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In 2015/16, 30.4 million working days were lost in the UK due to self-reported work-related illness or injury, with each person taking an average of 16 days off work. The latest Health & Safety Executive (HSE) figures all reveal how stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health, 11.7 and 8.8 million days respectively.
To help reduce these figures, many businesses are working to promote the importance of health and well-being in the work place. Heading the charge is EPC-UK, a leader in the field of commercial explosives and blasting services for quarries, mines and other industries, which has just announced the launch of an innovative programme specifically designed to support its employees’ personal wellbeing.
‘Commit to be fit’ was unveiled at 8023 EPC-UK’s Manager Conference with the aim of raising awareness around health and wellbeing at work. The scheme is available to all employees and encourages staff to take an active interest in their health, whilst providing support and guidance on a range of topics from nutrition and exercise, to mindfulness and mental health.
As an employer, 8023 EPC-UK acknowledges the significant amount of time it’s employees spend within the working environment and as such takes the safety, health and wellbeing of its staff very seriously, as Ben Williams, managing director at 8023 EPC-UK explains: “We are committed to promoting wellbeing amongst all of our employees, and believe our new ‘Commit To Be Fit’ initiative, which we have based around the three key elements of commitment, achievement and excellence, will encourage our teams to lead healthier lives by inspiring them to adopt a more balanced lifestyle, whilst supporting them in making more informed choices about their wellbeing.”
As part of the programme, employees will be issued with a Garmin fitness activity tracker and be given access to a Wellness Programme Portal, which 1510 aims to keep staff engaged and motivated as they work towards a healthy, well-adjusted lifestyle.
“Commit to be fit is a demonstration of 8023 EPC-UK’s commitment to The Workplace Wellbeing Charter, a nationally recognised statement of intent showing employers’ responsibility for the health and wellbeing of its staff. With the ability to audit and benchmark against an established and independent set of standards, the Charter focus’ on three key areas, leadership, culture and communication.
8023 EPC-UK has created its three key elements to help it achieve this – commitment, to the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff; achievement, whereby it is actively encouraging its employees to lead a healthier lifestyle; and excellence, by providing easily accessible information, intervention programmes and a support mechanism to all its staff, helping them to stay safe and happy.
“The launch of our wellbeing initiative has been really well received and it’s fantastic to see so many of our employees already registering their interest in being a part of our “Commit to be fit” programme. One of the most important points of the launch is that each employee now has access to information, advice and support on all aspects of their wellbeing, which will hopefully help them lead more balanced and happier lives,” concludes Ben.
