Snap poll shows more than half employers guilty of ‘wellbeing washing’

 

As a trade union elected representative for UNISON Community members in London I totally agree with this article in IOSH website. So many employers pretend to care for the well being of their staff but simply do not deliver. Why on earth to they do this? "Workers are not stupid". 

"The term ‘worker wellbeing’ appears to be trending these days as more employers switch on to the fact their workforce is their greatest asset, especially in the current workers’ jobs market.

But another term has been coined to shame employers that want to appear mindful of their workers’ wellbeing yet fail to provide them with any real benefits – ‘wellbeing washing’.

Looking for that ‘quick fix’ to keep their people onside (and hopefully attract new talent), these employers are increasingly being called out for offering free fruit, gym memberships, yoga classes and the like with one hand while pushing staff towards unsustainable workloads, long hours and burnout with the other.

It’s a phenomenon highlighted recently by IOSH Research Programme Lead Dr Karen Michell, in her blog ‘Want to really do right by your people?’

Web poll

So IOSH decided to test just how widespread ‘wellbeing washing’ has become by asking visitors to our website a few questions on the matter, starting with “Do you think your employer is guilty of wellbeing washing?”

This snap online poll, which attracted more than 400 responses from nearly 60 countries over three working days, confirmed that wellbeing washing really is a thing, with more than half (51%) of respondents pointing an accusing finger at their employer. Those who found their employer guilty as charged referred to wide-ranging examples of staff ‘benefits’ they didn’t want or need, including:

• Online ‘wellbeing services’
• Employment Assistance Programmes that focus on out-of-hours issues but don’t deal with work or office-related matters
• Discounts on holidays (which are still too expensive)
• Wellbeing walks (but with no time to go on them)
• Fruit and ice cream
• Shopping discounts (but having to pay for staff parking)
• Mental health First Aid (described as a ‘box-ticking’ exercise that can sometimes see untrained volunteers do more harm than good).

Those employers providing benefits their employees won’t thank them for might be interested to see what benefits workers say they’re not getting but would actually welcome. These include:

• Work risk assessments for stress
• Access to a wider variety of healthy lifestyle classes, not just gym membership or yoga
• More support for women on menopausal issues
• Better mental health support
• Better management
• Flexible working
• A more responsive attitude to worker surveys.

In her blog, Dr Michell advises employers they won’t get away with adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to worker wellbeing, while simply renaming a rest area as ‘The Chill Zone’ is a definite ‘no-no’: “Helping to keep your people contented while also attracting new talent will be vital to your operation – in fact, your whole future will depend on it,” she writes.

Workers aren’t stupid".

SERTUC Health & Safety Seminar 2013

I arrived late and then had to leave early from this excellent health and safety seminar organised by SERTUC (South Eastern Trade Union Congress) which took place the other week at Congress House.

When I arrived Gerard Stilliard, a partner at trade union solicitors, Thompsons (seen
at London UNISON safety committee earlier this year) was speaking about the removal by the Government of Civil liability therefore returning workers protection to that of pre-1878 and the need to prove negligence. He finished his speech by thanking the audience and wishing us all "Good luck" in the future since "we will need it".

Next to speak was  Mike Wilcock, Head of Operations in the South East Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Mike (see picture above) became interested in health and safety because he trained as an industrial chemist and got blown up in a factory in France. He was unimpressed that the French safety inspector looking into this incident was more concerned about going to lunch with the factory owner.

He is very proud of the work of the HSE and concerned that due to reductions in the number of his staff, they now have act more as Policemen and are not "here to help". Real health & safety is not about banning conkers, its about stopping people being killed and injured. Regarding the recent reviews of safety legislation, he accepts that simplification and clarity is good. We must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. In Qatar 40 workers have already been killed building the 2022 World Cup stadiums. In the UK we had no deaths when building the Olympics. 

He can now only send inspectors into the highest risk employers. Those who kill and injure the most.  But what and who fills the gap? It has to be the professional safety advisers and trade unions safety reps. Use to have 70% proactive inspections now 70% plus are reactive. HSE will now charge employers £122 per hour if they have to write to them or issue a notice.

In Q&A I asked if trade union safety reps were being expected to help fill the gap caused by the reduction in HSE Inspectors, they should be given the power to issue provisional improvement notices? (PINS) This would give reps greater credibility. Martin disagreed and said that safety reps are already credible and often are better trained than managers. He also didn't think it was at all likely in the "current landscape".

Next speaker was Dr Jenny Harries,  Regional director South of England for Public Health. For her  good health is good for business and the workforce. Public health is everyone's business. See the Marmot Review. Clear link with good employment and good health.  Poor employment and unemployment with poor health.  The affluent tend to retire without disability and live longer.

Stress is still the biggest cause of sickness. Companies with higher levels of staff engagement have 13% lower staff turnover, they have less than half the UK average sickness absence rate and consistently outperform on the FTSE 100 (reference Sunday Times : Best companies to work for in the UK).

I then had to leave for another meeting which is a shame since as a union safety rep I want to know more about "well being" at work as well as avoiding direct injuries and diseases. It is an area that I don't think the unions or the employers do anywhere near enough on.