Wellbeing

at Work, a
Practical Guide
A Practical Guide During Coronavirus
Gemma Dale; Tim Scott
GEMMA DALE, TIM SCOTT

WELLBEING AT WORK,
A PRACTICAL GUIDE
A PRACTICAL GUIDE
DURING CORONAVIRUS

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Wellbeing at Work, a Practical Guide: A Practical Guide During Coronavirus
2nd edition
© 2020 Gemma Dale, Tim Scott & bookboon.com
ISBN 978-87-403-3381-7

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Contents

CONTENTS
1 What is Wellbeing? 5

2 Wellbeing at Work 7

3 Wellbeing Interventions 10

4 Stress and Mental Health at Work 12

5 Wellbeing in Your Workplace – Where are You Now? 15

5.1 Existing Data 15
5.2 Seeking New Perspectives 16

6 Developing an Emergency Wellbeing Plan 18

Long Term Planning 20

Ten Simple Wellbeing Activies 29

Barriers to Wellbeing at Work During Coronavirus 31

Measurement 33

Other Considerations 35

Conclusions 38

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE What is Wellbeing?

1 WHAT IS WELLBEING?
What exactly do we mean when we talk about ‘wellbeing’? It is a term that has many
definitions. As far back as the ancient Greek philosophers, there have been attempts to
define human wellbeing and how it can be achieved.

Historically, two approaches to wellbeing emerged. The first was the ‘hedonic’ tradition
focusing on happiness and overall satisfaction with life. The second approach is the
‘eudaimonic’ tradition which in contrast focuses upon positive psychological functioning
and human development.

Other ideas about wellbeing encompass a person’s quality of life, ‘flourishing’– a term
strongly associated with the positive psychology movement – and other concepts such as
work-life balance, thriving, living your best life or, simply, happiness. For others, wellbeing
is about the absence of ill-health or disease. We can also think of wellbeing through various
lenses; physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, social wellbeing, nutritional wellbeing – even
financial wellbeing.

Professor Sir Cary Cooper, a leading expert in workplace health and wellbeing, suggests
one potential definition of wellbeing as “life satisfaction based on an individual’s perception
of their health, happiness and sense of purpose”. Another is proposed by the World Health
Organisation, who define wellbeing as “where each individual realises their own potential,
can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to
make a contribution to their community”. On close inspection these two definitions are quite
different. Professor Cooper’s definition is quite personal – and will inevitably be subjective.
The WHO definition is broader and includes other concepts that are also hard to define
such as ‘normal stressors’ and ‘potential’.

The term ‘wellbeing’ becomes even more complicated when it is conflated with other
terminology. One such example is how the terms ‘wellbeing’ and ‘mental health’ are often
(unhelpfully) used interchangeably and in the workplace, we also associate wellbeing with
stress. Stress at work is defined by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive as “the adverse
reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed upon them
at work”. They identify several factors that have an impact upon work-related stress levels
including demands, control, managerial support, change and the role being undertaken.
But stress and wellbeing are different – although they can of course be linked.

As we can already see, when we talk about wellbeing, we can mean different things: one
person’s idea of wellbeing will not necessarily be the same as another’s. Despite the many
different ideas about what wellbeing is, a settled definition of the term still eludes us - and

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE What is Wellbeing?

so does an agreed way of measuring it. What we can see is that wellbeing is not one single
thing, it is a mix of subjective and contextual factors which are different for each individual.
These different aspects of wellbeing are also interconnected.

From an organisational perspective, this lack of agreed definition and the subjectivity of
the term means that the organisation must agree a shared definition and understanding of
what it means for them at the outset of any wellbeing activity.

We are currently experiencing a global pandemic that has disrupted lives all around the world,
including the way that we work. These changes will impact upon wellbeing as well as how
we define it for ourselves. Some of the definitions discussed here feel perhaps more suited
to a ‘normal’ situation. The normal stresses of life have, for example, changed considerably.
Taking deliberate steps to support and enable wellbeing of employees has perhaps never
been as important in recent times as it is today.

