With employees in the UK feeling they are working harder than ever and their perceptions of workload pressure being higher than the European <\/a>average, the concept of employee wellbeing is even more critical for UK employers. But what does this mean, in practise, for organisations? Wellbeing is considered to cover the five domains of health, work, values & principles, collective & social, personal growth.\u00a0 Each domain has a variety of elements and hence the range of wellbeing initiatives available to organisations can become rather overwhelming.\u00a0 Therefore, it is important to ask if it actually pays for organisations to invest in their workforce\u2019s wellbeing and how can employers know which interventions will work for their staff?<\/p>\n Some research is beginning to look at these questions with studies establishing links between employee wellbeing and performance (Bryson, Forth and Stokes, 2014). But what happens when your organisation is experiencing tough times \u2013 can employee wellbeing interventions really work? Is it worth organisations even trying to improve employee wellbeing in such situations? My research\u00a0conducted at Kent Business School<\/a> has found that it is.<\/p>\n I\u00a0recently worked with a large financial organisation in the process of shutting down its London operation. Redundancies were being made over a two-year period. The organisation has been mindful of its responsibilities towards its employees and offered a number of employee wellbeing initiatives alongside more traditional outplacement services. This has included mindfulness workshops, positive change seminars, personal development coaching, counselling, and sophrology sessions.<\/p>\n As part of my research I\u00a0surveyed and interviewed staff to assess their levels of anxiety and the value to employees of the wellbeing initiatives on offer. \u00a0I found that while staff were understandably experiencing high levels of stress, some of the less conventional wellbeing interventions, such as sophrology sessions, proved to be the most useful in managing their wellbeing.\u00a0 For example, employees were able to incorporate certain techniques into their daily lives to help reduce stress and anxiety.\u00a0 One employee stated:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s helped me 100%. I\u2019ve done the breathing techniques; the visualisation exercises and the body scan and it really helps me to relax.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0Another talked about the value of such techniques in the workplace: \u201cIt really has helped and I pick up on some of the techniques when I need them, for example I draw on them when I\u2019m in stressful meetings.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 My\u00a0research suggests there are benefits to be gained from investing in employee wellbeing – even during the most difficult of circumstances \u2013 as such interventions will still have a positive impact on employees\u2019 physical and mental health and help to improve working lives.<\/p>\n Bryson A., Forth J. and Stokes L. (2014) Does Worker Well-being Affect Workplace Performance?<\/em>, CEP Discussion Paper No. 1363\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am\u00a0a Lecturer in Human Resource Management (HRM) <\/a>and the Director of the MSc in HRM<\/a>. I\u00a0joined Kent Business School<\/a> in 2003 and prior to this\u00a0worked at the University of Greenwich.<\/p>\n I\u00a0conduct research on range of issues related to HRM<\/a>. My\u00a0current projects include a study of social class differences in the workplace and the experiences of employees in relation to their social class. \u00a0I am\u00a0also currently working on a project that examines the value of wellbeing initiatives in the workplace. \u00a0I\u00a0have worked with a variety of organisations and am\u00a0keen to work with employers who are interested in knowing more about the influence of diversity on their talent management practices and employee wellbeing.<\/p>\n I\u00a0hold a BSc (Hons) in Business Studies<\/a>; a PhD entitled \u2018Line managers and HRM\u2019; am a member of the CIPD <\/a>(Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and the CMI<\/a> (Chartered Management Institute).<\/p>\n View Dr Evans on LinkedIn.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Academic\u00a0Blogger:
![\"Samantha\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kent-business-matters\/files\/2016\/09\/samantha-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h2>\nDr Samantha Evans<\/a><\/h3>\n