Arun team working for healthier businesses

The Arun Wellbeing Team hopes companies will make the healthy new year’s resolution for the sake of their staff, but with the added spin-off of boosting efficiency at the same time.

From January the team, funded by the NHS, will be encouraging businesses across Arun to develop healthy workplaces through increasing exercise of employees, supporting them to become smoke-free, tackling alcohol issues, reducing stress and increasing the general wellbeing of staff.

Incentives to do this include offering start-up money for a health at work idea, a free wellbeing adviser service and free entry to a workplace tournament if it’s their first time. The Wellbeing team can also support managers by providing information on health and wellbeing and signposting to other services that can help.

Wellbeing project development officer Vicki Reynolds is also offering free cook and eat workshops to demonstrate how to make healthy lunch alternatives, and free NHS health checks can be arranged for companies where staff can have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked on site or at a local venue.

Vicki said: “The workplace has a powerful effect on the health of employees in many ways. How healthy a person feels affects his or her productivity and how satisfied they are with their job affects their own health, both physically and psychologically.

“We know that there is a direct link between healthy employees and happy, motivated employees, where management and employee relations are better and sickness and absenteeism levels are less, and where staff turnover decreases as do business insurance costs.

“It’s a win, win situation. Healthy employees simply make great business sense.”

For more information, contact Vicki on 01903 737865 or e-mail [email protected]