Wellbeing is always something that we define for ourselves – this remains true in a pandemic
as it is in any other time.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing at Work

2 WELLBEING AT WORK
The importance of employee health and well-being has become more widely recognised
in general ver the past decade. The country’s largest UK people management body, the
Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), published a Health and Wellbeing
at Work 2019 Survey which identified three main benefits of employers increasing their
focus on employee wellbeing:

• better employee morale and engagement

• a healthier and more inclusive culture
• lower sickness absence

In the current context of living and working in the time of a pandemic, wellbeing is a pressing
issue for all organisations; early indications are that individual wellbeing (and mental health
in particular) will be impacted by the changes to our personal and working lives, including
potential significant impacts upon mental health. Within weeks of the significant transition
to large scale homeworking employees were reporting issues with poor sleep, anxiety, low
mood, increased substance use, excess worry, aches and pains and fatigue. Analysis of other,
previous quarantine situations (such as during the Ebola and SARS outbreaks) have led to
long term impacts on mental health – sometimes lasting years.

ork can have a positive effect on our wellbeing – and a negative one. . Equally, the absence
of work (e.g. unemployment) can be harmful for our wellbeing too. This is known as the
‘harm / benefit paradox’. In ancient Greece, Galen wrote that employment is “nature’s
physician, essential to human happiness”. But the modern workplace is also full of potential
hazards when it comes to health, safety and wellbeing. This varies from the physical dangers
of some types of work through to its organisation and the culture of individual workplaces.
For some, the pandemic is increasing work requirements. For others it is resulting in less
work, or no work at all.

According to the CIPD, wellbeing at work is defined as a “healthy workplace that helps people
to flourish and reach their potential.”

Many organisations already have wellbeing initiatives and activities for their employees.
Over the last few years the idea of wellbeing has continued to climb up the organisational
agenda – the current situation (and the aforementioned early research) makes it more
important than ever. In practice, wellbeing at work covers a wide range of activities from
fitness classes and mindfulness, education, training and mental health interventions. Some
of these practices will be strategic, others less so.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing at Work

It isn’t surprising to see that organisations take an interest in the wellbeing of their employees
in more ‘normal’ times; there are studies that suggest improving employee wellbeing is
associated with more sustained levels of engagement and performance, specifically in relation
to improving cognitive abilities, improving attitudes to work (including the propensity to
be collaborative) and improving general health. It is however generally accepted that whilst
we have a very robust understanding, based on extensive research, of the causes of stress in
the workplace, more research is required into wellbeing in the workplace, particularly in
relation to the long-term efficacy of workplace wellbeing programmes.

Organisations that invest in wellbeing programmes do report a range of benefits including

reduced sickness absence, enhanced engagement and morale, reduced levels of work-related
stress, enhanced employer brand, improved retention and improved productivity.

If those early trends and predications relating to wellbeing – and in particular mental health –
as a result of the pandemic and quarantine situations continue to demonstrate negative
impacts, organisations must urgently consider how to support employee wellbeing both
in the short and long term. At the time of writing many people are either working from
home in a form of lockdown, or designated key workers continuing to provide vital services
under challenging conditions. Both may result in long term health impacts for employers
to address. For those who do not have formal wellbeing initiatives urgent action must be
taken as soon as possible. For those who already have strategies and activities these will
need to be reviewed to ensure they meet the immediate and future needs of the workforce.

Multiple factors that can influence workplace wellbeing, either positively or negatively. These
can be divided into situational factors (those relating to the job or organisation), or factors
that relate to the individual themselves (such as their overall health or personal attitude).
The situational factors include the content of the job itself, workload, working hours, work
life balance, control, available support and resources and the organisational culture. Also
influential to wellbeing at work is the idea of ‘emotional labour’. This is the extent to which
employees are required to manage their own emotion in the workplace, perhaps in response
to or in the face of the emotions of others. Think of a customer service representative who
deals with complaints, or a nurse who has to support distressed patients: these jobs have an
emotional impact on the individuals who undertake them, and thus they will also impact
their overall wellbeing and levels of work-related stress.

We do have an understanding of some wellbeing interventions that have positive impacts

in the workplace. Several analyses have shown that there is good evidence to suggest that
activities including cognitive behavioural therapies, relaxation techniques and general health
promotion are effective in reducing stress and promoting wellbeing – success, however, is
influenced by employee participation as well as the process of implementation. In later
chapters we will consider how to influence participation and implement wellbeing effectively.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing at Work

An effective workplace wellbeing strategy will be holistic and will consider the various
aspects of wellbeing, with supporting activities and events supporting overall goals and
aims. Effective wellbeing strategies will also align with other people-focused activities such
as diversity and inclusion, employee experience, internal communication and employee
engagement. Where appropriate, they will also align to broader organisation goals such as
sustainability, productivity and customer experience.

