revitalised :: corporate blog

How much exercise should you do? Experts recommend a minimum of...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:57:38 +0100

How much exercise should you do? Experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least 5 days a week. Some of the best types of exercise are, brisk walking, gardening, swimming, tennis, cycling and energetic housework - anything that makes you slightly out of breath and begin to feel warm.

Four times more men than women phone in sick because of...

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:36:23 +0100

Four times more men than women phone in sick because of work-related stress…

Men are four times more likely than women to phone in sick due to work-related stress. Of the 3,000 workers surveyed, 20% of men admitted to taking two sick days in the past month because of stress.

Workplace Stress Stress is one of the most common causes of...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:36:56 +0100

Workplace Stress

Stress is one of the most common causes of workplace absence and is estimated to cost the economy £3.7 billion a year in lost productivity with 24 million feeling anxious and 1.4 million taking time off because of money worries.

300,000 teachers off sick last year Half of teachers took...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:43:47 +0100

300,000 teachers off sick last year

Half of teachers took almost two weeks’ sick leave last year amid continuing concerns over workload and red tape.

Huge numbers of NHS staff turn up for work while unwell Two...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:44:00 +0100

Huge numbers of NHS staff turn up for work while unwell

Two thirds of NHS employees are turning up for work when they don’t feel well enough to do their job according to a new survey.

Stress is a key issue for NHS trusts to consider and given the looming public-sector cuts, there is a risk that stress-related absences or even errors at work may increase.

The growing interest in wellbeing strategies More businesses...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:05:33 +0100

The growing interest in wellbeing strategies

More businesses than ever are waking up to the fact that investing in their employees’ health should be a crucial component of their business strategy, irrespective of the economic climate.

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The Case for Wellbeing Following the Chancellor’s recent...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:03:36 +0100

The Case for Wellbeing

Following the Chancellor’s recent Emergency Budget, it is clear that we are all faced with a harsh economic climate where investments and expenditure are being cut or severely curtailed. Yet, spending cuts will inevitably result in staff shortages, thereby resulting in increased workloads for remaining individuals.

Employee morale is vital to steer the Public & Private Sectors through these turbulent times and will become the top priority for managers over the next few months. Every organisation will need to focus even more on making the most of existing resources whilst still trying to achieve financial advantage and improved service delivery.

Staff are likely to be faced with even higher levels of stress and pressure – more people will work longer hours, skip lunch breaks, cut back on exercise, and drink & smoke more.

During times like these, it is more important than ever to support wellbeing.

The business case for implementing a health and wellbeing programme is clear. Health and wellbeing does show a concrete return and doesn’t have to be expensive to put in place. Employees feel better about who they work for if they get a sense that their employers care. It is a good way to get commitment and focus from employees, especially now when they are worrying about the economy and their finances.

Investing in workplace wellbeing means healthier employees. This directly translates into an improved bottom line as people take less time off sick and work more effectively and productively.

In today’s economic climate, this is an investment organisations ignore at their peril.

We recognise that budgets are tight and reducing, and in response to this, we are introducing a new pricing structure that offers short-term, flexible commitment.

Companies can now offer ‘revitalisedBusiness’ to all of their employees for a fixed price of just a few hundred pounds per month.

‘revitalisedSchools’ is available to the entire school community (staff, families, parents and partner primaries) for a fixed price of just £85 per month.

The option of a rolling, quarterly contract gives you full flexibility to monitor and review the progress without long-term commitment.

This is an extremely cost-effective way of supporting wellbeing and very much in line with health promotion objectives and managerial initiatives in this area.

For more information, just go to www.revitalised.co.uk.

Let us know if you’d like a bit more info, or to arrange a ‘no-obligation’ meeting.

A healthy workforce is good for business Investing in a health...

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:31:47 +0100

A healthy workforce is good for business

Investing in a health and wellbeing programme for employees can pay off in many ways for employers. Making smart benefit choices is more important than ever, and workplace wellness initiatives can be cost-effective and also make a real difference to your workforce.

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Fit for work From healthy eating campaigns to tackling stress,...

