Category Archives: Wellbeing at Work

Health, News, Wellbeing at Work

Social distancing, yes, but other First Aid Remains important – Here’s How to Deliver Choking First Aid

Workplace focus on social distancing may be neglecting other health and safety issues, new research has revealed.

Katie Campbell, who works with Skills Training Group as a First Aid Trainer and has been delivering courses all over the UK for the past 13 years, explains the signs that someone is choking and how to properly administer back blows and abdominal thrusts:

Back blows and abdominal thrusts would be utilised if you suspect a casualty is choking. When it comes to the signs of choking, the face normally turns red, the person may grip and point towards the neck, they probably cannot complete full sentences, and they may be coughing excessively or may not be able to make a sound at all.

Here are three simple steps to follow if you suspect a casualty is choking:

• Step 1: Back blows
Lean the casualty well forwards (over the knee if a small a child) and give up to 5 sharp blows to the middle of the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand

• Step 2: Abdominal thrusts

Stand behind the casualty and wrap your arms around their waist making a fist with one of your hands, and using the other to grab it. The image above shows the correct hand position. Sharply pull inwards and upwards 5 times

• Step 3: Call 999

Repeat cycles of back blows and abdominal thrusts until the blockage dislodges, help arrives, or the casualty becomes unresponsive. If you can’t call 999, make sure someone else does
When performing abdominal thrusts, most rescuers do not pull with enough force – remember, we want to try and force a lodged object out of the airway!

Mark McShane, Managing Director at Skills Training Group, commented:

“Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many employers are putting new measures into place to keep their employees safe. However, as a result of the new social distancing focus, other aspects of workplace health and safety, such as first aid education and qualifications, may be being accidently overlooked.

“As many of us slowly return to the workplace after months of working from home, accidents can easily happen, and some can quickly escalate into life or death situations. Our courses educate employees on how to handle a wide range of specific work-related situations – such as how to handle choking, wounds, burns, and more – as well as teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for adults, children, and babies”.

For more information on the research, visit: https://www.skillstg.co.uk/blog/choking-first-aid/

Benefits, HR News, Wellbeing at Work

COVID19 lessons for employers: Key person protection and key worker benefits

Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy at Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing, considers what lessons employers have learned about employee protection

 

As the nation’s businesses return to work after the national lockdown, Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing (Howden) is strongly encouraging employers to learn some important lessons from the last few difficult months.  In particular the benefits intermediary believes that employers should perhaps more readily recognise two – often underinsured – people risks within their businesses.

Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy at Howden says;   “There are two significant risks at either end of the corporate structure and pay scales which employers may now more readily recognise.  At executive level there is the risk to the organisation’s Key-people, and within the wider workforce there is the evident need to provide adequate protection for all employees (including Key-workers) and their families.”

 

Lesson 1 – Ill-health and key people

An early lesson from the crisis was that illness is no respecter of status or seniority.  The nation witnessed high profile scientists, government ministers, and even the Prime Minister contracting coronavirus.  Herbert says; “Often senior people believe they are invincible, but this pandemic has provided ample evidence that this is simply not the case. This should act as a powerful reminder to all employers to review their protection insurances for employees deemed of major importance to the business.”

Howden suggests that most organisations have at least some “key” people who would be very difficult to rapidly replace without significant challenges to the employer’s business plans.  The damage caused might be in the form of lost revenues, lost relationships, lost skills, or possibly all the above.

The company recommends that key individuals should be protected by at least one of the range of business protection insurances which are widely available to employers.  These policies are designed to protect the employer rather than the employee, and are a vital item of risk planning for employers of any size.

Lesson 2 – All workers are key workers

For the first time in many years there has been some much-needed recognition of lower earning employees across the country.  Such individuals may  fill what are sometimes perceived as more routine roles,, yet many were pivotal to looking after and feeding the nation during the long weeks of lockdown.

Herbert continues, “Low paid does not equal low skills or low importance.  Every employee represents an important cog in the corporate machine, even if that role often goes unnoticed.  So it is to be hoped that more businesses will now readily accept this simple truth, and accordingly aim to level-up employee benefits to protect all workers and their dependents in the future.”