It is also essential for organisations to tailor wellbeing initiatives to the specific workplace,
industry and role types, as well as their own unique needs and challenges, as opposed to
the slavish adoption of so-called ‘best practices’.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing Interventions

3 WELLBEING INTERVENTIONS
According to Arnold and Randall, who wrote about organisational psychology, there are
three types of wellbeing intervention undertaken by organisations:

• primary interventions which aim to tackle organisation-wide issues including

culture and organisational design
• secondary interventions that operate at the individual level helping employees
to cope work related stressors
• tertiary interventions such as occupational health or counselling that help to
support employees who are already suffering from stress-related conditions

Primary interventions aim to prevent work-related stress or wellbeing issues from arising;
they address problems at source and place the responsibility for wellbeing on the organisation
and its leaders. Primary interventions can be strategic, systemic or structural and involve
a business making decisions with wellbeing in mind. They are also the most complex and
require longer term commitment.

Both secondary and tertiary initiatives principally address the symptoms of wellbeing and
focus on and place the responsibility for wellbeing on the individual employee. Research
suggests that primary interventions are more effective than secondary and secondary are
more effective than tertiary.

Many organisational wellbeing programmes, opportunities and interventions operate in

the secondary and tertiary space. It has become increasingly common to see criticisms of
organisations for such an approach, particularly when they co-exist with organisational culture,
leadership behaviour or working practices that are detrimental to employee wellbeing. For
example, resilience training has become popular in recent years. Resilience training helps
employees to build their personal resilience rather than change systemic or structural issues
that would support better health. Some argue that this is unfairly requiring the individual
to cope better with poor organisational cultures.

In the current context organisations may however need to place considerable focus on
secondary and tertiary activities in the short term. Employees will require practical support
in coping with the specific stressors related to Coronavirus, and specific interventions to
support any ill-health that results. They will undoubtedly also require specific support to
assist them with the inevitable return to work, even if this takes some time before pre-
pandemic working arrangements return.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing Interventions

Although a strategic approach to wellbeing is still desirable, in the short term organisations
may have less scope to tackle the sources of ill-health at source as these will be outside of
their influence and control. We must also recognise that some employers will be working
under considerable financial strain if predictions of a recession prove to be accurate.

To be truly effective, a wellbeing strategy needs to include all three types of interventions.
This is where real change will be felt because together, they address both the source of any
negative impact on wellbeing as well as the consequences. They have a complimentary effect –
all three interventions working together is the optimal position for an organisation to seek.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Stress and Mental Health at Work

4 STRESS AND MENTAL

HEALTH AT WORK
Stress and mental health is a significant cause of absence from work. In the UK, it is the primary
reason that employees take sickness absence and this is equally true of many other countries.

Even though mental health-related absence is high, it is likely that in reality there is even
more absence than is typically recorded, as some employees, concerned about stigma, will
misreport the reasons for their absence.

Some mental health absence will be related to the workplace, and some will not. Depending
on the nature of the condition, some mental health difficulties may be short term and others
may be life-long. Some conditions will legally be considered to be a disability, whilst others
will not be. This is an area for specialist advice.

When it comes to the main causes of stress at work, in normal circumstances workload and
managers typically come in at numbers one and two respectively. Impacts on work-related
wellbeing can broadly be caused by the specific profession itself (each job having its own
unique stress footprint), the organisation (and its specific culture), individual managers and
the amount of work. The UK Health and Safety Executive have published standards that
cover the primary sources of stress at work. These are:

• work demands - workloads and work patterns

• control - how much say someone has over the way that they work
• support - from line managers and colleagues
• relationships - including dealing with inappropriate behaviour and
addressing conflict
• role - whether people understand their role and the nature of the work itself
• change - how organisational change is managed and communicated

As we have already seen early research into the impacts of lockdown in the UK show that
people were experiencing negative impacts upon their mental health in as little as two weeks
from restrictions coming into place. Reported feelings include anger, irritability, low mood,
anxiety and depression.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Stress and Mental Health at Work

