Managing Human Resources
Employees Wellbeing at the Workplace
The following essay will present the idea what employee wellbeing is and how is it
used at the workplace, it will discuss different policies and legislations and their
importance in terms and employee wellbeing and health & safety. Later on, the
essay will focus on two different companies – Amazon and Google. There will be
focus on the benefits they offer and how well each one of them is managing
employee wellbeing. The essay will also look at some of the current scandals around
employee wellbeing and treatment at the workplace and how the companies are
coping with the problems around them.
Wellbeing can be defined by CIPD (2019) simply as the ‘state of a person being
healthy, happy and comfortable’. This concept is much wider than just being happy
at the moment, as it also focuses on people being satisfied with their life, feel of
purpose and also how they evaluate their life as a whole (MentalHealth 2015).
Employee wellbeing involves the physical state of the person, mental wellbeing and
also emotional wellbeing. When wellbeing is promoted successfully by a company,
stress and anxiety will be prevented creating a positive environment for the workers.
As (CIPD 2019) suggests healthy and happy employees will contribute positively to
the business.
The next part of the essay will be focused on the emotional and mental wellbeing of
the employees and how companies are using different policies to control absences.
As noted by Banfield, Kay and Royles (2019), happiness is making people more
productive, which is based on experiments and also studies of real-life situations.
They also concluded that the managers who are involved in managing people should
focus more on the emotional well-being of the workers and create a more positive
working environment in order to raise productivity at the workplace.
Furthermore, based on CIPD (2019) research, the main problems related to
absences are psychological which means stress related and mental illness
problems. What they recommended for employers include ensuring that the leaders
are aware and have an understanding of the importance of health & safety and
wellbeing of employees and take appropriate actions to ensure that policies and
legislations are taken seriously across the company. Also, as noted on CIPD (2019),
companies need to understand and have evidence of the causes of absences of
employees and of ‘presenteeism’ and ‘leaveism’ practises, which are unhealthy for
the company and tailor specific policies that will fit the employees’ unique needs.
, Companies should be aware of the importance of employee wellbeing and invest in
it. Nowadays companies are increasingly investing into different health & safety and
wellbeing initiatives in order to keep their employees healthy and happy and to
reduce the number of sickness absences at the workplace. For, example what
companies do is to monitor the level of illness absences and record the reasons and
the cost (Banfield, Kay and Royles 2019). What employers can do in order to lower
down absences is to use policies.
As noted in Acas.org.uk (2020), each company is required to have rules and policies
on what they accept as a tolerable reason for an absence and the amount they will
pay the employee for that. Also, it is vital for the policy to include clear information on
how the absence should be reported, when a sick note is needed, return to work
discussion information, whether employee assistance programme is provided etc.
Furthermore, the Acas.org.uk (2020) states the areas covered by law which are
statutory sick pay (SSP), sick notes and also time off to help someone (dependents).
The following part of the essay will concentrate more on the physical wellbeing of the
employees and how Health & Safety Act at Work and other relevant legislations
should be applied by companies.
One of the laws that should be followed by every company in order to maintain the
physical wellbeing of the employees is Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. As noted
by Hse.gov.uk (2020), all employees have the right to be working in an environment
where the risk to their health & safety are being controlled in an appropriate way and
also both the employer and the employees are responsible for following the act and
complying with the regulations. Furthermore, Hse.gov.uk (2020) have clearly
explained the responsibilities of the employer which included undertaking risk
assessments, explain risks and how to control them, provide appropriate training and
any protective equipment is needed. Moreover, the employees should comply with
that and follow the training and the instructions provided and take responsible care of
their own and others health & safety.
Additionally, as mentioned on Hse.gov.uk (2020), Working Time Regulations (1998)
is another important regulation that protects the employees from being required to
work more that 48 hours without the agreement of the worker.
The next part of the essay will focus on the ‘Duty of Care’ and how it should be used
by the employers.
As noted on Health Assured (2019), it is employers’ obligation to guarantee the
physical and mental health and safety of the employees in their company. This is a
legal requirement for the business, but it also has a positive effect on the employees
and their productivity, as they will feel more valued and will be more confident to
inform the employer for any unsafe practises on time.
Employee rights to privacy will be briefly discussed in the next section of the essay.