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:32:03 +0100

Fit for work

From healthy eating campaigns to tackling stress, promoting workplace wellbeing can lead to higher productivity and less sick leave. As the downturn bites, is it an investment companies ignore at their peril?

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Making wellbeing support private and confidential can be crucial...

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:31:00 +0100

Making wellbeing support private and confidential can be crucial …..

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Tackling stress is more important than...

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:59:52 +0100

Tackling stress is more important than ever…

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/1005505/Health-Wellbeing-employers-brink-stress-epidemic/

National Men’s Health Week

Wed, 26 May 2010 11:29:00 +0100

Get up and running!

National Men’s Health Week takes place from 14-20^th June and is organised by the Men’s Health Forum, a charity that focuses on the issues and inequalities affecting the health and well-being of men and boys. This year’s theme is “Up and Running: Improving the health of men and boys through physical activity and sport”.

Most men are not physically active enough to make a difference to their health.

Just 40% of men meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations for physical activity (30 minutes of at least moderate intensity activity on 5 or more days of the week).
Over a quarter of boys do not meet the recommended physical activity level (at least 1 hour of moderate or more intense activity a day).
Physically active men are less likely to be overweight or obese and to develop diabetes, bowel cancer or dementia. They will also feel better about themselves and reduce their risk of depression.
Men are more likely to drink alcohol above recommended levels, smoke cigarettes and eat a poor diet.

Some the key aims of National Men’s Health Week are:

To encourage more men to become more physically active (e.g. walking, using the stairs, gardening, DIY)
To improve male participation in sport

Major forthcoming sporting events create an enormous opportunity to engage more men in physical activity. This year, National Men’s Health Week takes place during the early stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and will aim to encourage men to be more active and more healthy. It will get men up off the sofa and walking, jogging, gardening, swimming, playing sport… in short, moving more!

See what some celebrities have to say about Men’s Health Week and getting more active:

‘I fully support Men’s Health Week in their attempts to get us men more active; and the fact that you don’t need to join the gym to get more active is an important message. In my opinion, spending time working in the garden is a great way to keep active and healthy!’ Joe Swift, Gardeners World presenter
‘I believe that my success has a lot to do with my fitness and state of mind. Keeping physically active is not only important for sportsmen like me, but for all men; which I why I support Men’s Health Week and their aim of informing men that becoming more active has so many benefits for them.’ Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP Rider
‘The Men’s Health Forum is a great source of information and guidance for men who perhaps don’t listen to their bodies as much as they should, but are nevertheless keen to make changes for the better.’ Dr Mark Porter

Go to www.menshealthforum.org.uk/ for more information.

Introducing Revitalised to PSAEW...

Wed, 26 May 2010 11:23:00 +0100

“The Revitalised service is an excellent way of demonstrating our commitment to the health and well-being of our members. It offers great value for money and is highly recommended.”

Overview

The Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales (PSAEW) is the professional Association that represents the senior police officers in the 43 Home Office Police Forces, British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Isle of Man Police in the rank of Superintendent and Chief Superintendent. Their members are the senior operational commanders and managers delivering local policing, specialist investigations and operations and support services within police forces.

Background

In the early 1990s, the PSAEW noticed a downturn in the health and well-being of its members. The ever multiplying and challenging demands in the workplace and diminishing resources seemed to be having a negative impact on Superintending ranks.

Poor well-being and long working hours presents various risks to the Police Service including:

Health Risks: poor ongoing physical and mental health, risk of serious illness or even death, lack of/poor quality sleep and fatigue.

Performance and Effectiveness Risks: poor concentration and memory, poor decision-making and less clarity of thinking, poor time management, organisation and planning.

Impact on Outlook: low self-esteem and confidence, doubt over whether doing a good job/making a difference, dissatisfaction with work and home.

Impact on Others: marriage breakdown, impact on children, poor relationships in the workplace, poor relationships outside work and breakdown of social life.

Wellbeing at work is important in the Police Service from a range of perspectives:

Improved wellbeing of staff will reduce the costs associated with sickness absence
Fewer staff are likely to leave the Police Service, retire early or take ill-health retirement if wellbeing is improved
Healthy staff perform better, are more efficient and are better at handling interpersonal demands, such as dealing with members of the public
Under Health and Safety legislation, the Police Service has a legal responsibility for the health and wellbeing of all employees. In addition, the way the Service treats its own staff should be a role model for the way officers treat the public (with respect and care).

Solution

As a result of the health issues that were identified and the clear benefits to be derived from adopting a wellbeing and work-life balance, the PSAEW developed a new ‘Be a Better Superintendent’ toolkit with a range of advice and tips for how to:

Perform better
Feel better
Live better
Lead better
Be Better Superintendents

Launched in 2008, the aim of the toolkit is to help Superintendents and Chief Superintendents consider the impact of their behaviour on those they manage and to help them, through their management approach, to improve the well-being of their staff. Superintending ranks can set an example to managers in all ranks in the Police Service.

In addition, through the toolkit, the PSAEW is taking a leading role and encouraging other Forces to consider their wellbeing.

An integral component of the toolkit is access for all PSAEW members (and their families) to ‘Revitalised’ – a unique web-based resource offering personally tailored health support to help improve health and fitness.

The system offers a combination of individually tailored support and guidance, along with access to general information covering all areas of wellbeing. It also helps users to positively change their lifestyle, improve fitness and health and control levels of stress. Importantly, the system is entirely confidential, can be used as little or as often as preferred, and can be provided to nominated friends and family members.

Using the Revitalised system, the PSAEW were therefore able to provide a range of benefits to Superintending ranks including:

A Personal Training Plan (PTP) that can be carried out at home with no specialist equipment focusing on 3 distinct components of fitness – Cardio Vascular, Conditioning and Flexibility.
A personalised Weight Management Programme (WMP) with information and advice in all areas of diet and nutrition – helping members to reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Achievable goals are set for each member and performance is monitored through monthly feedback and regular assessments.
Series of ‘10 minute wellness plans’ – updated monthly to focus on a different element of wellbeing, helping members to achieve health & relaxation benefits each day in 10 minutes.
Positive Stress Management techniques – helping to manage & reduce the negative effects of stress.
General information & support updated every month in the Advice Centre – managed by a panel of featured experts who members can contact for additional help & support through a free ‘Ask the Expert’ service.

Find out more…

If you would like to find out more about the PSAEW and the ‘‘Be a Better Superintendent’ toolkit’, please go to www.policesupers.com

If you would like to find out more about this case study and the Revitalised system, please go to: www.revitalised.co.uk

Wellbeing has never been more important...

Mon, 17 May 2010 12:37:00 +0100

“In times of economic challenge, investing in wellbeing becomes even more important.”

“There is clear financial & moral evidence that staff wellbeing pays.”

These are the views of Dr Steve Boorman following his comprehensive review of health & wellbeing in the NHS. The Boorman Review found clear empirical evidencethat Trusts who invested positively in staff wellbeing benefited through increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and better staff & patient outcomes across a range of key measures. The Final Report demonstrates clearly the financial & moral case for wellbeing.

Dr Boorman also maintained that “Health and wellbeing is now increasingly being recognised as more than a matter for individual attention - successful organisations have recognised that good health is a key enabler to good business. The health, safety and wellbeing of staff directly contributes to organisational success and poor workforce health has a high cost”.

Of course, Dr Boorman’s findings are applicable to all businesses.

The business case for wellbeing across all sectors & industries has been established for a number of years - with financial, performance & managerial benefits directly linked to effective wellbeing schemes. The benefits or adopting a health and wellbeing strategy are widely understood and include:

increased productivity
reduced absenteeism
reduced workforce turnover - better retention & recruitment
improved employee health
reduced employee stress
improved employee decision-making ability
reduced organisational conflict
duty of care
improved morale & loyalty
health promoting culture

Find out more….

We’re proud to be working with a large number of leading ‘healthy employers’ - helping them to support their staff & families to lead healthier lifestyles & reduce stress.

You can read more about us on www.revitalised.co.uk

We’d love to talk to you about how Revitalised can help support your health promotion efforts - at an annual investment equating to just a few pounds per person.

Let us know if you’d like a bit more info, or to arrange a ‘no-obligation’ meeting.