Mental health is a complex subject and will require an organisation to make multiple
interventions to improve the health of employees – especially if there is an increase in poor
mental health as a result of the pandemic which appears highly likely. Some industries and
roles will have job specific issues that need to be addressed in any intervention strategy.
Here are some generic areas that should be considered by all employers – although not
all of these are specific to a pandemic situation they will all contribute to supporting staff
experiencing poor mental health:

• Training people managers. As we will see elsewhere in this book, this is a

recommendation of general wellbeing programmes in normal times. However,
specific information and awareness for managers about mental health, its
symptoms and causes is critical at this timeManagers do not need to become
experts, but they should be able to spot the signs of potential mental ill-health,
be comfortable with approaching someone to begin a conversation or signposting
sources of support and engage with specialised services when necessary. Spotting
signs of poor mental health can be more tricky at the current time when many
employees are working from home, reducing the ability for observation.
• Break down stigma. By talking about mental health in the workplace,
organisations can help to normalise the conversation and create permission
for employees to ask for help when they need it. This can be done by
including information about mental health through your wellbeing activities,
supporting national and international mental health awareness days
and providing specific training.
• Provide sources of specialist support wherever possible, ideally through the
provision of counselling or an Employee Assistance Programme. Ensure that
these are well-communicated, allow self-referral and ideally provide the option of
face-to-face or telephone-based support. In the current time employees should be
reminded about these services on a very regular basis.
• Early intervention and support. Some organisations don’t begin support or
occupational health services until an employee become defined as ‘long-term
sick’. With mental health ill-health or mental health-related absence, early
intervention is key. Early referrals to support services can help an employee stay
at work or, when they are away from work, support an effective and early return.
Ensure that managers are aware of the benefits of such early action. Remind
managers about the referral processes.
• Promote flexible working opportunities – especially in relation to hours
of work and days. These can help employees to reduce the stress of
commuting, support improved work-life balance and enable people to
more easily control their working life and day. This is especially important
at the current time as many employees will be managing their work
responsibilities with care and homeschooling.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Stress and Mental Health at Work

• Mental Health Champions. Later in this book we will look at the potential
role of a Wellbeing Champion. Training mental health champions, who have
undertaken specialised training in mental health, is another option that will
support employees ; the role of the mental health champion is not to provide
advice but to signpost, listen and support.

It is still possible to introduce these schemes when people are working from home. Many
training providers are offering online training programmes and online meetings provide an
opportunity for a community of champions to work together and build a community. This
can also be a powerful network on the return to work.

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 WELLBEING IN YOUR WORKPLACE –
WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

5 WELLBEING IN YOUR
WORKPLACE – WHERE
ARE YOU NOW?
Generally, before an organization begins to to formulate a strategy or commence any
programme of wellbeing activities, it is a good idea to understand where they are now:
what sources of data they have, people’s perceptions of wellbeing within the organisation
and the current health and wellbeing of employees.

In the short term, review absence data on a regular basis. Watch for trends that relate to
the current circumstances such as mental health and MSK (musculoskeletal) absence, the
latter of which may result from employees working from home in sub optimal spaces.

Some of this data that you need may already be in existence – if so monitor for significant
changes from previous time periodsDepending on your resources, you may also wish to
seek out new information such as a survey to establish how people are feeling, their self-
determined levels of wellbeing and feedback on the specific wellbeing or mental health
support they believe they need from the organization.

5.1 EXISTING DATA

Absence data does not tell you definitively how well your workforce is, but it is a useful
indicator. Wellbeing interventions can also be aligned to specific workplace issues that can
be identified from absence data.

The measures set out below detail potential ways to measure health and wellbeing – they
are equally relevant in a pandemic situation as a normal environment. Consider:

• What are your overall absence rates in terms of percentages and working days
lost?
• What are the most common reasons for absence in your organisation – in more
normal times and currently?
• What is the balance between long term and short term absence?
• What is the overall picture in relation to mental health absence?
• What are the trends around absence that can show you where to place most
attention?

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 WELLBEING IN YOUR WORKPLACE –
WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

• Are there any particular areas for concern, for example specific teams, where
mental health-related absence is higher than others? Why might this be the case?
• How many staff have been referred to occupational health?
• What is the actual cost of absence within your organisation, both direct and
indirect?

