Wellbeing360

The world of workplace wellbeing is full of solutions, statistics, ROI justification, white papers and even calls to action. Yet the needle doesn’t seem to be moving. Work related stress, depression or anxiety still account for the vast majority of working days lost due to work related ill health. Nine out of 10 UK employees are either not engaged or actively disengaged (lagging behind the European average of 13% engaged employees) and the pre-pandemic trend of sluggish productivity growth has continued. When do we stop adding to an ever-growing mix and draw the line, saying: “Let’s start afresh and redesign work and the workplace from the ground up”. Kay Needle, Early Intervention & Rehabilitation Expert at Generali UK Employee Benefits, chats with Dr Julie Denning, Managing Director & Chartered Health Psychologist at Working To Wellbeing, also Chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association. In this wide-ranging discussion, they consider: • What aspects of work and the workplace contribute to wellbeing outcomes? And how can joined-up thinking across these, benefits, interventions and campaigns be achieved? • What are the barriers / obstacles to action? And how can they be overcome? • Start-ups are taking a completely different approach to work design. At what point do traditional organisations say we need to start afresh? • Will new UK government plans for flexible working from day one of employment provide the impetus for all this? • And what role could / should the ISO45003 psychosocial wellbeing standard play?

In this episode, we’re focusing on ‘Better workplace mental health support for men’. Generali's Early Intervention and Rehabilitation Expert Kay Needle, is joined Lucas Whitehead, Head of Marketing and Partnerships at nationwide charity Andy’s Man Club, a free-to-attend, peer-to-peer support group, for men aged over 18. Andy’s Man Club was born in 2016, on the back of 9 men, meeting in a small room in Halifax to talk through their issues and help each other deal with their mental health. Fast-forward 8 years and the movement now has groups at over 150 locations across the UK. Their goal is to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and create a judgement-free, confidential space where men can be open about [to use their words] the ‘storms’ in their lives.

In this episode of Wellbeing360, our host Kay Needle, Early Intervention and Rehabilitation Expert, and Dr Julie Denning, Chartered Health Psychologist and Managing Director of Working to Wellbeing, one of our valued vocational rehabilitation partners, discuss how Vocational Rehabilitation can help bridge the health / work gap.​ We explore the support gap for employees, highlighting that Line Managers often feel unequipped to address health-related issues, while GPs may not feel prepared to discuss work-related concerns.​​

The numbers of people off work with long-term sickness are rising much faster among the younger generations (16-34 year olds) than those over 35. And mental health issues are now by far the most common work-limiting condition. This prompted a recent article in MoneyWeek to state: “The social causes of mental illness need more government attention…Above all, though, we need to stop the trend towards ‘mass medicalisation of mild forms of distress’. Britain has become more compassionate about mental illness. It now needs to become more thoughtful too.” In this podcast, we’re joined by Karen Royle, Occupational Psychologist and Managing Director of Ways to Work, also a trusted member of the team at Form Health, our early intervention partner. Karen shares with us – through case studies – how to manage stress: when it should be embraced; and when and how it should be reduced.

We’re delighted to welcome back a regular to our podcast series, Dr Julie Denning, Managing Director & Chartered Health Psychologist at Working To Wellbeing and Chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association. In this episode, Julie talks to Kay Needle - Generali UK’s Early Intervention and Rehabilitation expert - exploring absence management from a new angle; one that looks at the underlying drivers – the behaviours – that dictate whether someone takes full absence and recovers, or works through it, risks getting worse, and is simply present but not productive at work. We ask whether presenteeism is being driven by employees not taking time off when they really should. We discuss whether this might be learned behaviour – behaviour that could go right back to our childhood and school days. We also ask whether anything has changed – in terms of presenteeism – since the growth in new ways of working. Does this allow for a more flexible approach to absence and recovery – less of the black and white, sick or not sick, approach to absence? Or, is it facilitating working while unwell.

In this episode we’re focusing on the mental health of younger workers. Research has shown that mental health support in the workplace is considered more important by young people than climate change, job security and even economic inequality. So, there are crucial recruitment and retention aspects to this. To help our listeners understand more about youth mental health, and what ‘good’ workplace support looks like , we’re delighted to be joined by Kay Needle, Generali UK’s early intervention and rehabilitation expert. Also, Dr Julie Denning, Chartered Health Psychologist and Managing Director of Working To Wellbeing. Julie is also Chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association.

In this episode, we’re going to be asking how and why the approach to return to work after long-term illness is evolving. Traditionally, the individual would be signed off sick, then a review would be scheduled when they felt well enough to return to work. At that stage, return to work support needs would be discussed. But, experience from the world of Vocational Rehabilitation has ensured that thinking has moved on. We now understand much more about the impact of illness. And the fact that it’s not just as simple as a physical or emotional thing. It’s likely to be both. We also now understand the really important role that work has to play in recovery; in terms of giving hope, ensuring people feel valued, supported and equipped to self-manage their condition – throughout recovery, not just at the point of return to work. To tell us more, we’re delighted to welcome back Kay Needle, Generali UK’s early intervention and rehabilitation expert. Also, Dr Julie Denning, Chartered Health Psychologist and Managing Director of Working To Wellbeing. Julie is also Chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association.

In this episode we look at the topical and ever-present issue of Long Covid in the workplace. Reports are now suggesting that people diagnosed with Long Covid for more than 12 months are having their diagnosis changed to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). There’s growing evidence that there are many crossovers between these three conditions, which may all be defined as post-viral fatigue syndromes. Around 17 million people worldwide have ME/CFS. And around the same number of people have Long Covid in the World Health Organisation European region. Add to that the fact that around 2 million people in the UK alone have now had Long Covid for at least 12 months, and that the majority of those are of working age, and the case for employer support becomes very clear. To help talk us through the overlaps between Long Covid, ME and CFS and provide an overview of what good support looks like, we’re delighted to be joined by Beverly Knops, Executive Manager and Specialist Occupational Therapist at Vitality360, a persistent pain and fatigue specialist. Putting the questions to Beverly today will be Kay Needle, Generali UK’s early intervention and rehabilitation expert.

In this episode, we're joined by Dr Julie Denning, Managing Director and Chartered Health psychologist at Working2Wellbeing and chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association. Also joining us is Generali's own early intervention and rehabilitation expert, Kay Needle to discuss the latest thinking in support for employees with long-term conditions. Around 15 million people in England alone have a long-term condition. That's a condition that has to be managed with drugs or treatment such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke or cancer. And the number of people with three or more long-term conditions or multimorbidity, is ever-rising, bringing with it rising demand for prevention and management. Even long COVID, which is not as prevalent as any of these conditions but is arguably receiving most attention in the media, at least, is now verging into this territory and is also contributing to the wider discussion around chronic fatigue. Such conditions are more prevalent than others, but will undoubtedly impact people in most workplaces. So what are the trends? The latest thinking and support and barriers to progress?

October and November every year see breast cancer awareness month and lung cancer awareness month respectively. Research suggests that fewer than two-thirds of employees with cancer have returned to work or are still working a year after getting a diagnosis. Job loss is experienced by up to 53% of people living with cancer, and unemployment can be 1.4 times more likely.* In this episode, Tracey Ward from Generali UK interviews Dr Julie Denning of Vocational Rehabilitation expert Working to Wellbeing, and Kay Needle, early intervention & rehabilitation expert from Generali UK, to discuss: 1. How to support employees mentally and physically from prevention to pre- and post- diagnosis 2. How cancer is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and what that means for employers 3. Guidance on planning a return to work suited to individual needs. * https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/nice-and-phe-recommend-all-employers-give-mental-health-training-for-managers