The 7th annual MAD World Summit

Eighty-two percent of employers say they currently record sickness absence, a marginal improvement on the 80% that said the same in 2023 but not as many as the 85% who recorded sickness in 2022. According to this new research¹ from GRiD, the industry body for the group risk sector, 69% record the impact of sickness absence, which is a significant increase on 59% in 2023 and 63% in 2022. However, a third (27%) of employers currently do not record the impact of sickness absence.

While acknowledging the complexities of the task, GRiD believes that not collating either of these datasets represents a missed opportunity to better support staff with effective health and wellbeing benefits.

The research also found that employers believe that recording sickness absence has become more difficult due to hybrid working, with nearly three quarters (72%) of employers agreeing that working from home can mask sickness absence.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said: “Hybrid working has certainly had an impact on employers’ ability to record sickness absence and its impact: the marginal improvements in 2024’s data shows that it looks like employers are making a conscious effort to get better at collecting this data. However, nearly a fifth are still not keeping tabs on the number of days their employees have off work, and nearly thirty per cent of employers are not tracking the impact of sick days – both a prerequisite for managing absence and running an efficient business.”

If employers know why staff are off sick, they can address those absences with targeted support, be that for mental health, musculoskeletal or other, as well as by providing assistance to line managers with whom absentees are in day-to-day contact. In addition, the process of managing sickness absence can highlight any trends, such as significant absences in a particular department, location, or within a specific role or function that can then be improved with effective intervention.

Recording the impact of absence

Of those businesses who do understand the benefit of documenting the impact of staff sickness, the most favoured measure was calculating the cost of sick pay provision (e.g. Statutory Sick Pay and salary costs) (49%), followed by calculating the cost of lost time (48%) and lost productivity (47%). Forty-six percent measure indirect costs, such as colleagues covering work, learning time, and management time, and 36% measure direct costs such as for temps and agency fees.

What support is available to employers and employees?

Support for sickness absence may take a number of forms, and GRiD suggests that employee benefits advisers can play a key role in helping employers understand what support is available, as providers continually develop supportive services aimed at helping with vocational rehabilitation and getting people back to work, as well as online health and wellbeing support and apps. Advisers and providers may also offer additional bespoke support such as wellness days and webinars which can be hugely beneficial in opening the eyes of staff to the support they can access.

With employers now having a legal obligation to tell staff about their entitlement to sick pay on day one or before², many employers will want to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate what other health and wellbeing benefits they offer their employees. 

How can group risk benefits help?

As well as providing financial support should an employee be unable to work for an extended period of time, group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness) also offer a variety of support for physical and mental health concerns and also for other non-health matters that can also cause employees to be absent, such as dealing with finances, relationships, legal and family matters.

Katharine Moxham concluded: “There is a great deal of value in absence data for those employers who harness it effectively. That means collecting and analysing the raw numbers to identify the staff who are off work now, in order to be proactive in preventing future absence, as well as understanding the impact of that absence. Forewarned is forearmed when it comes to reducing absence.”

1 – Employer research was undertaken by Opinium from 9-16 January 2024 among 500 HR decision-makers at UK businesses.

2 – The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1378)

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On Sunday, 27 October, the UK returned to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), giving many an extra hour in bed. However, the shift also brings shorter days and darker evenings, which can significantly impact mental health, productivity, and overall wellbeing.

Top tips for managing seasonal changes

Dr. Rachael Molitor, Chartered Psychologist and lecturer at Coventry University, shares her top tips for managing the effects of the seasonal change if you’re struggling during this time of year:

• Express your feelings: Talking with friends, family, or a healthcare professional can reduce feelings of isolation.
• Stay active: Regular exercise can elevate mood and boost energy levels.
• Maximise daylight: Exposure to natural light or light therapy supports mood regulation—spending more time outdoors during daylight hours helps the body adapt.
• Keep a routine and practice mindfulness: These habits improve emotional stability and promote quality sleep.

Additional self-care strategies

For more self-care strategies to support mental health during the darker, colder months, check out “5 Self Care Tips for Seasonal Affective Disorder This Autumn” by Heather Kelly, published on our website. This article offers practical guidance on maintaining emotional well-being as the days grow shorter. From using light lamps and staying active to embracing gratitude and nourishing your body with key nutrients, these insights provide a helpful complement to Dr. Rachael Molitor’s expert tips. Together, they offer a range of ways to boost resilience and maintain balance through the seasonal changes.

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder

Another article by Compeed published on our website highlights how Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects around 2 million people in the UK each winter, leading to symptoms like depression, sleep difficulties, and lethargy as days become shorter and darker. This seasonal mood decline can also trigger physical responses, such as reactivating the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and causing cold sore flare-ups. To help maintain mental health and potentially reduce the risk of cold sores this winter, the team at Compeed has compiled practical tips for managing stress and supporting well-being during the colder months.

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It can be a real struggle to engage employees in the topic of Health & Wellbeing, and encourage them to dedicate time to learning, as identified at MAD World 2024 as one of the major issues in the sector.

As discussed in this feature, while the government and industry appear to be on the same wavelength when it comes to a preventative approach to employee Health & Wellbeing, many individual employees are currently less convinced. This is reflected in low engagement rates across the board, which many delegates talked about in the informal conversations between sessions.

Alarming statistics show need for Health & Wellbeing support

However, the many alarming statistics quoted about rising rates of mental health problems, causing people to drop out of the workforce, would suggest that employees desperately need help managing their emotional wellbeing.

The fact that employees often don’t seek help until they’re at crisis point – when it’s harder, more expensive and more time consuming to recover – would also suggest there is a worrying knowledge gap that needs filled. But how do we convince them of the benefit of filling it?

Personalisation & better buying of services

In this article we also discussed potential ways to engage employees more effectively. We touched on personalising interventions, getting better at buying personalised and quality solutions at a corporate level, and getting into the ‘beginner’s’ mindset of employees, who often have far less knowledge than professionals in the industry.

Here are three other suggestions discussed at MAD World for engaging employees more effectively in Health & Wellbeing campaigns and resources.

1. Focus first on increasing ‘health literacy’ of employees

“The basic foundation of mental health is literacy,” said Dr Nicola Eccles, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at On Wellbeing, at MAD World. “But what we’ve done [as an industry] is go straight into the solutions that are not that relatable, or relevant, to most people. We all know the lingo. We know what we’re talking about. We’re really switched on to health, wellness and mental health. The average person is not.”

She likens the situation to presenting employees with a chess set and asking them to play chess, telling them it’s good for them, when they’ve never played before. 

“It’s puzzling and irrelevant. And if you’re at work and something feels puzzling and irrelevant, and it’s not actually going to affect your wage, then there’s other things you are going to do,” she said.

The problem here is not the solutions per se. As Dr Eccles says, many organisations have fantastic resources available but they just aren’t landing with employees.

“I’ve talked to so many different organisations who are trying so hard to make something stick, but it isn’t,” she added.

In order for it to ‘stick’ better, employees have to really understand the topic so they understand the benefit to them. As Dr Eccles said, many employees still have “blinkers on” when it comes to mental health and others don’t understand why mental health is now being talked about so much at work.

“The issue is that we haven’t ever stopped and really helped them to get more literate around the subject. That’s what we need to do,” she said.

As a starting point for this, she suggests explaining that, rather than a confusing “anomaly”, having good mental health is actually about acquiring a set of skills which will be extremely useful in life, personally and professionally. Talking in practical, concrete terms rather than theoretical or intangible language will help boost understanding.

“All the research shows,” said Dr Eccles. “That when we increase mental health literacy, it predicts help-seeking attitudes. That means you’ll increase footfall to your existing provisions.”

2. Embed Health & Wellbeing in work, and leverage AI

One of the solutions which delegates shared had helped with engagement was making Health & Wellbeing a normalised part of the working day. 

Some speakers and delegates, for example, talked about integrating conversations about Health and Wellbeing into catch-ups with line managers. “So basically this ensures that this kind of literacy is part of the culture, rather than about doing one-off training or using a tool the company provides,” said Dr Eccles.

Others talked about taking five minutes at the start of a group meeting to talk about a particular theme, or even do a breathing exercise together. Again, introducing this kind of thing prematurely without doing the groundwork around the benefits and increasing health literacy, could result in employees dismissing it as irrelevant, puzzling or even ridiculous. 

To get over this, speaker Reeva Misra, Founder and CEO of Walking on Earth (WONE) in her session on ‘Bringing measurement to prevent epmloyee burnout’, said it’s useful to put the data into the employee’s hands. She actually started off her MAD World session by getting the audience to do a breathing exercise together, which she calls a ”micromoment”. 

Even though I am fully bought-in to practical tools like this, I admit I felt slightly uncomfortable standing up to do this in a conference setting because it’s not (yet) “normal” behaviour. However, she said once employees see the physiological impact of small but frequent interventions like this, they start to change their minds:

“If you have a wearable device, we can show you how your heart rate has changed from the beginning to the end of the exercise. On average we see a 10% reduction in heart rate, even for an exercise as short as two minutes. What often surprises people is how building in these moments of recovery into a stressful day doesn’t require hours of practice or training to move from a heightened physiological state to a calmer one.”

She argued that the advancements in AI can help hugely in putting the power in the individual’s hands – literally – for managing their stress and preventing burnout. By monitoring their body’s reactions to situations, employees will then be able to take preventative or balancing action. You don’t need to convince them either – the data does this by itself.

“We’re at a really interesting time in history where we’re able to proactively measure our health with the proliferation of wearables,” she said. “We’re now at a place where it is possible to measure our health preventatively.”

