versus negative resilience means for employers
UK employees have not had it easy over the last few years. Pressures on their finances, mental wellbeing and physical health have been almost ever present since the start of the pandemic in 2020, and the last six months has seen a cost-of-living crisis amplify these pressures further.To understand how ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Making the most of Blue Monday
A belated Happy New Year to you all!By now, Christmas feels like a distant memory, as many of us settle back into the usual day-to-day routine. Despite all the promise that a new year often brings, January can prove a difficult month for many, thanks to factors such as the ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: What more can be done to support male mental health?
Sometimes a press release lands in my inbox containing facts and figures that really stick in my head. This week, a release focusing on male mental health from mental health and wellbeing support services provider Wellbeing Partners did just that.This highlighted several key statistics pertaining to male mental health in ...
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OpinionTom Moyes: The importance of supporting and managing stress in the workplace
International Stress Awareness Week (7 - 11 November 2022) was founded in 2018 by the International Stress Management Association, and focuses on managing stress and running campaigns against the stigma associated with stress and mental health.Research published on 3 March 2022 by the London School of Economics and Political Science ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Supporting employees' fertility journey
Next week (31 October to 4 November) marks National Fertility Awareness Week. Fertility and trying to conceive often remains a hidden topic, particularly in the workplace, with many employees choosing to keep their journey to themselves. Yet, with fertility issues now facing more than 3.5 million people in the UK, ...
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OpinionAndrew Krawczyk: Good data is vital in building an employee-led health strategy
Organisations have a wealth of employee data, almost at their fingertips: from basic demographical information to more in-depth personal data such as health and fitness, absence records, or health insurance and group risk claims. This data plays an important role in improving employee wellbeing and resilience, providing strategic direction based ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Supporting staff through baby loss
This week marks Baby Loss Awareness Week, between 9-15 October. While other awareness days or weeks are widely discussed in the corporate space, this one appears to be less so. Baby or pregnancy loss is often a hidden subject in the workplace, with many employees perhaps preferring not to disclose ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Will staff look to employers for support on rising mortgage rates?
A week on from the government’s Mini Budget, and many individuals and employers are still working through the ramifications and exactly what it means for them.The challenges many households are currently facing due to the cost-of-living crisis are well documented. However, with interest rates now expected to rise following the ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is hybrid working fuelling loneliness at work?
While the removal of Covid-19 restrictions has enabled friends and families to once again mix freely, the rise in hybrid and flexible working arrangements means that some individuals may feel less connected to colleagues than prior to the pandemic, resulting in increased levels of loneliness at work. In fact, a ...
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OpinionRichard Lane: Employees need wellbeing support to navigate through cost-of-living crisis
The events of the past two years have given many employers pause for thought on whether the package of support they offer fits the needs of their employees. Millions of people in employment have finely balanced finances and are vulnerable to shocks, never more so than with the cost-of-living crisis ...
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OpinionPhil Crowe: How the war in Ukraine highlights the value of employee benefits
When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the world looked on in shock and wondered how this would reverberate around the globe. An important issue facing employers right now is how to best support employees who are directly affected by the war, whether they have family in Ukraine, or whether ...
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OpinionMichelle Terry: Employers can do more to tackle the stigma of discussing mental health
Over the course of the last two years, the global Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has had a massive impact on every aspect of our lives, including the way we work. Long-term disruption to normal routines, and challenges caused by the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic itself, has left many of us feeling exhausted, ...
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OpinionKatie Ash: Protecting employee mental health is more than just a workplace perk
As such a large part of an employee’s life is spent at work, it’s important that employers play an active role in ensuring that their workers develop and maintain a good quality of life and a healthy relationship with their place of work.This is particularly important post pandemic, when it ...
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OpinionTom Moyes: Encouraging conversations with employees around mental health
At any one time, one-sixth of the working age population of Great Britain experiences symptoms associated with mental ill health, and this causes around 40% of all days lost through sickness absence, according to the Mental health and work report published in 2008 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.So why ...
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OpinionSophie Wahba: What can employers do to manage stress in the workplace?
Managing the mental wellbeing of employees is a matter of growing concern for many business owners, as the stress of the last 18 months has taken its toll on the workforce.A 2020 Perkbox survey called The 2020 UK workplace stress survey suggests that an astonishing 79% of British adults commonly ...
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OpinionAhmed Al-Nahhas: How employers can help staff mental wellbeing
A recent tribunal ruling threw into question whether some employers truly understand the impact post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can have on staff from a military background.The tribunal found British Airways (BA) had discriminated, harassed and demonstrated a lack of empathy towards an RAF veteran with PTSD, who worked as an ...
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OpinionJulie Morris and Michelle Last: Should fertility support be a statutory right?
The number of people undergoing fertility treatment in the UK increases steadily each year. In 2019, more than 53,000 patients underwent around 69,000 fertility treatments. While we await the latest data, this upward trend means it is increasingly likely that employers will be faced with requests for work absences from ...
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OpinionSam Jardine: Why employers should offer staff mental health support
With Covid-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions easing, employees up and down the country are gearing up again for a return to the office.However, after working from home for months on end and with underlying anxieties surrounding the pandemic understandably still present, our HR team has considered how we can better equip colleagues ...
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OpinionSarah Casemore: Open discussions are vital for addressing mental health in the workplace
Anyone of us can feel stressed or overwhelmed at any time. But one in six employees in any week can feel symptoms of more common mental health issues resulting in 54% of all lost working days being attributed to stress, anxiety, or depression, according to the Health and Safety Executive's ...