Background

Workplace health and wellbeing initiatives are in the spotlight like never before. An increasing number of UK employers now realise that the health of their employees is an asset which can make a significant difference to competitiveness, customer service and productivity.

Likewise, the UK government is doing much more to encourage and incentivise employers to play their part in promoting health and wellbeing in modern workplaces and to invest in prevention, early intervention and proactive vocational rehabilitation.

A big challenge is that the traditional ‘Fruit & Pilates’ approaches to lifestyle change which many employers adopt are rarely enough to make a sustained difference to health which feeds through into reduced absence and presenteeism and increased productivity.

Research is now demonstrating that there are aspects of organisational culture, job design and line management behaviour which can have a more profound impact on both physical and psychological wellbeing at work. This evidence presents challenges for HR and Occupational Health (OH) professionals, for line managers and for employees themselves.

With an ageing workforce where retirement will be later and a growing incidence of work-limiting chronic illness among working age people, the challenge for employers is likely to become more acute in the next ten years.

Who should attend

This event is aimed at HR and Occupational Health professionals, line managers and others involved in promoting wellbeing in the workplace.

Event programme and topic array

Event programme: Download

Topics we will cover include:

• Why workforce health and wellbeing should be a business priority
• What do we know about ‘what works’ at work?
• The rhetoric and reality of workplace health
• Cognitive enhancers or 'smart drugs' at work
• What support is available from the government (NHS, Fit for Work Service, Access to Work etc)?
• How to create a psychologically healthy workplace
• What does ‘success’ look like – stories from employers who have improved workplace wellbeing

Speakers

Jane Abrahams, Policy Fellow, DWP Health & Work Join Unit
Health and Work in small firms: The business case for investment

Dr John Ballard, Director, The At Work Partnership Limited
Workplace Health: Rhetoric and Reality

Prof Karen Middleton CBE, Chief Executive, CSP
Early intervention: What works?

Dr Paul Nicholson, Chair, BMA Occupational Medicine Committee
Cognitive enhancers (smart drugs) and work

Dr Thirumalai Rajgopal, Vice President, Global Medical & Occupational Health, Unilever
Case study: The Lamplighter programme: Business and community benefits

Helen Wray, Health & Well-being Business Partner, Mars Chocolate UK
Case study: Mars Confectionery

This event will be chaired by Professor Stephen Bevan, IES Head of HR Research Development.

Professor Bevan, an Honorary Professor at Lancaster University, returned to IES as Head of HR Research Development in April 2016. He was previously Director of Research at The Work Foundation.

Professor Bevan has conducted research on high-performance work practices, employee reward strategy, staff engagement and retention, and 'good work'. He has a special interest in workforce health and wellbeing, having led a number of national and international projects focusing on workforce health and the impact of chronic illness on productivity and social inclusion.

What you will get out of the day

This conference will offer HR and OH professionals, and others involved in delivering workplace health and sickness absence interventions, the chance to hear both the most recent research evidence of ‘what works’ in workplace health, how to make a business case for the resources to design and deliver a workplace health strategy, and examples from employers who have already delivered positive results.

Your organisation will benefit from this event by having access to high quality case studies of good practice among leading employers, a briefing on the latest research on ‘what works’ and ideas about how to build a business case for investing in workplace health interventions which have a track record of delivery.

Ticket prices

HR Network member tickets (find out more):

Full member: Free
Associate member: Free
Flex member: £280 (+VAT+fees)

Non-member tickets:

Non-member: £350 (+VAT+ fees)