WONE then combines self-reported and physiological data around stress with contextual data, making it possible to identify what interventions are actually relieving employees’ stress, as well as what triggers stress in their working environments.

“We then use that data to draw new insights to help individuals better understand their own levels of stress, but also help them with personalised recommendations so that they can improve their stress over time,” she said.

3. Create cultural change at industry level

It’s incredibly difficult for one company, no matter how well-meaning it is, to change their culture completely if they operate within a wider, toxic industry culture. In this case, the most effective action you can potentially take is to join forces with other companies (yes, potentially your competitors, which are most likely to share your goal) and instigate change on a higher level.

The legal industry is doing this with its Mindful Business Charter. MAD World hosted a particular discussion on this in relation to “humanising” one of the most notoriously cut-throat areas of law, litigation. 

Speakers talked openly about the traditional culture of sending aggressive legal letters at 5.30pm on a Friday, known colloquially as the “Friday night special”. This is a tactic purposely meant to ruin the recipient’s weekend, but is also not a very life-affirming action for the sender to experience, either.

Changing this kind of ingrained culture ultimately comes down to individuals taking individual actions which collectively become a powerful, accessible alternative way to behave.

Naomi Pryde, Partner and Head of Litigation, Regulation & Arbitration, Scotland, DLA Piper LLP, was part of the team that co-created the litigation guidance, as part of the Charter, which applies to all forms of dispute resolution. As a result of doing this, she has changed her behaviour by, for example, considering more carefully what letters she is prepared to put her name to.

“Sometimes people will write letters in your name. An associate recently came to me with a letter, and I said: ‘I can’t sign that. I can’t put my name to that. That is unnecessarily aggressive, and that isn’t going to take us where we need to be’,” she said. 

“I am mindful of the objectives of the Charter and what I’m now putting my name to, so it’s definitely affected and influenced what I am prepared to sign off.”

She will now look, too, to see if the opposing legal firm that she’s liaising with has also signed the Mindful Business Charter. If it has, she will sometimes phone them and say:

“I noticed that you’re also a signatory of the Mindful Business Charter. Are you aware of the litigation guidance? Do you want to agree some rules of engagement? Often people are happy to do that.”

That might mean that although the court timetable stipulates correspondence be sent by 4pm on a Friday, firms can agree to exchange it by noon on Thursday, to give all parties time to absorb the information before the weekend.

But behaviour change on this scale is a slow burn and will require persistent, patient perseverance. As Pryde said, sometimes a firm is a signatory but “they are not living by the principles”, which is obviously frustrating but also an inevitable part of the change process.

However, by virtue of having the Charter in the first place, it begins a discussion point and plants a seed in everyone’s mind, even though some minds will take longer to change than others.

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In response to the rising need for inclusive workplaces, Oktra has launched its latest report, The Inclusive Workplace Design Report. Based on an in-depth survey of 1,000 full-time UK employees, this report highlights the demand for workplaces that foster inclusivity, revealing the direct impact of design on productivity, engagement, and job satisfaction.

Why inclusivity matters in today’s workplace

As hybrid work becomes the standard, businesses face heightened expectations to provide environments that accommodate everyone’s needs. Despite a general awareness of inclusivity’s importance, Oktra’s report indicates a considerable gap between employee expectations and the reality of most current workspaces.

Key findings

The report identifies five crucial insights into workplace inclusivity:

1. Employee perceptions of inclusivity: The findings shed light on how UK employees define and experience inclusivity, showcasing its various interpretations and personal significance.
2. Critical elements of inclusive design: By outlining the essential elements that support inclusivity, Oktra provides guidance on designing spaces that genuinely serve all employees.
3. Barriers to inclusivity: Common obstacles that hinder productivity and employee well-being are explored, from physical layout limitations to accessibility issues and environmental factors.
4. Impact on talent: The report examines how inclusivity affects a company’s ability to attract and retain talent, underscoring inclusivity as a pivotal factor in employee satisfaction.
5. Actionable recommendations: Oktra suggests practical steps for enhancing inclusivity, offering actionable strategies for organisations to bridge the gap between employee expectations and actual workplace conditions.

The path forward: a holistic approach to design

Oktra’s report advocates for a holistic approach that goes beyond aesthetics, focusing on employees’ lived experiences to cultivate an engaging and supportive work environment. This perspective encourages companies to consider inclusivity as a key component of workspace design, leading to improved engagement, well-being, and productivity.

To gain more insights, download Oktra’s Inclusive Workplace Design Report and discover actionable steps to create workplaces that truly support all employees.

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If you missed last week’s MAD World Festival of Workplace Culture, Employee Health & Wellbeing, or you simply want to revisit the content, we’ve put together a page of the presentations that we have permission to share, along with links to useful resources here.

We’ve had fantastic feedback to the event. Here are just some highlights gathered from posts on LinkedIn.

Judith Grant, Workplace Wellbeing Strategist and Consultant said:

What a great day at Make A Difference Summits! Another superb line up.

I especially enjoyed the panel debate hosted by Dame Carol Black. I was totally on the side of Peter Cheese, Dr Clare Fernandes MFOM and Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher who were arguing (if we had to choose a side) that institutional change beats individual interventions in achieving a healthy, happy workforce. Of course in reality we need a combination of both but the discussion was so entertaining and the arguments from both sides compelling. For me a strategic wellbeing approach always come back to the design and organisation of work, and more broadly the institutional systems and processes we operate in.

Jo Yarker, Professor of Organisational Psychology, Birkbeck University of London said:

Thank you Make A Difference Summits for an enriching day. It was wonderful to join Nick Pahl, Steve Iley (from Jaguar Land Rover) and Elton Dorkin (from Rio Tinto) for a panel discussion focused on empowering organisations to make informed decisions when purchasing wellbeing products and services.

Key takeaways from our discussion included:

• Leveraging evidence-based frameworks to navigate the complex array of available solutions.
• Embracing all wellbeing ideas from within the organisation to foster relationships that strengthen the foundation for your strategy.
• Addressing the gaps in public health provision to enhance the wellbeing of not only our working-age population but also our global communities.

Thank you to all who attended and contributed to this vital conversation on improving workplace wellbeing.

Max Brown, Workplace Wellbeing & Performance Strategist, Arthur Ellis said:

Loved going to my first Make A Difference Summits yesterday. Brilliant conversations and people buzzing around all day, 5 biggest takeaways for me:

1. To normalise neurodiversity, tailored environments must be created for neurodiverse individuals. This gets their unique talents and thinking stimulated – how are their needs being met along with the wider neurotypical workforce – what are your biases as an individual and how can you limit those – use ‘manual of me’?
2. True and lasting wellbeing change comes from institutional led programmes which drives a healthy, tailored ecosystem for individuals to learn, change and be well more often than not
3. Workload seen as the biggest issue in workplace which is unlikely to change, so we must change HOW work is done. How much engagement there is, how we lead, how we engage, how we work, how we surround ourselves, how we communicate
4. Financial wellbeing’s impact centres on how benefits are communicated to us – create dashboards, create networks – ‘share, dont delegate’
5. Create access to networks for neurodiverse individuals – ERG’s and connect people through lived experience – personalise each person’s work experience through larger groups and space for people to share & connect

What were your key takeaways from the day? We’d love to know. Please send them to info@makeadifference.events or join the conversation on LinkedIn.

The aim of the inaugural Construction Summit at last week’s MAD World Festival of Workplace Culture, Employee Health and Wellbeing, was to bring together sector leaders to facilitate collaboration and innovation, amplifying initiatives designed to build positive mental health for workers in construction – a sector that has a reputation that is less than positive on mental health.

The Summit drew together diverse voices from across construction, and beyond, to discuss the key issues facing the sector, with a particular focus on improving the impact of work to support the mental health of workers.

Panellists shared examples of how organisations can embed preventative and proactive approaches, with a goal of ensuring that no-one reaches crisis point and talking about mental health becomes normalised.

Lessons from the leaders

The Summit, whose focus was ‘Building better mental health and wellbeing across construction’s workforces’, was a partnership between MAD World (leaders in employee mental health and wellbeing events since 2018) and Mates in Mind (a mental health charity focusing on construction, transport and logistics and related sectors).

One delegate wrote, “So inspiring to be in the same room as so many people committed to making positive change to improve the mental health & wellbeing of people in the construction industry. Thank you Sam Downie and all the team at Mates in Mind for creating a space for such open dialogue and sharing of best practice.”

The Summit, which took place in London on 17 October, included a list of highly respected speakers from across the construction sector and mental health.

Key takeaways

During the Summit, Anne Hayes (Director of Sectors and Standards Development, BSI) talked about the new standard relating to suicide prevention that they are developing.

New research on how large construction companies can best support their supply chains was introduced by the lead researcher Professor Carla Toro (Associate Professor, Warwick University), who was joined on the panel by some of the organisations who are sponsoring the research, including Balfour Beatty, Sir Robert McAlpine, The Crown Estate, Mace and the Department for Business and Trade. 

Jim Beestone (Health, Safety & Wellbeing Project Manager, Balfour Beatty) commented on his highlights from fellow panellists, “The first was by David Bucksley: “we will only succeed in tackling mental ill health if we leave ego at the door”. He was bang on the money. In a world of competing initiatives, of personal biases, beliefs, and lived experiences, it’s vital to understand that none of us has the solution on our own, and that it will take a concerted effort by us all to move the dial in the industry.

