The document discusses strategies to improve wellbeing at work, highlighting the impact of stress on employee absence and the need for effective team-based interventions. It introduces a 30-day wellbeing improvement cycle with actionable steps such as meditation, gratitude practice, and exercise, aiming to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce stress. The key focus is on collaborative efforts among team members to promote individual and collective wellbeing in the workplace.

1. Improving wellbeing
at work
Rosanna Hunt, Ph.D.
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2. Wellbeing at work: combating stress
• Stress is one of the biggest causes of employee
absence (CIPD, 2008)
• Organisations implementing major downsizing have
2.17 times the average sickness absence rates (DH)
• The average sickness absence rate for the NHS in
England was 4.44% (Jan-Mar 2015) an increase from
the same period in 2014. (HSCIC - http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17903)

3. “The sympathetic nervous system functions like a gas
pedal in a car. It triggers the fight-or-flight response,
providing the body with a burst of energy so that it can
respond to perceived dangers. The parasympathetic
nervous system acts like a brake. It promotes the “rest
and digest” response that calms the body down after
the danger has passed”
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
Stress is caused by over-activation of the
sympathetic nervous system

4. The parameters of a 30-day team
wellbeing improvement cycle
Each 30-day well-being action cycle should be:
• Evidence based
• Simple
• Possible to implement from today
• All team members agree to it
• Possible to track and measure its impact

5. What causes stress in your team?
Answers on a post-it (i.e. anonymous)
Categorise the post-its together
This will help to identify a simple action for
the first 30-day improvement cycle

6. Meditate
Appreciate
Exercise
Evidence-based action to reduce stress
• Activate the parasympathetic nervous system
• Reduce multi-tasking and find focus
• Practice gratitude
• Exercise

7. • Relaxation Response Training reduces anxiety and
depression (third-highest causes of US health costs
after heart disease and cancer -which also are
affected by stress).
• 4400 study participants had an average reduction of
43 percent in their use of health care services in the
year after RRT
Relaxation Response and Resiliency Training and Its Effect on Healthcare
Resource Utilization. Stahl et al Oct 2015. Journal Plos One
Activate the parasympathetic nervous
system
• Relaxation Response Training includes deep
abdominal breathing, focus on a soothing word
(such as “peace” or “calm”), visualization of
tranquil scenes, repetitive prayer, yoga, and tai chi.
Dr. Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for
Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

8. Reduce multi-tasking and find focus
“Do what you can, with what you have,
where you are”
Theodore Roosevelt
Two key scientific benefits of meditation practice:
1. It strengthens the brain’s ability to move from one focus
of attention to another
2. It improves the brain’s ability to resist distractions
Richard Davidson – Neuroscientist at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison

9. Gratitude improves physical health.
- fewer aches and pains & feel healthier
- more likely to take care of your health
Gratitude improves psychological health.
- reduces toxic energy such as envy, frustration and regret
- increases happiness and reduces depression
Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., - research on gratitude and well-being
Gratitude improves self-esteem.
- increases athlete’s self-esteem - an essential component
of optimal performance Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 2014
- reduces social comparisons
- able to appreciate – not envy other people’s successes
Gratitude increases mental strength.
- reduces stress and increases capacity to overcome trauma
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-
benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-
round/#145a2cf56800
Gratitude

10. • Exercise, such as taking a brisk walk shortly after
feeling stressed, not only deepens breathing but
also helps relieve muscle tension.
• Walking meetings
• Give permission for staff to exercise during work
time
Exercise
“sitting is the new smoking” BBC 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36411403#

11. Team
well-being
Individual
well-being
• A simple team action
• Possible to track daily & share
• Everyone agrees with the action and
encourages others to do it
• We do the action in work-time
vs.

12. Team wellbeing is about building &
maintaining wellbeing TOGETHER
If one person is not
happy, harness that
energy to create the
focus for the next 30 day
cycle
All team members
should be involved
in deciding the
focus of the 30 day
cycle.
Provide a social
platform for team
members to share
ideas and inspiration
throughout the 30
days