How important is workplace wellbeing to your Lancashire business?
A 2024 report by Great Place to Work found that 55 per cent of people across the UK economy look forward to coming into work, while 53 per cent reported excessive stress levels. In addition, one in three employees think regularly about looking for a different job.
World Wellbeing Week is currently taking place from June 24 to June 30. The global celebration is a timely opportunity for businesses to reflect on how they support the health and wellbeing of their teams, then take meaningful action.
Numerous studies show that strong workplace wellbeing can improve productivity, culture, retention and long-term business resilience. For this month’s spotlight we asked three of our Boost & Co partners, YOLO Wellbeing, Six Connection and Creating Cadence for their top piece of advice to help businesses support staff wellbeing.
Cheryle Britton, founder and managing director, YOLO Wellbeing
At YOLO Wellbeing, we believe the most effective way for businesses to support wellbeing is to focus less on grand gestures and more on everyday human connection.
In growing businesses, it's easy to become consumed by targets, deadlines, and operations. Yet the organisations that truly thrive are often those that take the time to check in with their people, not just on performance, but on how they are doing as individuals.
Our top tip is simple: create a culture where people feel seen, heard, and valued. This doesn't require a large budget or a complex wellbeing strategy. It starts with meaningful conversations, leaders who listen, and workplaces where people feel comfortable asking for support when they need it.
Importantly, wellbeing isn't just for employees. Business owners and managers are often carrying significant responsibility and pressure behind the scenes. Looking after your own wellbeing isn’t selfish; it’s essential. When leaders model healthy habits, realistic boundaries, and self-care, it creates permission for others to do the same.
When organisations create the conditions for people to feel well, connected and valued, performance isn't something that has to be chased; it becomes a natural outcome.
Dave Scholes, founder, Six Connections
My top tip for businesses to improve wellbeing in and around the workplace is to ask and listen:
Many organisations are trying to fix things without finding out what the issues and challenges are. Wellbeing is not one size fits all, which means support options need to reflect this.
It may be that several staff enjoy similar activities to support their own wellbeing and this can be brought into the workspace.
For some people, their best wellbeing support is outside of work and that is okay. It’s not an organisation’s job to fix everything for everybody but what they can do is provide a safe environment for staff to be the best version of themselves while at work.
By asking, listening and responding to the needs of the team, wellbeing provision will be more authentic, more relevant and less about ticking a box or a simple gym membership.
Michelle Bondesio, business consultant and founder of Creating Cadence
Our work and personal lives have grown increasingly complex since the pandemic. Layered on top of that is the uncertainty and stress many of us feel from economic pressures, rapid technological change, and wider social instability. Traditional, rigid working structures simply aren't built for the world we're living in now.
For people to stay well and remain productive without burning out, work needs to fit better around life, and not the other way around. Options like four-day weeks, hybrid arrangements, and flexible hours aren't just good for wellbeing, they're good for business, too.
Unhappy, burnt-out people leave, and the costs of replacing them (e.g. recruitment, onboarding, lost knowledge, broken teams and toxic cultures, etc) are very real. Flexibility is essentially profit margin protection.
Beyond retention, when people feel trusted, supported and are given more autonomy, creativity improves, collaboration gets easier, and better decisions get made. The research backs this up consistently.
The good news is that introducing more flexibility is also an opportunity to genuinely rethink and redesign how great work happens in your organisation. It’s a win-win. The future of work is ‘flex’. What could that look like for your leaders and teams?
There is a range of public and private sector support available in Lancashire to help employers improve workplace wellbeing.
This includes Workplace Wellbeing support from Lancashire Mind, NHS Better Health, regular events on the Boost website led by organisations including North West Employee Engagement Group. Businesses can also access private sector support from Boost & Co members, you can visit our directory here.
If you want to improve staff wellbeing and don’t know where to start, speak to Boost’s Business Support Helpdesk here.
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