May 24, 2019 - Blog

Empowering Employee Health and Wellbeing

Health and Wellbeing at Version 1 : The backbone of our happy workforce

Version 1 was recently named as a ‘Best Large Workplace’ in the UK – an accolade we are extremely proud to win, particularly because this ranking assesses our employees’ perspectives on workplace foundations such as leadership, innovation, inclusion, organisational culture and trust.

At Version 1, we believe that the backbone of our happy workforce is our company culture, which is solidified by a steadfast focus on trust and empowerment, and actively seeks to monitor and improve our employees’ health and happiness through a variety of wellbeing initiatives. Further, we believe that continuously improving our culture makes a real difference to the careers and work environment of our people, and our ultimate goal is to deliver a great workplace where our core values are truly visible throughout everything we do.

THE VERSION 1 ‘MY WELLBEING’ MODEL

Version 1 is a Great Place to Work but not an Easy Place to Work”. This quote captures the realistic, fast and hard-working environment that we work in at Version 1. While there are many rewards for hard work, including being part of a strong culture with a positive atmosphere and lots of opportunities for growth and development, it also comes with its challenges. Therefore, to promote sustainable and consistent high performance we recognise the importance of prioritising our employee’s health, as our employees are our greatest asset. We accept responsibility to provide the resources to support our employees’ health, while our employees must commit to meeting us half way and availing of the resources we provide. This means our employees must prioritise their health, while we will do our best to support them where we can.

“The power yoga class held at Version 1 was really physically challenging but very enjoyable. It was great to switch off from work for an hour during lunch and I felt much more productive in the afternoon as I could work with a clear mind. I also am currently rehabbing from an achilles injury so I found it hugely beneficial as part of my recovery process”
- Darren Screeney

The 5 pillars of our holistic Wellbeing model include Sense of Purpose, Financial Management, Physical Health, Mental Wellbeing and Social Connections.  Each segment of the wheel is explained in more detail below.

Sense of Purpose: Having a sense of purpose and being motivated to engage in meaningful work is a key aspect of an individual’s wellbeing. We want our employees to have a desire to grow and develop and reach their goals and targets in work and in life. Key areas of focus under the ‘sense of purpose’ pillar include motivation, self-awareness, goal-setting, productivity and core values.

Financial Management refers to having a healthy financial state. We want our employee to be financially healthy, happy and free from stress or worry, based on their view of their financial situation. To ensure our employees stay financially healthy, we promote financial wellbeing through teaching/educating on a range of financial matters including future planning, life assurance, budgeting, savings, mortgages and pension.

Physical Health refers to promoting proper care of one’s bodies for optimum health & functioning through balancing the areas of physical activity, hydration nutrition, sleep and rest. We aim to promote positive physical health through a variety of initiatives/activities and we also aim to ensure our employees are working in a healthy and safe work environment.

Mental Wellbeing refers to a state of well-being in which you realise your potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and are able to contribute to the organisation. Our mental wellbeing pillar focuses on mental health, mindfulness, self-confidence, stress management/ resilient and maintaining a growth mindset. We not only want our employees to be getting by we want them to have a positive and growth mindset as they strive to deliver excellence at work.

Social Connections refers to the quality of relationships at work including our employees’ sense of belonging and connection with their manager and peers within the organisation. We value the importance of our employees’ social connections and relationships at work to enhance their wellbeing.

The mental health training was really insightful, engaging and beneficial. I learned that you don’t need to be an expert or medical professional to help a colleague who may be struggling; it was good to realise we can all play a role in supporting each other in dealing with the stresses of life
- Paul Bullen
man in field

SUSTAINABLE QUARTERLY EFFORTS

The overall long-term goal of the ‘My Wellbeing” model is to empower our employees to feel happy and healthy at work, and outside of it. As we build toward this larger goal, our short-term goal is to ensure all employees across the organization have the opportunity to engage with at least one segment of the wheel per quarter. As part of this, we have structured each quarter into specific themes that takes the employee on a journey through each year, identifying a start point, a middle and an end. These themes remain constant overtime and allow our employees to become familiar with the cycle of managing their wellbeing as an ongoing activity embedded in their everyday activities and in our culture in Version 1. We have also established and built a network of health and wellbeing champions in all of our locations.

As part of our launch of our latest programme we celebrated Wellbeing Day across the organization; the wellbeing champions organised physical events and provided healthy snacks and treats for employees. The aim of our Wellbeing Day was to build awareness around employee welfare and to shape social connections by encouraging employees to get away from their desks to mix with colleagues in a variety of ways. These efforts have had a tangible, positive impact on staff and Version 1 is committed to insuring that they continue for the betterment of the health and wellbeing of all employees.

If a healthy, happy and inclusive workplace sounds appealing to you, explore open opportunities throughout Version 1 here.