Samantha Lane, HR Manager for FermionX Ltd explains the values of staff wellbeing initiatives and the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace.
Staff wellbeing has always been important for companies to provide – it reduces sickness, increases motivation and morale, but hasn’t been on the top of many companies’ agendas for too long.
Luckily things are now improving and attitudes changing, but there is still a long way to go.
During the pandemic it highlighted the urgent need for businesses to understand the importance of having a happy and healthy workforce.
What are FermionX doing to support staff wellbeing?
I have been with FermionX for 2 years now and I am happy to say we have brought in lots of new measures with regards to staff wellbeing. This has been easy to implement as I have had full support from all the Directors and the Management Team.
Recently we’ve introduced a number of simple measures, including free fruit boxes, offering flu jabs to staff, as well as providing an on-site gym.
To allow our team to have an active voice in how we develop and progress, an employee suggestion scheme has been introduced. As a result of this, we now offer a “Cycle to Work Scheme”, as well as an enhanced Maternity and Paternity package.
To support our teams’ physical health, firstly we offer Wellbeing MOT’s with Adur and Worthing Wellbeing Team. Secondly, we provide access to Occupational Health and Annual Health Surveillance. This ensures our employees do not develop or exacerbate existing medical conditions.
To thank the staff for their continued support and hard-work year on year, we organise regular treat days as well as Christmas and Summer social events.
What other plans are in place?
We’re still continually seeking ways to improve staff wellbeing and the package we offer and are working on the following:
- All Managers are undertaking a Level 2 Award in Mental Health Workplace Responder. This will provide our team with the knowledge and understanding in relation to mental health conditions and episodes
- An Employee Assistance Programme
- A staff volunteering Scheme
- Becoming a Disability Confident Employer
For me, it’s important to understand that wellbeing isn’t just providing benefits. The way that staff are treated is the most important aspect of being a responsible employer. If staff are happy and content in their work, they suffer with less physical and mental stress. Therefore they have an improved work-life-balance and increased emotional wellbeing.
This is achieved through all aspects within the employee lifecycle, such as training and development and performance reviews. Furthermore, we will be focusing hard on improving employee communications by introducing quarterly business updates. In addition to this, we have introduced an Employee Representative Forum. As well as regular meetings with managers to communicate updates to the wider team.
I’m excited for the future of FermionX. And I’m so proud of how far we’ve come in such a short period of time.
