4 min read

How to use ‘Wellbee’ to secure the wellbeing of your employees when hospitality workplaces reopen after the initial Covid-19 lockdown

As hospitality moves towards full operational mode, the wellbeing of our hospitality people is vital.

Over the past few months mental health and wellbeing have risen high up the agenda, surpassing most other concerns, as hospitality employers strived to make sure their employees were supported, healthy and had the tools to help them manage remotely.

At Caterer.com we’ve spoken about wellbeing in the past and believe that it is crucial for our hospitality people to have access to help and advice so that they feel well and confident to return to work. That time has arrived, and with it a new set of challenges that hospitality businesses have to address.

Wellbee – let’s talk about wellbeing

We spoke to Jane Sunley, Founder and CEO of PurpleCubed. Jane and her team have developed Wellbee, an easy to use and engaging tool to help hospitality businesses look after wellbeing in the workplace and beyond.

“Everyone knows happy, healthy employees are more engaged and productive – yet here we are in a wellbeing crisis.” Jane commented. “We developed Wellbee to find out why, and to support tackling this, in unprecedented times of challenge.”

Wellbee – why now?

Jane sees wellbeing as a fundamental part of any business strategy and the statistics back it up. The NHS reports that 1 in 4 people in the UK have mental health problems and COVID19 has sadly exacerbated that. A recent coronavirus survey reported that 97% of those surveyed felt their wellbeing has been adversely affected^[1].

As businesses return to work, 56% employers surveyed by PurpleCubed felt that they would do more to support the wellbeing of their people but don’t know how.

Wellbee offers the hospitality sector a digital facility for everyone to check-in and self-assess their own wellbeing. “It’s time to reassess the way organisations deal with the prevention of unhealthy stress and related conditions.” Jane continued, “Wellbee is different from other wellbeing support tools as, through a series of questions, it provides a thorough analysis of someone’s wellbeing, together with personalised recommendations, support and signposting that is focused on increasing happiness and wellbeing.”

Wellbeing and change

Jane commented, “If employers don’t do something now, there could be all sorts of problems down the line. Because people dislike change, they don’t like to feel unsettled, and the whole nation has been thrust into this substantial change.”

“Even if you’re the strongest, most resilient person you could be feeling pretty low at the moment because you’ve been at home, probably for about 16 weeks. As businesses reopen some hospitality people could well be thinking ‘I don’t know what it’s going to be like.”

How can Wellbee help hospitality?

Instead of trying to second guess employee wellbeing, Wellbee allows employers and managers to see how their people are doing. Importantly It also lets managers check their own wellbeing. If someone needs support, Wellbee offers signposting and suggestions on what actions to take to help improve mental health and wellbeing.

As the sector reaches full strength again there’s a risk that wellbeing might move down the agenda again, but it shouldn’t. The benefits of a healthy and happy workforce are well known, and employers have a duty of care to ensure that not just their people, but they themselves are well and able to deliver the excellent levels of leadership and service we’ve come to expect from the industry.

Tips for supporting good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace

We asked Jane for her suggestions on what employers can do to help and support good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

As an employer or leader think about the new skills and knowledge you have gained through lockdown and use this knowledge to help your teams manage their wellbeing.
As businesses make significant changes to the way they work consider what you can do to mitigate the increased levels of stress these changes can lead to.
How does your team’s wellbeing impact on your customer experience? How can you ensure that your team is skilled, confident and happy to successfully interact with your consumers?
Be kind – everyone is going through their own process as the sector returns to work and acknowledging and supporting your people through this will pay so many dividends in the future.