Creating success through wellbeing in higher education

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Creating success through wellbeing in higher
education

• Kim Shutler-Jones
• Project Manager for Wellbeing in Higher Education
• 23rd Oct 2009

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Key challenges

• Restructures
• Redundancies
• Stressors inside and outside of work
• Poorly managed change?
• Lack of communications?
• Leadership and management lack of awareness and
  the right skills?

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• A practical, bottom-up approach to embedding
  wellbeing in the change process

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Ill health and sickness absence

• The challenges
• Lack of communication between individuals,
  managers and OH
• Misperceptions about Occupational Health
• Lack of management awareness
• Stigma related to mental health
• Inconsistent approach to sickness absence
  monitoring
• Absence isnt reported (especially for senior
  managers and academics) - makes early
  intervention difficult
• All of above can lead to long term occupational
  health related issues
• Work and leisure not separated

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Ill health and sickness absence

• How you can help
• Encouraging a case conferencing approach
• Help to promote a positive view of OH
• Helping to raise awareness and overcome stigma
  related to mental health
• Encouraging early intervention
• Encourage management training effective
  management of absence, mental health, health
  during restructures, rehabilitation and work
  place adjustments etc.
• Promote the importance of recovery time

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Improving communications

• The challenges
• Limbo state
• Lack of communications
• No clear process in place
• Lack of communications skills
• Rumours and speculation
• Dont know what to expect
• Feeling under valued
• Low morale and motivation

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Improving communications

• How you can help
• Work in partnership to
• Develop a working group which pulls together
  TUs, HR, OH, Comms, HS departments
• Put a clear, participative process in place
• Develop communication plan templates with
  recommended medium, timings etc.
• Develop template to assess risks eg. Health
• Develop training for managers

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Resources and collaboration

• The challenges
• Lack of resource
• Lack of information sharing
• Lack of collaboration across professional areas
• Lack of collaboration across institutions

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Resources and collaboration

• How you can help
• Help to source/raise awareness of external
  funding eg. sponsorship, linking with PCT,
  funding bodies
• Encourage the establishment of collaborative
  working groups which bring together TUs and other
  stakeholders
• Wellbeing and health on the agenda at TU national
  and regional meetings
• Visit www.wellbeing.ac.uk for case studies and
  links to other projects/resources

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Promoting healthy lifestyles

• The challenges
• Perceptions of no time
• Staff do not like to exercise with students
• Perceptions that it is too hard
• Lack of healthy eating choices on campus
• Lack of awareness of risks
• Lack of a joined up agenda

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Promoting healthy lifestyles

• How you can help
• Work in partnership with Sports and Department,
  Catering, HR, OH, Health and Safety, and
  Sustainability to
• Find out what staff want
• Develop new attractive staff only programmes (not
  just competitive sport)
• Promote the importance of healthy lifestyles (and
  the risks)

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Promoting healthy lifestyles

• How you can help
• Work in partnership with Sports and Department,
  Catering, HR, OH, Health and Safety, and
  Sustainability to
• Ensure healthy food is available on campus
• Hold health promotion events eg. fairs, linking
  in with national campaigns
• Link in with cycle/walk to work schemes
• Develop external partnerships eg. local PCT

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Discussion groups

• What are the major risks to individuals
  surrounding the changes in your institution?
• Building on the examples illustrated what is
  the role of trade union representatives during
  this time?

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Contact us

• For more information please contact
• Kim Shutler-Jones
• Project Manager for Wellbeing in Higher Education
• k.shutler-jones_at_leeds.ac.uk
• 0113 343 6525
• www.wellbeing.ac.uk