Blogs

Guest blog by Helen Fitzhugh, Senior Research Associate, University of East Anglia The first time I started speaking to people about what makes good workplace wellbeing, it was 2017, I was armed with a small, newly developed infographic on one side of A4 paper entitled ‘How to Improve Workplace…

Guest blog by Faye Chappell, Workforce Development Coach People are often promoted into leadership positions because they are high performing and not necessarily because they want to become leaders. The transition to a leadership position can be a lonely one. High performing individuals can find the…

Guest blog by Jenny Barrett, Wellbeing HR Manager at RSPB “Your organisation is just about running bird reserves, isn’t it? Surely that is good for people’s wellbeing?” This was the reaction of a friend when I was appointed in December 2022 to the new role of Wellbeing Manager in the RSPB. This is…

SOM and COHPA thank everyone involved, from the Federation of Small Businesses to the Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Work and Pensions, SOM and COHPA members and Occupational Health Companies who marked the event. An increased focus on workplace health has never been more…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week 2023 - by Louis Taylor, Consulting Business Psychologist Neurodiversity refers to the different ways in which a person's brain processes information. According to Acas , more than one in seven individuals are likely to be neurodivergent. However…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week 2023 - by Janet O'Neill, NSOH Awareness weeks bring attention to important subjects; a fresh day approach, creating a platform to educate and inform. Occupational health (OH) is a subject of rising importance with awareness needed. But what are we…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week 2023 - by Victoria Field, SME business director for PAM OH Access to occupational health can reduce sickness absence and staff replacement costs. Record numbers of employees are absent from work, with one person now long-term sick for every 14 people…

Occupational Health Awareness Week - 18-24th September - focuses on helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) access information they need to keep their staff healthy and productive at work. The connection between good health and productive workplaces has never been more important. ONS…

Guest blog by Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive at Working Families Our research found that three quarters of UK parents and carers are working additional hours, and a fifth of them say it is the only way they can manage their workload. Throw a cost-of-living crisis into the mix and it’s no wonder that…

Guest blog by Janet O’Neill, OHNA, RGN (MSc, PG Dip OH, RGN) In June, The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey was published by the Disability Forum, with nearly 1,500 disabled employees and 400 managers responding. It considered the process, experience, and impact of adjustments on disabled…

Guest blog by Abigail Hirshman, Co-chair, Mental Health Group, Council for Work and Health A few weeks ago, I delivered some mental health training for managers. During the session I was asked what you should do when someone has a panic attack. I gave some pointers and also mentioned their mental…

Guest blog by Dr Lara Shemtob Business psychologist Alan Bradshaw shared an impressive example of organisational change to support staff health and wellbeing within a social care setting in Scotland at a SOM event in June 2023. Here are the highlights and lessons learned from the transformation at…