Article by Polly Joseph, owner of Elevare Learning, a learning, development and well-being consultancy. Polly has worked for Hollywood Bowl Group in recent years as a Talent and Well-being Partner and Mental Health First Aid trainer.
We all know that people are the most important asset for our organisations. They continue to be the driving forces behind all of our business’ successes, they are vital to every customer interaction and they need to manage all aspects of our daily operations.
The latest data from the ONS and HSE reveals that nearly 23 million working days are lost annually to stress and anxiety, while Deloitte warns that presenteeism (employees masking their struggles and crawling into work anyway) costs UK employers £24 billion a year. In hospitality, organisations like The Burnt Chef Project are seeing unprecedented demand, with four out of five workers reporting crisis points. This isn’t an HR tick-box exercise anymore; it’s a massive drain on the UK economy.
On average, 25% of your workforce are currently struggling with their mental health and as an organisation you have both a legal and moral requirement to support them with this at work. As you will likely be aware , all Employers have a ‘duty of care’. This means they must do all they reasonably can to support workers’ health, safety and wellbeing. Did you also know that employers also have a legal obligation to treat mental and physical health as equally important (which they are!)? A quick look at the ACAS website will show you this
REFLECTION: It Starts With You
Our teams are always going to look to their leaders to provide them with a benchmark for so many traits and behaviours, not least of all with well-being in the workplace. How can we expect our team to adapt behaviours that we ourselves do not model? So what behaviours does a well-being focussed leader exhibit? Give some thought to the following:
- Promoting honest & open conversations
- Cultivating a pyschologically safe culture
- Prioritising self care
- Setting boundaries
- Taking your breaks and annual leave
- Normalising talking about mental health
- Modelling vulnerability/supporting those who do
- Ensuring consistency
Is it time to reflect on some of these areas? How about the hours you work, the workload you carry, how (dis) stressed you are, how much of your true self and feelings you show at work, how approachable you are, how much you truly live and breathe the values of your organisation and so on? There are times when all of us have to up our game at work and go above and beyond but this should be the exception rather than the norm. Burnout is a real issue, don’t make the mistake of assuming it could never happen to you.
FEEDBACK – Building Trust and Resilience
Reflection is the first step and then perhaps you can progress by connecting with some key members of your team and asking for 1-1 feedback in these vital areas which might kick start some interesting dicussions. Remember to listen actively to those you seek the feedback from, to encourage honesty and transparency and to be ready to assess if your team really see you in the way you want to see them.
A wider analysis could be conducted via an anonymous team survey which is possible in a variety of ways – an online tool could be utilised (plenty of free options are available), using your LMS (learning management system) if you have one or by engaging with an external team survey provider.
Temperature checking your team and their well-being is a vital part of business cultural analysis these days and adding in questions about your leadership is a necessary element. It is vital to build an organisational culture where there is open and honest communication, where your teams feel psychologically safe and where your managers are trained in leadership & empathy.
Consider the myriad of benefits for you, your teams AND your organisation. Would you like to decrease absence and drive up productivity and morale? Would you like to retain your best Team Members ensuring that they feel valued and supported in the workplace? Would you like to increase engagement and enhance team resilience for the more difficult times? Would you like to achieve better organisational performance?
Supporting your teams well-being is not a trendy, of the moment fad that you can get away with paying lip service to. Supporting your team with their well-being is a business necessity in 2026. Your people are your company and you have a legal and moral obligation to support them and their well-being whilst they are working for your organisation. Step up and lead the way. They are watching.
Polly Joseph Bio
Polly Joseph is a freelance Well-being, Learning & Development Consultant with almost twenty-five years experience in several fast paced, market leading retail and hospitality businesses. Polly is a MHFA trainer and can offer both freelance MHFA and MHFA supervision sessions. Polly has a huge passion for helping businesses to support their teams well-being and personal development and she prides herself on accessible pricing, blended learning and using her significant lived experience to create fantastic learning experiences.
Check out www.elevarelearning.co.uk, email Polly on polly@elevarelearning.co.uk or give her a ring on 07951591009 to find out more!