The second was by Kari Sprostranova – “It isn’t enough to raise awareness anymore”. She was equally spot-on.” He continued, “The problem is not that we’ve not had an impact, it’s that the impact isn’t going far enough fast enough to make the sort of change we need to see. And the change we need to see isn’t a change in how we tackle mental health, it’s a change in the way we do business as an industry.”

Steve Hails (Director of Business Services and HSW, Tideway) who participated in the panel on what excellent organisational mental wellbeing looks like, shared that: “I’ve been quoted many times in the past saying that for too long we’ve whispered ‘Health’ and shouted ‘Safety’ and we need to see much more parity between the two. Also, we need to hit home that this is also about improving productivity and adding to the bottom line; if you’ve got a happier workforce, you’ve got a more productive and efficient one too.”

Reflecting on the day, Marc Preston (CEO Vertice Development Management and New Foundation Counselling) said, “The Summit brought together some of the foremost industry thought leaders tasked with paving the way for improved mental health in construction. There is still a long way to go, but resulting from the successful summit, the retrospective reviews of the past, can more readily morph into an agenda for action for specific change.”

Insights into action

Each panel discussion included the sharing of insights, expertise, personal experiences, best practice and practical tips that the delegates could implement within their own organisations.

In her closing speech, Sam Downie (Managing Director, Mates in Mind) called on those attending to commit to collaboration on the shared goal of making working in construction good for workers. Looking ahead to the future of work, Sam highlighted some of the challenges facing the sector in attracting and retaining new workers, as well as supporting current workers, that are going to require sector-wide change. Reminding all that Mates in Mind have set out an ambitious strategy to take a leading role in delivering those initiatives over the next three years.

“We knew that by joining up with MAD World, we could reach more organisations, and individuals. Working together with organisations we can build positive mental health in and through work, therefore creating a more mentally resilient sector with the aim of preventing anyone else from reaching the point of crisis. We hope that the delegates found the sessions informative, and they left with energy and examples to create environments for positive mental health within their own organisations, as well as their supply chains.” Sam Downie (Managing Director, Mates in Mind).

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MAD World 2024 last week reflected the rapid, positive pace of change in the sector, with both the government and businesses increasingly demonstrating their genuine commitment to tackling employee Health & Wellbeing. 

Speakers from both industry and government were particularly aligned on their desire to move towards a culture of prevention, rather than one where individuals only get help when they’ve reached crisis point.

Insider’s view of government

Delegates were treated to a fascinating insider’s view of the government’s ambitions around mental health, in particular, by closing keynote speaker and Former MP Luciana Berger. Berger is currently undertaking a full mental health strategy review, at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s request, with a remit to look at what more workplaces can do “to keep people well”. 

“I’d say politically now, we have an interest in this area like we’ve never seen before,” she said, adding she welcomed the announcement that the government is going to introduce a new Mental Health Act over the next 12-18 months, which she said is “long overdue”.

“Wider and deeper” interest politically

As evidence of heightened government interest, she gave the example of the recent party conferences she attended. Last year the main topic of interest was “everything to do with planning around towns and homes being built” but this year there was “a wider and deeper interest politically” in what the government should be doing to tackle issues, like employees being out of work due to mental ill health.

“And these discussions weren’t just confined to the Department of Work and Pensions,” she said. “I’m very encouraged by the response so far I’ve had across government.”

But she underlined that, in the current challenging economic climate, “partnership with industry” is going to be crucial. And all the signs at MAD World were that delegates are taking this responsibility more seriously than ever. For instance, the conference opened with a keynote debate on whether the responsibility for employee Health & Wellbeing lies most with the individual or the institution. Overwhelmingly, the delegates voted for it being predominantly the institution’s.

The government is paying more attention

CIPD Chief Executive Peter Cheese was leading the argument for the employer’s responsibility, saying it was an “economic and moral case, as well as a social case and a business case”. He also argued that the fact the “government is paying more attention” should be heeded by industry as a sign of where regulation is headed.

“The new Employment Rights Bill has certainly put indicators in there about expectation and support around Wellbeing,” he said. “We are seeing a demand for greater visibility of what organisations are doing in this regard. This is about responsible business and creating good work for people and Wellbeing is an absolute fundamental of that as we design the future of work.”

But, while government and industry appear to be on the same wavelength when it comes to employee wellbeing and believing in its value, it seems there is a sticking point: the individual employees themselves. 

Prevention can’t be achieved without individual employee buy-in

For, while companies can provide all the resources and follow the government’s advice or regulation to the letter, they can’t achieve prevention of ill health without engagement from the individual; Wellbeing can’t be ‘done’ to employees, they have to be active agents.

And, from what delegates were gravitating to talking about in their informal conversations between MAD World sessions, many employees are not buying into the corporate wellbeing messages. Delegates spoke of their frustration at low engagement rates, and how they felt at a loss about how to persuade employees that it’s worth taking time out of their schedules to invest in their Health & Wellbeing. 