Howden point out that routinely providing core benefits to lower-paid workers will also potentially shorten illness absences, improve engagement and productivity, and can be a valuable recruitment and retention tool too.

Herbert concluded; “It would be a mistake for businesses not to learn from the unique challenges of recent months.  Having adequate protection for workers of all grades is one important area that we hope many more businesses will now recognise and address.”   

For more information, please visit www.howdengroup.co.uk

Home Working, News, Wellbeing at Work

Why back pain may not be caused by posture

As many people work from home during this pandemic, desk workers are keen to improve their home set-up, to find the ‘ideal’ chair and desk, to get everything perfectly aligned. However, new research has revealed that back pain is not caused by your posture.

To look into the true link between posture and back pain, Tide collaborated with expert Rushabh Savla, Tide member and founder of R&D Physio to discuss the true link between posture and back pain.

Rushabh, who is a specialist in shoulder, neck and head injuries, commented:

“Perfect posture doesn’t exist – If ‘poor posture’ was the only reason for your pain, you’d be in pain permanently. The problem is the amount of time we spend in a particular posture, so a more likely cause of your back or neck pain is lack of movement.

“In the tissues of our body are sensors called ‘acid sensing ion channels’ (ASICs). These sensors detect changes in pH – how acid or alkali the tissue is. If we don’t move, these sensors produce a sensation of discomfort or pain. I’ve set out six of the gentle stretches we recommend…

  1. Prone Cobra, on elbows

· Press down firmly through your palms and elbows.

· Keep your hips / pelvis on the ground.

2. Child’s Pose

· Lower your bottom as close to your heels as possible while stretching your arms out in front.

3. Child’s Pose with rotation

· A great variation to stretch your obliques and back muscles.

· Like the child’s pose, lower your bottom to the heels.

· Then take one hand and reach diagonally across.

· The other hand can rest on the lower back.

4. Bent leg spinal twists

· With feet together and knees bent, take your legs down to one side and hold.

· Then switch sides.

5. The Rocker

· Hold your knees together and pull them close into your chest.

· If you can’t wrap your hand around your legs, use a towel.

· Then rock gently back and forward, side to side, and make circles with your lower back on the floor.

6. Diaphragm Stretch, or deep breathing

· Lie comfortably with one palm on the chest and the other on the belly.

· Take long slow deep breaths.

· This opens up the abdominal area, and gently stretches the deep back and core muscles.

Liza Haskell, Interim VP of People and Culture at Tide, added:

“As people continue to work from home during this pandemic, the wellbeing, health and productivity of all employees is of the utmost importance. In particular, many desk workers are looking to further their home set-up to get everything perfectly aligned in a bid to avoid back pain or discomfort from prolonged sitting.

“As well as taking these practical set-up measures, as lack of movement is more likely cause of your back or neck pain than poor posture itself, it’s also extremely important to actively encourage your remote workforce to take regular breaks to keep their backs moving as they work from home. The 6 gentle stretches, as instructed by Rushabh, are a great way to do so”.

For more information, visit: https://www.tide.co/blog/productivity-wellbeing/why-back-pain-not-caused-by-posture/

Benefits, Wellbeing at Work

Mind the gap between employer and employee wellbeing support expectations: new GRiD research

Changes in the welfare system have meant that the responsibility for supporting people is increasingly falling to the workplace with the onus on employers to do more to support their employees. GRiD, the industry body for the group risk protection sector, has conducted research from among both employers and employees, and it shows that although employers and employees agree that mental health is a top priority for support, their priorities don’t tally across all areas of health and wellbeing, and organisations may be missing the mark in other areas:

Mental wellbeing
• 75 per cent of employers feel it is their responsibility to support staff with mental health wellbeing (such as access to counselling & mental health first aiders), and 49 per cent of employees concur. Employers perceive this to be the number one priority for employees and their judgement is accurate as staff also prioritised this over other wellbeing concerns.

Physical wellbeing
• However, 70 per cent of employers believe it is also their responsibility to support staff with their physical wellbeing (for instance with access to physio and rehabilitation) but only 32 per cent of employees felt this is the responsibility of their employer.

