For most people, the winter months can be difficult and have a strain of people’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Winter days are short and cold and for some employees, they will be leaving for work and returning from work in the dark. Not everyone is going to feel their best during the winter months and as an employer, it is important to understand how you can support staff members, what type of support options are available to you and what support staff may need. There may be several different factors that can contribute to staff needing support from their employer, so it is useful to try and identify this.
Staff members may be feeling the strain through the winter months. Causes of strain can be financial, health, social, physical, emotional and from general burnout towards the end of the year. This year will have been particularly difficult for some staff members and there will be additional social strain due to the COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place. Furthermore, during the winter months, there are more flu and cold bugs going around, so staff may have additional health concerns that will add to the strain.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is common during winter months and SAD can significantly affect an employee’s mental, physical and psychological wellbeing. It is known that some employees who suffer from SAD may have severe symptoms and this can impact their day-to-day activities, including their job duties. In order to support staff through the winter months, it is vital to regularly check on the wellbeing of your staff and to be aware of changes in behaviour.
Showing support, understanding and creating a sense of positivity and a good working environment can form the basis for a wellbeing strategy. You need to decide on your objectives and consider delegating this activity to a designated group in order to drive the strategy forward with employee engagement. If you would like support in developing your strategy and engaging employees then take a look at our wellbeing package.
To support physical wellbeing, employers may offer to provide their staff members with the Winter Flu Vaccination service, which will also help in managing absence levels throughout the winter months. If you need help arranging this, please get in touch.
Employers should encourage employees to spend time in the sun and to exercise outdoors during lunch periods, if it is safe and possible to do so during COVID restrictions.
Make sure your employees are aware of the facilities and support available to them. Consider buddying schemes, open door sessions. Provide access to counselling services, occupational health and CBT. Schedule regular wellbeing reviews and document these reviews. In our SAM system, we encourage users to record when the last review took place, so you can set a task for when the next one is due and also store notes online for reference within the system. Think about how you will keep track of this kind of activity, which all contributes towards Ofsted requirements. You may also find our previous blog on what questions you could ask at a wellbeing review a useful reference point.
If you have an Employee Assistance Programme, ensure that you know what is available to you and encourage employees to use this. If you would rather choose the services you offer and access on a more flexible basis, then you can utilise our Occupational Health, Counselling and CBT services. These are available either on a pay as you go basis or as part of a retained package. If you would like to know more about any of the services mentioned, then please get in touch with the team on 01924 827869 or contact us here.
You may also find our previous webinars on Managing Occupational Health and Formulating a Wellbeing Strategy useful. If you would like to know more about SAM, then register for one of our upcoming Introduction Webinars. Click here to book your place or request a personal demonstration.
