With wellbeing high on the agenda, it's important ot understand how employees wellbeing adds value to an organisation how this has evolved in recent years. Awareness and understanding could be key to longer term success in this area. Dr Shaun Davis (MA, MBA, MA, MSc, Chartered FIOSH, FIIRSM, Chartered FCIPD, MIoD), Global Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability, Royal Mail Group, shares with Allen & York what wellbeing means to Royal Mail Group and the importance of wellbeing in the workplace.
What does wellbeing mean to Royal Mail Group?
At Royal Mail Group we are committed to further improving our employee’ s physical and mental health. We aspire to develop a culture where individuals feel supported and informed to take ownership for their own health and wellbeing so that they can bring the best version of themselves to work, every-day. It’s more than duty of care. We believe by investing in wellbeing we will all feel better, perform better and create a positive working environment that we can all benefit from.
Why is having a wellbeing strategy important to Royal Mail Group?
Our people are our biggest asset and therefore our aim is to ensure that everyone in the company feels responsible for making sure that we all go home safe and well every day.
There are several health challenges facing society; rising obesity levels, mental health conditions, and an ageing workforce. These health challenges are reflected in our own employees within Royal Mail through adverse lifestyle choices; an ageing workforce; physically demanding jobs; and changes to the way we all work through technology and the pace of change.
We recognise that some employees face a range of health and wellbeing challenges - either mental, physical or both. The Feeling First Class program alongside a great range of health-related offers and services accessed through our benefits website provide employees with a range of tools to help them optimise their personal health and wellbeing.
What advice would you give to organisations looking to improve the wellbeing of their employees?
Start with listening to your employees and stakeholders, look at the feedback from engagement surveys or employee forums or similar. Review your absence data and understand the demographics of your organisations.
About Shaun
Shaun is a Chartered Fellow of The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, a Fellow of The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, a Chartered Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and a Member of The Institute of Directors. Shaun has a wide portfolio of responsibilities across the Royal Mail Group including safety, health, well-being, and sustainability.
Before joining the Royal Mail Group, Shaun worked in the construction, refurbishment, infrastructure, and waste management sectors and led organisations to achieve significant improvements in performance. Shaun has also guided culture change programmes and achieved a variety of awards and accolades for the organisations he has worked for.
Shaun holds five Masters Degrees; an MA in Leadership & Culture Change, an MBA, an MA in Marketing & Innovation, an MSc in Workplace Health & Well-being and an MA in Strategic Human Resource Management.
He also holds a Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring with his research having explored the relationship between coaching, well-being, and organisational culture. Shaun is also an honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine.
Shaun is a trustee of three charities; The Men’s Health Forum, The Society of Occupational Medicine and The Rowland Hill Fund. He is also a member of the Business in the Community (BITC) Workwell Leadership Team and acts as vice-chairman and director of strategy for the pan-European mental health campaign ‘Target Depression in the Workplace’.
A published author in a number of respected journals and practitioner publications, Shaun has also co-authored the men’s mental health book ‘Positive male mind’ and his latest publication ‘Positive mental health’ will be launched in October this year.