Some talked of very vocal “pushbacks” and resentment towards mandatory training. Others bemoaned that employees failed to see how Health & Wellbeing is relevant to their jobs, preferring to focus on tasks which relate to how they are evaluated in performance reviews. 

Don’t see Health & Wellbeing as relevant to them

Yet others talked of employees who felt it just wasn’t relevant to them (because they’re ‘fine’, not recognising they could be better, see this feature for more on that theme). Some talked about cultural issues for some employees around not wanting to discuss details they perceive as personal at work. 

Clearly, the message that good wellbeing leads to better performance and profits – which any professional working in this sector knows to be true, and is scientifically proven – is getting lost in translation to employees.

This was particularly true of ‘hard to reach’ employees, which were discussed in On Wellbeing’s business breakfast briefing, including workers such as fee earners, shift workers and factory employees.

Employers need to provide space for learning

Dr Nicola Eccles, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at On Wellbeing, who led the briefing, concluded:

“I believe that it’s the employer’s responsibility to support the learning tools and the space for learning. But you can’t make anybody do anything. So the individual has to think that it relates to them. That’s why you have to be able to let people do it in their own time, in their own space. They shouldn’t ‘have’ to attend something, or feel uncomfortable.”

The fact is that Health & Wellbeing isn’t a tick box solution. It can’t be. An employee can’t turn up to a training course and then be ‘well’ or, if they’re a line manager, know how to manage their team’s wellbeing overnight. The truth is that achieving good wellbeing is hard, managing others’ is arguably harder, and it often takes patience, perseverance, consistency, motivation and discipline…which means you have to be fully bought in to why you are doing it. 

Behaviour change happens at an individual level

Dhavani Bishop, Head of Group Colleague Health and Wellbeing at Tesco, talked about this in her session at MAD World, saying that “health habits that improve the productivity in a workplace usually happen outside of the workplace, where the individual is in control”. She cited examples like sleep, diet, exercise and relationships, adding “health habits are probably one of the hardest habits to change”.

She continued:

“Change requires an individual to do some soul searching about their reasons for change. They need to think about what a lifelong commitment and sustained motivation looks like. And, in today’s world, we’ve got lots of distractions and temptations. Yes, we’ve got wellbeing tools as well. But that can be overwhelming.”

Like Dr Eccles, she proposed that organisations can help “motivate, engage and provide individual interventions” but ultimately change happens at an individual level.

Need “bespoke support”

Nevertheless, Bishop did identify something that organisations can do to more effectively to motivate individuals to change and that’s “bespoke support”; tailoring the solution to the employee so it is highly relevant to their particular needs and has a proven track record.

These were key points touched upon in other sessions, too. Kirstin Furber, People Director at Channel 4 plugged for personalisation in her panel debate arguing “it’s all about tailoring it for the individual”:

“When interventions are tailored to an individual, they can make a fantastic difference to their lives. But we all have different expectations of what a healthy wellbeing culture is. Only the individual can experience it and say ‘yes, this is what I believe to be a healthy environment’. It’s very personal so companies must engage on an individual level.”

Evidence based interventions

Berger also touched on this topic, saying another theme of her review is “evidence based interventions”.

“There are too many examples of the public sector, and the private sector, spending money on programmes that sound very nice but that have no evidence base whatsoever. There are some studies showing they are not actually helpful or, in some cases, even making situations worse.”

Clearly if an employer is investing in solutions which the employee perceives, or experiences, as ineffective, irrelevant or unhelpful, then this will cause them to view Health & Wellbeing as a waste of their time and not worth engaging with. They will likely share their opinion with colleagues, too, because humans tend to share their bad experiences with companies more than their good.

Better buying of provision needed

That’s why part of solving this puzzle must include better corporate buying of individual interventions and programmes. Steve IIey, Chief Medical Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, talked about this in his session at MAD World. He hit home the message that employers must get more savvy about buying and really think about whether what they are being offered “really fits the overall strategy”.

He also underlined that part of getting employee buy-in is down to buying quality interventions warning that “you get what you pay for”:

“If you cut costs, you will get a cut cost service. The great majority of providers are trying to give you the best output but if you cut their costs, they will cut the service to you. We’ve had lots of discussions with our procurement department about how buying wellbeing services is not like buying widgets. The cheapest is not the best. It’s been an education process.”

Education process

Indeed, it seems the main challenge at this point for the industry is to embrace the education process on all fronts. MAD World hosted a huge amount of expertise, including speakers and delegates alike, and, if anything, what is now required is pulling back to basics when it comes to engaging employees. 

In fact, perhaps what is actually required here is for industry professionals to tap into a well known mindfulness technique called ‘beginner’s mind’, in order to really understand where employees are coming from; to put themselves back in the shoes of someone without so much knowledge and invested belief in Health & Wellbeing. 

This is about dropping the ‘expert mind’ and instead seeing the topic with completely fresh eyes and an open mind.

As Zen Monk Shunryu Suzuki said:

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”

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Stigma surrounding neurodevelopmental condition Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is leading to many women and non-binary people living with the condition feeling they must hide their diagnosis in the workplace. This is according to a new survey initiated and funded by pharmaceutical company Takeda for the Staring Back at Me campaign.

The Staring Back at Me campaign is a disease awareness campaign initiated and funded by Takeda in the UK together with four UK ADHD organisations: ADHD Foundation, Centre for ADHD and Autism Support, ADHD Solutions, and ADDISS.

96% of people surveyed living with ADHD in the UK said they are reluctant to bring up their diagnosis in the workplace. 73% said this was due to fear of judgement and 49% thought it could be used
against them, potentially as a barrier to promotion.

Even though ADHD affects an estimated 2.6 million people in the UK, over two thirds of those surveyed
think people with ADHD are at a disadvantage in the workplace. This figure is even higher for non-
binary people, at 93%.

83% of women and 79% of non-binary people surveyed believed there’s a stigma associated with ADHD. Women tend to be diagnosed later in life, which adds to the stigma. It can therefore lead women to mask
their symptoms and hide how they are truly feeling from those around them.

Professor Amanda Kirby, Chair of the ADHD Foundation said: “When a workplace is supportive and aware of women with ADHD traits, it allows those with the condition to unmask and be their true selves. This opens the door to employers gaining the benefits from new ways of thinking and new ideas. We hope this latest research by Takeda can support employers to take action to create a more inclusive workplace for all.”

To bring the issue to life, Takeda teamed up with Savile Row tailor, Gormley and Gamble, and Illustrator
Ana Jaks to create unique suit jackets that represent the invisible nature of ADHD in the workplace. On
the outside, the suit looks like any other, but the illustrations in the silk lining tell the story of the two
ambassadors wearing them, Kim To and Jenny Mclaughlin.

Specifically, the illustrations focus on their experience of living with ADHD at work. From time-blindness to hyperfocus; masking and daydreaming; the symbolism throughout each illustration shows the complexity of living with the condition at work.

Jenny Mclaughlin, Staring Back at Me campaign ambassador said: “I hope other women with ADHD do not fear being seen. I hope this campaign and my story shows the strengths someone with ADHD can bring to the workplace. All we need is the right environment and support to thrive.”

Suggested solutions

Several solutions were also suggested within the new survey. Three quarters (75%) of women surveyed
and 79% of non-binary people surveyed think increased awareness of ADHD and symptoms is needed in
the workplace to improve inclusivity for those with ADHD. They also said staff culture is key (53%) for
women and 48% believe personalised career paths should be created to match the person and their
specific needs.

By following these insights and using available resources to improve workplace practices for neurodivergent employees, or prospective employees, it is possible for employers to help combat the
stigma people with the condition feel and create a working environment where women and non-binary
people feel included and supported.

Dr. Simon Meadowcroft – Medical Director, Takeda UK & Ireland explained: “Employers in the UK have increased their efforts to provide a supportive environment for neurodivergent women and non-binary people, but more still needs to be done. People with ADHD bring huge strengths to the workplace such as new ways of thinking and creativity, to name just two. The Staring Back at Me campaign continues to raise awareness of the symptoms of ADHD in women and non-binary people and provides employers with the resources and tools they need.”

You can visit the Staring Back at Me website www.staringbackatme.org.uk to read more about the
creation of the suits, watch the documentary film and seek workplace resources.

References

• The Staring Back at Me ADHD survey on the experiences of women and non-binary individuals. 2024. Data on file.
• ADHD UK. What is ADHD? Available at: What is ADHD – About ADHD (adhduk.co.uk) [last accessed October 2024]
• Young, S., Adamo, N., Ásgeirsdóttir, B.B. et al. Females with ADHD: An expert consensus statement taking a lifespan approach providing guidance for the identification and treatment of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in girls and women. BMC Psychiatry 20, 404 (2020) [last accessed October 2024].​
• Walters, A. (2018), Girls with ADHD: Underdiagnosed and untreated. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. 34(11):8-8. [last accessed October 2024]. ​
• NHS. (2021) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/. (Accessed October 2024)

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‘Workers should be given two weeks off work for their bereavement. They should still be paid while they are away. This leave should cover bereavement of close relationships this could be family,  a friend, someone you know well’. UK Commission on Bereavement 2022  

The Commission also reported: 

• 33% of respondents wanted to access bereavement services but indicated no support was available.
• 37% said they didn’t know how to access support.
• Over 40% of those who wanted formal bereavement support did not get any.

Good grief support

I spend my days with organisations who really care and their members of staff who are fully supported in grief.   The reason I am brought in to talk with them, is that they are willing to go the extra mile for their people, in order not to lose them and to mitigate the impact on the wider teams around them.   

