Positive employment practices

Creating a healthy workplace culture can increase productivity, a 2019 study by The University of Oxford showed that a happy employee is 13% more productive. Investing in the promotion of good workplace wellbeing supports and engages employees.

There is no singular definition of wellbeing however the Waddell and Burton suggest that it is “the subjective state of healthy, happy, contented, comfortable and satisfied with ones quality of life. It includes physical, material, social, emotional (‘happiness’) and development and activity dimensions.” Due to the subjective nature of wellbeing a one size fits all approach is not necessarily going to be as effective as person-centred support.

The OECD measures for wellbeing include objective and subjective measures. Objective measures include income, physical, health, status, and educational resources. Subjective measures consider life perceptions and satisfaction. The categories and what they represent to individuals fluctuate based on life stages meaning that a state of good wellbeing is not permanent and will change based on a variety of factors.

Our employer hub provides tools and resources to help support the implementation of a meaningful and sustainable wellbeing strategy. Starting with the guide below, which will help you create a plan that will work for your organisation.