It is very possible that at the moment employees are not seeking new opportunities, but
other otential sources of useful data that can complement the picture provided by absence
data in the future includes employee survey feedback, employee turnover and exit interviews.

5.2 SEEKING NEW PERSPECTIVES

The above data will help organisations to begin to build a picture of wellbeing within
your organisation, but for completeness you may also wish to include seeking out new
perspectives. Some of these may be especially helpful when we return to work and a more
settled situation.

Options include:

• A wellbeing survey or audit. There are many organisations that canhelp to build
a detailed picture. These can be expensive but will typically give deep insight
including organisational ‘hot spots’ or areas of concern, and can also help to
tailor your interventions to the specific findings. A wide ranging (and regular)
audit may be useful in the future, especially when employees start to return to
work or a more normal situation emerges.
• Conduct your own survey. This could be a short term, fairly quick option to
allow you to temperature check wellbeing on a regular basis. Questions could
include asking employees to rate their current overall wellbeing on a scale of
1-10, asking people to comment on whether their levels of stress,, if they are
able to get their work done in their normal working hours, if they continue
to work when they are unwell, if they regularly work (or feel that they have
to) outside of working hours, or whether they can talk to their manager about
their health and wellbeing now and more generallyYou can further choose to
include an open form question about what would help people to improve their
wellbeing especialy during the current situation, as well as what they feel they
may need to help them return to work in the future

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Wellbeing in Your Workplace – Where are You Now?

• In the future (and possibly at the point we return to a more normal situation,
considering running some informal focus groups. Seek volunteers from a range
of role types and teams and get them together to discuss wellbeing. Ensure
that participants are aware that the output will be shared but comments will
not be attributed to any single individual. Ask them some of the questions
described above. Get the group thinking about how to improve wellbeing in the
workplace, and for ideas for events and activities. If the predictions that some of
the wellbeing and mental health impacts of the current pandemic may be long
term, this could organisations to determine the interventions that they need to
make, whether primary, secondary or tertiary.

Consider these various sources of feedback together. What are they telling you about the
current health and wellbeing of the people that work for you – in relation to the pandemic
and beyond?

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Developing an Emergency Wellbeing Plan

6 DEVELOPING AN EMERGENCY
WELLBEING PLAN
In a ‘normal’ situation a key aspect to an organisaitonal wellbeing approach is the development
of a wellbeing strategy. Far too often, organisations begin wellbeing programmes by putting
together a plan of activities and events. This sort of planning should take place much further
into the process and should form part of an operational delivery plan. The strategy and
aims and objectives must come first – as well as the definition of what wellbeing means to
the specific organisation. At the current time, it may be necessary to develop a wellbeing
plan in a much shorter time frame; it may also be prudent to focus primarily on those
operational activities that can have an immediate impact.

Wellbeing strategies should be be aligned to the organisation’s overall broader vision, missions
and strategy. Once defined, the strategy should lead to the development of an operational
plan that details activities, responsibilities and measurement.

These are the steps required to develop a wellbeing strategy:

1. Define what the organisation means by wellbeing, with reference to its own
specific context and challenges. This may take some time but it is a key part of
he process – consider a range of views.
2. Decide who will have ultimate ownership for wellbeing within the organisation.
A wellbeing strategy may stand alone, or it may be part of a wider people or
business strategy. There is no best practice here – this should be about what fits
the organisations specific purpose and structure.
3. Determine the organisation’s vision for wellbeing. Why are you doing this and
what do you want to achieve?
4. Understand where you are now through accessing existing data or undertaking
a health and wellbeing tailored audit or survey.
5. Set some key aims and objectives for your wellbeing programme, and how
success can be measured. Around four to five objectives should suffice initially.
6. Put together an operational plan of interventions and activities that will support
the vision, aims and objectives, and set out clear responsibilities for delivery of
the elements of this plan.
7. Identify the resources and budget required to deliver the plan.
8. Get approval from senior leadership for the strategy, plan and
necessary resources.
9. Develop a communications strategy for the wellbeing programme.
10. Set a review point to track the success of the programme.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Developing an Emergency Wellbeing Plan

