On Friday, April 12th Ireland will celebrate National Workplace Well-Being Day! Started by Ibec in 2015, the aim of the day is to promote health and well-being in Irish workplaces.
Why is Workplace Well-Being so important?
In 2018, Food & Drink Ireland commissioned a survey of over 1,000 Irish employees.
- 50% of Irish workers admit to being totally or extremely inactive midweek
- Only 25% say they exercise for the recommended 150 minutes per week
- 7 in 10 feel they should start consuming a healthier diet
- Whilst 4 in 10 believe they should take better care of their mental health
It would be remiss, based on these findings, to assume that employees are ‘fitting in’ well-being on the weekends. But therein lies the opportunity. Companies can, by embracing workplace well-being, have a very genuine, positive and significant effect on the physical and mental health of their employees.
Return On Investment
Studies suggest that workplace well-being programmes can:
- Create healthier and happier employees
- Reduce absenteeism
- In Ireland, we lose 11 million days, every year, to absenteeism (at a cost of €1.5bn)
- Healthy, engaged employees, however, are said to be up to 30 days more productive.
- Improve retention
- 2 in 3 employees said they are more likely to stay long term with an employer who is interested in their health and well-being. Over half said they would consider leaving an employer who wasn’t interested.
How you can get involved
One of the simplest ways to get involved with Workplace Well-Being Day is to participate in a ‘lunchtime mile’. Here, as implied by the name, you and your coworkers take a short walk together during lunch time.
Other ideas include on-site fitness classes (e.g. yoga), healthy team breakfasts, on-site seminars (on mindfulness or healthy eating), health screenings or even outdoor excursions (Team Rezoomo, for example, will be doing a hike through Gougan Barra).
Whatever you do, be sure to sign up for National Workplace Wellbeing Day, follow @WellbeingDayIRL and tweet your activities with #WorkWell19.
Remember: Workplace Well-being is for life!
Last but by no means least… it is important to remember that well-being is for life and not just for national holidays! Ideally, Workplace Well-Being Day should be viewed as the starting point (if not the continuation) of your wellness efforts for 2019. Ultimately, the best way to affirm your on-going commitment to your employee’s well-being is with a robust, long term wellness programme. 
