Open HSI menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / The ‘Tick Box’ Approach doesn’t Work: How to Really Help Employee Wellbeing

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSI menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / The ‘Tick Box’ Approach doesn’t Work: How to Really Help Employee Wellbeing

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • White Papers
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

Press Release

The ‘Tick Box’ Approach doesn’t Work: How to Really Help Employee Wellbeing

By Emex

| Read Bio

Published: May 11th, 2022

Share this article

Workplaces across sectors have been forced to digitalise fast over the last two years. While this has brought new opportunities for many, it’s undoubtedly having an impact on our life inside and outside of the office. 

Hsi-mental-health-awareness-week

Today, we are never more than a few clicks away from work. 

There is a growing recognition of the mental health impact of this increasingly connected world. While this impact falls under health and safety more widely, the effects can be more subtle than the physical injuries most of us would associate with this sphere. Over the pandemic, issues like employee burnout came to the fore as part of a great drive to protect wellbeing during lockdowns.

What the current rules cover 

Regulation often moves a lot slower than innovation, usually being developed in response to a perceived issue or problem. As a result, health & safety requirements often haven’t kept up with these newer types of health and safety risks.  

Luckily for health & safety professionals, they don’t have to start with a blank canvas when it comes to addressing wellbeing issues at work. Psychological safety has always been legislated under the HSAW act 1974. Albeit, its brief mention is often not in proportion to the balance of health risks in an office environment.

A secret epidemic

The pandemic placed issues like burnout and toxic work cultures under the spotlight. But these issues were not new. Rather they had been bubbling away unnoticed – part of wider numbers like high staff turnover rates, which could be attributed to other factors.  

Building a company culture that supports openness about wellbeing issues is crucial. Collating information is key – from regular surveys into how people feel about work, to the creation of ‘safe spaces’ such as anonymous feedback portals.

No more ‘tick box’ approaches  

While the law makes clear that some procedures need to be in place to safeguard mental health and wellbeing, the ‘light touch’ approach has led to bad practices. Some employers still have a knee-jerk reaction to draft a policy, save it on the system – and do nothing more. But it’s increasingly clear that this ‘tick box’ approach doesn’t work. So called “bluewashing” is steadily becoming an anathema in the health and safety space.  

As the C-suite increasingly understands the impact of wellbeing on the bottom line, there will be increasing pressure to quantify which initiatives are making a positive difference and there are clear signs that this is starting to happen.

Health & safety, work culture heroes?   

The ability to engage all employees in a preventative and proactive approach to wellbeing is key to building a company culture where employees will thrive and stay for the long-term. 

The alignment of wider functions with HR and operations teams can make a huge difference to the successful implementation of wellbeing policies. Where mental health risks are identified, HR can help make sure they are addressed and workplace design altered.  

But this groundswell of engagement also needs to be matched with top-down efforts. Without their full engagement, most change will only ever be patchwork or surface-level – risking a relapse into a ‘tick box’ mentality.  

The key is to prioritise progress over perfection, which starts with building an open and honest culture that delivers a holistic view of wellbeing in the workplace.  

We are working in the mind age – psychological safety is as important as physical safety. Businesses need define a clear strategy which protects, promotes and treats all aspects of workplace health, equally.

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emex

Emex is a leading provider of Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) and Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG) software. Their platform powers industry-leading sustainability solutions designed to help customers translate ambition into action, leveraging high quality data and expert insight to optimise business performance, automate complex processes, and manage reporting and compliance. We empower our clients to take ownership of their sustainability journeys, future-proof their businesses, and meet society’s and stakeholders’ ever-rising expectations.

About Shelley Douglas

 

A qualified health, safety and wellbeing professional and trainer, Shelley has worked with global corporations in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and office environments. She understands the challenges at all levels and has a clear vison for addressing both physical and psychological health as complementary components of a successful health and safety strategy. Shelley is a Mental Health First Aid Trainer and advocate for psychological safety in the workplace.

POPULAR POSTS BY Emex

Hsi-mental-health-awareness-week

Press Release

The ‘Tick Box’ Approach doesn’t Work: How to Really Help Employee Wellbeing

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSI newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with Europe's largest audited safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Article

 Thameslink Traffic Management Programme

Press Release

‘Working At Height’ Remains Biggest Danger

Press Release

“Uncertainty and Ignorance” Risks More Asbestos Deaths

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSIMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Twitter

hsimagazine HSI Magazine @hsimagazine ·
25 Jan

Global gas sensing leader @ionscience has today formally announced the addition of a high-specification Particulate Matter (PM) sensor to its portfolio.

Read all about this exciting addition!
https://www.hsimagazine.com/press-release/worlds-best-performing-particulate-matter-pm-sensor-now-available-from-ion-science-ltd/

#hsimagazine #ionscience #particulatematter

Reply on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Retweet on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Like on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Twitter 1618280038557970432

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

    • Keep up-to-date with Europe’s largest audited safety magazine

 

    • Delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO HSI MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of HSI, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSI International
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSI

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT