The introduction of workforce wellbeing is often confusing to navigate and even the organisations interested in championing well-being encounter absenteeism of an elaborate approach. Thrive at work (2021) for instance, quotes an Australian survey which note that 16% of the organisations fail in addressing workplace mental health and overall well-being as they are not aware of the initial phases of the process implementation. Adopting the definition of CIPD (2022), promotion and support of the employee wellbeing is core for the purpose of an organisation in championing better work and working lives. This is since it elicit mutual benefits to individuals, organisations, economies and communities. Similarly, considering the Orchard Group case study organisation, they could use the wellbeing progesm in improving the management of the cases of absenteeism particularly among front-line employees.

1.1 Issues and Key Theories in Wellbeing at Work and Relevance to Workplace of Choice

As evidenced in Great Place of Work (2021), the issues in wellbeing at work are informed by the fact that they influence on the capacity of ensuring the employees are feeling strong, healthy and connected. The major issues hence include;

COVID-19 Pandemic– According to CIPD (2022), the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the employee health and wellbeing being prioritised at the top of agenda. The report evidence that more than two-thirds (66%) of all organisations are interested on evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the employees mental health. This is with two-thirds (67%) of organisations including COVID-19 pandemic as their top 3 causes of short-term absence (38%) with 26% of the employees reporting Long COVID as leading to long-term absenteeism. Similarly, in Orchard Group which is a provate care home provider, COVID-19 pandemic could have elicited immense implications on the prevalence of long-term absenteeism. Hence, to become workplace of choice, Orchard Group need to invest in approaches for managing the COVID-19 pandemic appropriately.

Remote Working– Over the years, this has been a significant issue impacting the success of wellbeing at work and its influence on the relevance of the workplace of choice. This is supported by the ILO (2021) report which is an organisation dealing with the welfare of workers and evidenced by the scope in which, due to the rise in remote working, there has not been a clear distinction between where to work and home hours. This phenomenon is potentially evident in Orchard Group, which currently has 150 full and part time employees alongside the 20 zero-hours workers. As a best practice in establishing well-being at work, there is a need to prioritise this trend and motivate the employers to deliver considered and evidence-based interventions.

For the Van der Berg (2020) institute which deals with recommending the best theories of wellbeing at work, they note the key theories as categoerised into;

Hedonism theory
Desire satisfaction views theory
Objective list views theory

Hedonism Theory

This theory is based on the assumption that well-being consists in, and only in, the balance of positive over negative conscious experiences. According to Utilitarianism (2021) the theory hence note that the only basic welfare goods are present experiences including enjoyment and contentment. This is with pain and misery being unpleasant experiences. Therefore, for the Orchard group, the best practice in implementation of the employees wellbeing would need to prioritise on factors of happiness, definition of well-being in terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance.

Desire satisfaction views theory

According to van der Deijl (2022) this theory of wellbeing note that the core area for leading to a good life is the satisfaction of desires. This means that when all employees’ desires are satisfied, their lives would be good. For instance, in Orchard Group, the organisation would use this theory to implement their well-being by ensuring the employees are granted what they want with limited pleasure being exerted on them.

1.2 Wellbeing definition and explanation and justification of wellbeing management for supporting organisation goals

Adopting the definition of CIPD (2021), the employees wellbeing entail creation of an environment for prompting a state of contentment which allows employees to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and their organisation. This is supported by Gadhavi et al. (2021), which identifies employee well-being as the employees’ overall mental, physical, emotional, and economic health. For instance, in Orchard Group, this has an impact on relations with their co-workers, decisions which are made, tools and resources they are accessing to.

For supporting organisation goals, the importance of wellbeing include;

Improved employee recruitment and retention– In UK where Orchard Group operates, Center for Mental health (2021) report highlight that approximately £1,300 end up being lost for wellbeing issues encountered by employees in the UK economy. Hence, by Orchard Group harnessing the scope of the health and wellbeing of their employees, they would holistically establish a harmonious work environment. This is with such an organisation gaining from lowered costs of recruitment and training.
Lowering the workers compensation claims– In the HSE (2021) report, it evidenced that 1.7 Million employees had been suffering from work-linked ill health in the UK. For an organisation failure to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees contribute directly to immense organisational costs. These costs would be complex due to an intense absenteeism in workplaces. For Orchard organisation, the increased number of the absenteeism cases would also contribute to increased compensation claims.
Increasing organisation reputation– For Orchard Group, by increasing the wellbeing of their employees, they would meet high level occupational health and safety standards. This is also evidenced in the united nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), which inform the need for improved health and wellbeing in their workplaces.

Conversely, to individual employees, the benefits would include;

Increased productivity and engagement– employees working in an organisation with high level of wellbeing contribute to the employees increasing their level of productivity, motivation and engagement in their roles. For Orchard group, This is with their trust in their organisation increasing and leveraging on their assigned roles.
Reducing individual healthcare costs– For Orchard Group, for their employees, implementing appropriate wellness programs would positively contribute to reduced healthcare costs for employers. This is with the physical exercises being promoted with a reduced potential of lowering overall costs of frequent medication due to ill-health.

1.3 Value of Adopting Wellbeing Practices in Organisations

A report by Adams (2019) evaluating the value of adopting…………..

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