Company sees effects of wellbeing initiative

Wellbeing programme includes gym membership discounts

Carbon Neutral waste management business B&M Waste Services launched its wellbeing scheme in 2017 and since then has reported dramatic improvements in terms of staff health, wellbeing and both customer and staff retention levels.

The family-run business said it has always prioritised the wellbeing of staff and formalised this in terms of a scheme available to everyone.

Among a raft of opportunities are:

  • Training of all line managers in recognising the signs of stress or mental health problems, and what to do, with an open door policy so all staff have someone to talk to.
  • Monthly B&M Wellbeing bulletins providing bite-size chunks of information relating to wellbeing topics including mental health, exercise, healthy hearts, addiction, mindfulness, nutrition, hydration, and signposting accredited bodies
  • Breakout areas at all depots to encourage time away from workstations
  • Free fruit at work for all staff
  • Annual health checks available to all employees
  • Free eye tests and support with the purchase of work-related optical wear
  • Discounted gym memberships
  • Ongoing use of the ‘Wellbeing Room’ for activities including, but not limited to, yoga, mindfulness meditation, fitness, music, dance, slimming groups, massage
  • Resilience training for all employees, including the opportunity to take part in an eight-week mindfulness course.

The first team to take part in the eight-week mindfulness course – which all interested staff will have completed by March 2019 – saw some impressive results, including an overall 15% improvement in resilience scores pre and post the course.

Among comments from participants were remarks such as: “I’m not worrying as much about house work etc – I’m spending that extra time with the kids.”

Other remarks included: “I’ve committed to exercising and can now (almost) run 5k,” and “I have removed two social media apps from my phone and have not missed them”.

Mick Ashall, director for B&M Waste Services, said: “It’s fantastic to formalise the already fantastically caring culture we have into a scheme which allows our teams to openly suggest and participate in activities to improve their wellbeing.

“In today’s fast-paced, technically-driven culture it’s good to help staff remember how much our ‘cave man’ ancestry plays in our day-to-day reactions and anxieties and to help staff build up their individual resilience to the everyday pressures of life.”

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