Financial wellbeing
• Employees rank financial wellbeing support from their employer as more important than physical wellbeing support (36 per cent as against 32 per cent), but 46 per cent of employers don’t believe the financial wellbeing of their staff to be their responsibility at all. Financial support is second, only to mental health, in terms of employees’ top priorities for wellbeing support.

Social wellbeing
• Interestingly, just under two-thirds (61 per cent) of employers think it is their responsibility to ensure the social wellbeing of staff (i.e. encouraging social connections and supporting their sense of belonging) but employees don’t agree: only 27 per cent of staff think this is an area for employer support and it was the least-prioritised area of wellbeing by employees.

Thankfully, only six per cent of employers believe they have no responsibility at all for the wellbeing of their staff but remarkably, a third (30 per cent) of employees also believe that their employer has no duty of care for the areas of mental health, financial, physical or social wellbeing.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said:

“Wellness and wellbeing are terms that have been around for centuries and nowadays have become fully mainstream in the workplace lexicon. With that comes an expectation from employers that employees will want support, and vice versa that employers will provide that support for employees. Employees have clearly highlighted that their priorities are mental wellbeing and financial wellbeing and it’s important that employers respond to this.

“There’s a lot more support today that employers can access to offer their staff which helps them fulfil their duty of care. Group risk products (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and crucial illness) are one such way of providing this support, and the embedded extra services within group risk products can ensure all areas of wellbeing are covered – those that employees prioritise but also the needs they don’t yet know they have, through unexpected sickness or injury.

“Whichever way employers decide to offer support, it’s important that they regularly review what’s available and put in place support that’s fit for purpose, and that their staff value and know how to utilise.”

Employee Benefits, HR News, Wellbeing at Work

Work affects sleep affects work: employers can help break the cycle

Despite experts recommending we should have between seven to nine hours sleep each night, the average Briton gets just six hours and 19 minutes. Work-related reasons can contribute significantly to a disturbed slumber, but businesses can play an important role in helping employees meet their sleep quotas, and this World Sleep Day (13 March) provides the perfect opportunity.

Hectic work schedules and pressure to meet deadlines can exacerbate the sleeplessness issue, with businesses today not just experiencing ‘presenteeism’ but ‘leavism’ too – workers using evenings, weekends and annual leave to get work done outside of office hours, which can increase stress.

Brett Hill, distribution director at Towergate Health and Protection says, ‘We live in a constantly “on” society, where it’s increasingly normal for work to spill into our home lives. But this can have a negative impact on our ability to switch off and get a good night’s sleep. Businesses need to ensure that employees take complete breaks from work, to mentally and physically recuperate and be reenergised for the next working day.’

A continual lack of sleep can seriously affect health increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, so it’s important that it’s tackled to support wider physical health.

Exercise and diet are also key factors in getting a good night’s sleep. Tiredness can lead to making poor nutritional choices – opting for quick sugar fixes during a slump. And this time of year can be particularly tempting to sit on the sofa, watch TV and eat comfort food.

Onsite sleep-training workshops can help ensure staff have an outlet to discuss any sleep concerns they have. Cracking bad habits – such as bingeing on boxsets into the early hours, drinking alcohol ‘to take the edge off’ and browsing on a smartphone in bed – are just some of the areas that can be addressed to improve sleep.

Hill continues, ‘Organising nutrition talks at work, helping employees to learn about food that will encourage better sleep and vice versa, and facilitating group exercise can all go a long way to help employees establish healthier routines.’

Another important area to look at when addressing sleep is mental health. Having staff trained in mental health is a good way to ensure that employees who are struggling have someone to turn to within the business. Trained staff can point them in the right direction of services available; whether it be an employee assistance programme (EAP), private medical insurance (PMI) or discounted gym membership – employee benefits can help staff confront a range of issues that may keep them awake at night.

Hill concludes, ‘We’ve all felt the ramifications of a bad night’s sleep before; mood is negatively affected, productivity lowered, and tolerance levels tested. The good news is that there are plenty of things that employers can do to help staff achieve better sleep patterns – which can have a positive effect on them emotionally, physically and the business as a whole. From creating healthy work/life boundaries to signposting staff to additional support services available, good sleep needn’t be a distant dream.’