NICE release new quality standard for Healthy Workplaces

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have released new quality standards providing advice for employers to help improve staff mental and physical health and wellbeing.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Recommendations and rationale from the standards included;

Make health and wellbeing an organisational priority:
Giving a senior manager responsibility for health and wellbeing shows your organisation’s commitment to a healthy working environment. The named manager can then lead on healthy work initiatives and provide line managers and staff with support to improve working conditions. This can benefit both your organisation and your employees by increasing productivity, lowering staff sickness levels and improving job satisfaction and staff retention rates.

Make health and wellbeing a central part of line management roles:
This can help ensure your employees feel valued, content and able to discuss any concerns before they reach a crisis point. This can also improve productivity.

Ensure employees are involved in decision making:
Empowering your employees to be involved in organisational decisions and practices that have a direct impact on them shows that your organisation cares and values their opinions. It can also lead to improved working practices and, in turn, improved job satisfaction, resulting in a more content and healthy workforce as well as higher levels of commitment and productivity.

Read the full NICE Healthy Workplaces Guidelines: Improving employee mental and physical health and wellbeing