An astonishing number of my private clients have actually left their companies and moved elsewhere, due to the lack of support they experienced through bereavement.  It is easier for them to start again where their grief is not known and they are not met by silence.

Surely this is a minority issue?

You may think we’re talking about a small number of people living with grief in any company, but UK National bereavement charity Cruse, estimates that for each death six people experience intense grief.

While for some bereavements the period of grieving may be very brief; losing a close friend, partner or member of the family can have a deep impact, both physically, and psychologically. Taking into account the number of deaths in the UK each year, and employment rates, bereavement causes nearly two million working people to suffer from intense grief each year, alongside those still grieving from a bereavement in previous years.

Grief and loss affect us all.  When we go through a major bereavement, serious diagnosis, divorce or a major break up, or workplace change; our axis shifts in the world we know and we somehow have to find the strength to learn to live and work again when everything around us feels altered. 

It is understandable that Leaders avoid the topic of grief – I have heard many times that they feel opening up a discussion will derail staff and prevent them from working!  My discoveries over the last 24 years of working in this field are entirely different.

How long is long enough?

Firstly there can be no one size fits all. Whilst we ideally need guidelines on a minimum offering (it is now 2 weeks legal requirement for a bereaved parent who fits certain criteria but there is no legal requirement for any other category of bereavement), Management and HR Teams need to be well educated in having the difficult conversations.  

They need to find out about the loss, dig deep and find out exactly what is needed; to understand that many staff want to be at work, for fear of losing their job, and also because it offers community, purpose and structure, a focus and diversion for their grieving brains. But they will need support. 

Some companies have a longer offering (even up to six months) and regret having that because they feel people are ‘taking advantage of it’. 

But unless managers and HR teams are prepared to be face to face with someone to have a conversation about their grief, with knowledge and empathy, they will not be able to gauge what is the right amount of time for that person and how to ease them back into work in the right way. 

It is all down to good communication and grief education. 

Case study:

I was approached by one Head of HR, who was worried about a member of staff who had not taken enough time off and they felt the person was struggling.  They urged them to take a month off and brought me in. 

When I undertook a couple of support sessions with the member of staff, and addressed the work issue, they didn’t want to take that much time because work offered structure, purpose and a framework on which to start to rebuild a broken life. They were also worried about losing their job, their clients and letting their team down. So together we looked at what might help. 

It turned out they had a house to clear and a lot of ‘sadmin’ to do but in their current mental state it clearly wasn’t a good idea to go to the house alone. Friends had offered help which had not yet been accepted.  So I suggested that they ask each friend who had offered support to take a day off work.  And every other week on 6 occasions, they had a Friday as compassionate leave.

By taking a friend each time, the house was gradually cleared, and an immense pressure was both shared and lifted. The team around the member of staff were happy, as were their clients and it was an easy solution. That alone eased this person’s life and it was as simple as that; talking about it and working out what was actually needed.  And a month’s compassionate leave became 6 days!

What can we do?

In the workplace, the most powerful form of support is checking in. Having a grief ally is a good idea, to check in over the weeks, months and years following the loss, and find out how they are doing ‘today’, perhaps using a score of 10.

It might be 2 on one day because they have been particularly triggered by something, or they have experienced the first time of doing something in the first year. Another day, for no reason at all, they may feel stronger. Grief ebbs and flows, it is non-linear and messy.   

Help should be on offer too in the form of tailor made grief guidance – not an inexperienced person asking questions from a checklist – which is something I keep hearing from my clients!  They need a therapist or coach with expertise in managing grief. 

The companies I work with tend to offer three sessions paid for by the company and those can take place when the individual feels ready. If they would like to carry on with support, I talk with the HR or People Team to see if they can offer more, or the individual can carry on seeing me privately. For a loss such as a partner or child, more sessions might be needed. I am often called for a top-up session, usually when a birthday or anniversary is approaching. 

By offering grief education we can address all staff, initially in the form of a ‘Lunch and Learn’ style talk covering topics such as the physical effects of grief, language around loss, time passing, continuing bonds not closure, having a good grief toolkit and opening up conversation. I also host panels for organisations with staff sharing their personal stories; what has helped them and what hasn’t.  How it has been for them going back to work. These panels and talks act as a powerful bridge for others to know they can access help and to open up healthy conversations, promoting a feeling of community and belonging at work.  

Note: National Grief Awareness Week is 2nd to 8th December 2024 and offers a useful way for companies to open up the topic of grief with their staff. 

About the author: 

Lizzie Pickering is a Speaker, Grief Investigator, Author and Film Producer. She offers Grief Guidance to organisations and individuals, educating people about grief and helping them back to life and work following major losses, from bereavement, to diagnosis, divorce and workplace change.  Her book When Grief Equals Love is available from bookshops, plus Kindle, Audible and other listening platforms.

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