All employees are human beings which means they have their right to private life,
meaning that employers should be respectful and should not undertake actions
which will impact on the employees’ privacy. Muller-Heyndyk (2019), have discussed
that ‘More than half of UK workers feel uncomfortable with their employers getting
Employees Wellbeing at the Workplace
The following essay will present the idea what employee wellbeing is and how is it
used at the workplace, it will discuss different policies and legislations and their
importance in terms and employee wellbeing and health & safety. Later on, the
essay will focus on two different companies – Amazon and Google. There will be
focus on the benefits they offer and how well each one of them is managing
employee wellbeing. The essay will also look at some of the current scandals around
employee wellbeing and treatment at the workplace and how the companies are
coping with the problems around them.
Wellbeing can be defined by CIPD (2019) simply as the ‘state of a person being
healthy, happy and comfortable’. This concept is much wider than just being happy
at the moment, as it also focuses on people being satisfied with their life, feel of
purpose and also how they evaluate their life as a whole (MentalHealth 2015).
Employee wellbeing involves the physical state of the person, mental wellbeing and
also emotional wellbeing. When wellbeing is promoted successfully by a company,
stress and anxiety will be prevented creating a positive environment for the workers.
As (CIPD 2019) suggests healthy and happy employees will contribute positively to
the business.
The next part of the essay will be focused on the emotional and mental wellbeing of
the employees and how companies are using different policies to control absences.
As noted by Banfield, Kay and Royles (2019), happiness is making people more
productive, which is based on experiments and also studies of real-life situations.
They also concluded that the managers who are involved in managing people should
focus more on the emotional well-being of the workers and create a more positive
working environment in order to raise productivity at the workplace.
Furthermore, based on CIPD (2019) research, the main problems related to
absences are psychological which means stress related and mental illness
problems. What they recommended for employers include ensuring that the leaders
are aware and have an understanding of the importance of health & safety and
wellbeing of employees and take appropriate actions to ensure that policies and
legislations are taken seriously across the company. Also, as noted on CIPD (2019),
companies need to understand and have evidence of the causes of absences of
employees and of ‘presenteeism’ and ‘leaveism’ practises, which are unhealthy for
the company and tailor specific policies that will fit the employees’ unique needs.
, Companies should be aware of the importance of employee wellbeing and invest in
it. Nowadays companies are increasingly investing into different health & safety and
wellbeing initiatives in order to keep their employees healthy and happy and to
reduce the number of sickness absences at the workplace. For, example what
companies do is to monitor the level of illness absences and record the reasons and
the cost (Banfield, Kay and Royles 2019). What employers can do in order to lower
down absences is to use policies.
As noted in Acas.org.uk (2020), each company is required to have rules and policies
on what they accept as a tolerable reason for an absence and the amount they will
pay the employee for that. Also, it is vital for the policy to include clear information on
how the absence should be reported, when a sick note is needed, return to work
discussion information, whether employee assistance programme is provided etc.
Furthermore, the Acas.org.uk (2020) states the areas covered by law which are
statutory sick pay (SSP), sick notes and also time off to help someone (dependents).
The following part of the essay will concentrate more on the physical wellbeing of the
employees and how Health & Safety Act at Work and other relevant legislations
should be applied by companies.
One of the laws that should be followed by every company in order to maintain the
physical wellbeing of the employees is Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. As noted
by Hse.gov.uk (2020), all employees have the right to be working in an environment
where the risk to their health & safety are being controlled in an appropriate way and
also both the employer and the employees are responsible for following the act and
complying with the regulations. Furthermore, Hse.gov.uk (2020) have clearly
explained the responsibilities of the employer which included undertaking risk
assessments, explain risks and how to control them, provide appropriate training and
any protective equipment is needed. Moreover, the employees should comply with
that and follow the training and the instructions provided and take responsible care of
their own and others health & safety.
Additionally, as mentioned on Hse.gov.uk (2020), Working Time Regulations (1998)
is another important regulation that protects the employees from being required to
work more that 48 hours without the agreement of the worker.
The next part of the essay will focus on the ‘Duty of Care’ and how it should be used
by the employers.
As noted on Health Assured (2019), it is employers’ obligation to guarantee the
physical and mental health and safety of the employees in their company. This is a
legal requirement for the business, but it also has a positive effect on the employees
and their productivity, as they will feel more valued and will be more confident to
inform the employer for any unsafe practises on time.
Employee rights to privacy will be briefly discussed in the next section of the essay.
All employees are human beings which means they have their right to private life,
meaning that employers should be respectful and should not undertake actions
which will impact on the employees’ privacy. Muller-Heyndyk (2019), have discussed
that ‘More than half of UK workers feel uncomfortable with their employers getting
