Life has scooped a major award in recognition of its impressive efforts to boost staff health and wellbeing.
The Better Health at Work Award (Silver) recognises the activity of employers in the North East and Cumbria to address health issues and promote healthy lifestyles within the workplace. Life has been praised for making staff wellbeing a priority and creating a space, both physical and virtual, conducive to it.
The Silver accolade builds on the Bronze accreditation achieved by Life in January 2019. To achieve Silver, employers must demonstrate a holistic approach to the working lifestyle; an understanding of prevalent health issues and an appreciation of work/life balance. In particular, Silver rewards those who go ‘above and beyond’ in their care and mentorship.
Initiatives championed by Life over the past two years have included mental health and self-care awareness sessions led by external experts and internal health advocates, plus the introduction of a confidential helpline and a staff web portal offering advice and practical support. Life has trained mental health first-aiders and domestic abuse champions and its range of support has included fitness, diet and wellbeing, preparing for retirement and coping with menopause.
The Better Health at Work Award is a partnership public health programme, funded by the region’s local authorities and coordinated by the Northern TUC since 2013.
BHAWA Programme Coordinator, Susanne Nichol, said: “It is clear that Life is taking health and wellbeing seriously at all levels of the organisation. A great deal of time, effort and resource, as well as creativity and tenacity, has gone into achieving this Award, but more importantly creating a health and wellbeing-conducive environment for staff.”
Linda Conlon, chief executive at Life said: “We have always been committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for our team and visitors. This award acknowledges the hard work that’s been done to empower everyone to be happy and healthy. We will continue to build on the work done so far and hope to achieve gold by 2024.”