These steps remain relevant even during a pandemic – and they will be especially important
in developing a long-term approach to wellbeing including supporting people post pandemic.
However, in the short term, the following steps can be considered:

1. Refer to the next chapter for the 5 Ways to Wellbeing. Put together a plan
of activities that address each aspect of wellbeing – more ideas can be found
later in the book.
2. Consider a budget for this interim support plan – and seek the relevant
approvals.
3. Communicate your activities quickly – many suppliers are now offering training
online. Make sure some activities focus on mental health support in particular.
4. Train your people managers – they must be aware of the wellbeing impacts of
the pandemic and what you want them to do in terms of supporting staff.
5. Review your mental health support – if you do not have any consider what you
can quickly put in place for staff. Consider any physical issues (such as back,
neck and shoulder problems) that may be resulting from poor set up of the
home workstation. What can you do to support this?
6. Develop a wellbeing communication plan – wellbeing messages must be
regularly repeated. Aim for content at least weekly through a variety of
communication channels.
7. Set up a process for monitoring mental health absence in your organization.
8. Review current HR policies and procedures relating to absence management,
flexible working, special leave and family support to identify if any changes are
required in the short term to support employees.
9. Once the initial activities are established, return to the longer term strategic
decisions set out above.
10. Consider a plan of wellbeing activities for supporting return to work and long
term health implications of the pandemic.

Then follow the rest of the strategic steps set out above as appropriate for the situation.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

LONG TERM PLANNING

So far the wellbeing plan has focused on immediate priorities as a result of the pandemic.
Here are a few ideas for when the current situation improves and social distancing rules
are able to be relaxed.

1. Physical activity. Encourage employees to get active. Options include on-site

exercise classes, walking meetings, steps challenge or a running group.
To support employees undertaking exercise, make sure that they have suitable
facilities for washing and changing, provide a range of low and high impact options
(the latter can help to include people who aren’t confident exercisers) and ensure
there is suitable, secure bike storage to encourage cycling to work.
2. Nutrition. Lots of organisations offer employees free fruit. Sometimes this
is criticised as a ‘quick fix’ cliché. However, there is nothing wrong with
supporting employees to build good habits around food and nutrition.
3. Mediation, mindfulness and relaxation. Offer employees the opportunity to take
time to relax, be mindful or meditate. These sessions can be run at lunchtimes
or even in the morning before work.
4. Workshops on wellbeing. Offering training on wellbeing issues can help
employees to tackle a range of issues from building resilience, learning about
specific aspects of wellbeing or improving their work life balance. Consider
inviting in speakers, holding seminars or short training sessions on any of the
topics discussed here.
5. Social activity. Consider how tobring together employees on an informal
basis. This could include team lunches, a coffee morning or social activity.
Social activities should always be voluntary. Remember to consider that
some employees may have limitations about attending events outside of
working hours (perhaps due to caring responsibilities) or where alcohol is
served. Make sure to offer a range of options to support staff in connecting
and building relationships.
6. Mental health awareness (including work-related stress). As we have already
discussed, mental health is a significant cause of absence for almost all
employers. It also brings with it concerns about stigma. Ensure that employees
re aware of the signs of mental ill-health, know how to access support, and, if
you can, arrange training or workshops to help raise awareness and normalise
the conversation around mental health. Such training will also break down the
barriers, reduce stigma and help employees to support their colleagues.
7. Health checks. Providing health checks to employees can be a great way to
engage them in their own health and wellbeing. Many wellbeing providers can
undertake a range of health checks that vary from a full health screening to a
check for just one condition, such as a healthy heart or diabetes check.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

8. Charity or community. Could your organisation support a local charity or

community group? Could you provide employees with the opportunity to
undertake volunteer activity during working time? Wherever possible encourage
teams to undertake activity together rather than supporting staff to pursue
individual interests as that will bring the benefit of building social connections
and relationships in the workplace.
9. Create an employee wellbeing budget. If your budget permits, consider
allocating an amount of it that employees can ask for in order to run their
own wellbeing event during the year. You can set some rules around this in
terms of how often people can ask and how much for. This will empower staff
and support your operational champions. Make sure that this budget isn’t too
complex to access, or it will put people off engaging.
10. Create a mixture of opportunities so that there is something for everyone –
whatever their level of interest, fitness or knowledge.

