Health@Work’s Workplace Wellbeing Charter redesigned for the modern workplace
The nationally recognised award has been relaunched this year with a new framework to reflect the most up to date working practices.
Devised initially in partnership with Public Health England and launched nationally in 2014, the Workplace Wellbeing Charter has supported large and small organisations across the UK, helping them demonstrate their commitment to employee wellbeing.
Over the past few years, wellbeing research, guidance, and employee expectations have changed drastically. To keep ahead of the modern workplace wellbeing climate, the team behind the Workplace Wellbeing Charter – wellbeing consultancy Health@Work – have looked to reflect these developments within the Charter itself. In April 2023, the company have announced the accreditation’s latest – and most significant – update, relaunching the newly modernised Workplace Wellbeing Charter.
With stress and burnout listed amongst HR professionals’ top concerns, recent surveys show that employees are placing more importance than ever before on work-life balance, progressive company cultures, and mental health support. The Workplace Wellbeing Charter update has been designed to reflect changing attitudes to work, with two new Standards in which companies can benchmark their approach to wellbeing.
In addition, the Charter’s existing Standards, have been extensively updated, and two new Standards, “Inclusion & Culture” and “Environment and Sustainability”, have been included.
“Over the past few years, UK employees have seen a huge change in their day-to-day work life which has meant that their expectations, needs and wants have evolved,” says Health@Work Director of Operations, Marj Murphy. “Employers have to keep pace with these changes to retain and attract talented employees. This is the reason why the Health@Work team have completely updated the Charter for 2023. We always want to provide our customers with the latest research, guidance and best practice to enable them to consistently support their employees’ health and wellbeing.”
The Charter’s new standards are designed to support employers to improve their company image and culture for the benefit of their workforce. The new “Inclusion and Culture” standard, for example, helps organisations uncover opportunities to enhance psychological safety as well as support and utilise their workforce diversity. The Charter’s second new Standard “Environment and Sustainability”, helps organisations create a safer, greener, and healthier workplace.
The Workplace Wellbeing Charter is a nationally recognised accreditation that both validates and certifies an organisation’s dedication to great employee wellbeing. As such, the Charter has proven to be an invaluable part of many employers’ retention and recruitment toolkits. One such example is Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with Health & Wellbeing Lead, Lindsey Wharrie, saying of their recent Charter accreditation:
“Getting accredited with the Workplace Wellbeing Charter has been a fantastic experience for our teams that has really helped us take our approach to wellbeing in a new direction. We’re delighted to have earned the accreditation, it has enabled us to benchmark our offer and focus on areas for continuous improvement, alongside providing the opportunity to incorporate recommendations made by our consultant into our strategy development.
“The updates to the Charter couldn’t be more relevant to our busy, diverse workforce, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the new standards can benchmark our efforts to support them.”