5 Ways to Wellbeing
In 2008, the New Economics Foundation published their research into wellbeing. They
identified wellbeing as having two primary elements: feeling good and functioning well.
They broadly concluded that there are a wide range of factors that determine an individual’s
level of personal wellbeing but that the things that we do and the way that we think can
have a significant impact on us. They determined that there are five ways to wellbeing – five
separate areas of focus that can support an individual’s sense of personal wellbeing. They
are not specific to workplace wellbeing but focus on individuals. These are connecting with
others, being active, taking notice, keep learning and giving. There is a summary below on
their findings for each area.

The 5 Ways to Wellbeing are still relevant in the current climate – and even in organisations
where employees are working from home or quarantined there are ways that they can be
practiced. Some ideas for implementing the 5 Ways can be found later in this book.

Connecting
Human beings are social creatures. Feeling close to and valued by other people is a fundamental
human need and one that contributes to functioning well in the world. Connecting with
family, friends, colleagues and the local community brings wellbeing benefits. Taking time
to build and nurture these connections can boost wellbeing.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

Being active
It is understood by most people that activity is good for both physical and mental health.
Activity also has the benefit of connecting people with others. Physical activity does not
necessarily need to be particularly intense to deliver wellbeing benefits – walking, for example,
has many health benefits. Building in activity on a regular basis is key for overall wellbeing.

Taking notice
Taking notice is about being aware of the world and connecting with feelings. It’s also
bout the purpose of reflecting on experiences, savouring the moment, being mindful and
heightening awareness.

Keep learning
The activity of learning has been correlated with positive effects on wellbeing, reports of life
satisfaction, optimism and efficacy. Studies indicate that participation in lifelong learning can
have a positive impact on an individual’s wellbeing and resilience levels. The continuation of
learning through life can enhance self-esteem, encouraging social interaction and undertaking
a more active life. The satisfaction of achieving a goal can also boost individual wellbeing.

Giving
Giving doesn’t necessarily mean giving gifts or money. It’s also about doing something nice
for another person or expressing gratitude and thanks. It can also mean contributing to a
community. Evidence suggests that notions of reciprocity and ‘giving back’ to others promote
wellbeing for people of all ages. Feelings of happiness and life satisfaction have also been
strongly associated with active participation in social and community life.

Many organisations have used the 5 ways to wellbeing as a structure for their wellbeing
activities and programmes. The ‘ways’ can be a useful mechanism for communicating the
benefits of wellbeing to employees and activities can be aligned to each of the different
elements. The structure can also be used in training, especially line manager training and
communication. Each of the ways can also be simply brought into the working environment –
even during the pandemic.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

Work Life Balance

Work-life balance (or Life-Work Balance as some prefer to refer to it) is another poorly
defined term. It is generally taken to mean the balance found by an individual between their
work responsibilities and non-work aspects of life such as family, home and hobbies. Some
criticise the term for suggesting that work and life are two separate elements as opposed to
part of a holistic self. For many people, work and life are fundamentally interconnected.

However work-life balance is expressed, it is, just like wellbeing itself, a highly individual
concept, different for everyone.

Some people find it difficult to find an appropriate balance. This has to some extent
been worsened in recent years with the blurring of home / life boundaries resulting from
technology use. Whereas work once only took place in the workplace, emails and other
communication methods are now on our portable devices. Prior to the pandemic many
people were working more regularly from home.

Current events have meant that this challenge is now more pronounced than it ever has
been as a significant percentage of the workforce is now working from home.

For these reasons, supporting staff in achieving work-life balance (at any time but especially
now) should be a key part of any wellbeing programme – and spotting the signs of an
unhealthy balance is one part of recommended line manager training.It may be more difficult
in the current circumstances for both individuals and their managers to identify signs of a
potential imbalance in work and home, especially where people are working more flexibly.
Staff experiencing work-life balance issues may benefit from training or even one-to-one
coaching to support them in maintaining their wellbeing and reducing work-life conflict.
Wherever possible employees should be encouraged to maintain a separate space for work
activities, have a regular ‘clocking off’ time where they stop working and turn off notifications
and take regular breaks.

Managers
The role of the manager in enabling wellbeing is critical – especially in the current climate.
Much of the day-to-day responsibility for managing employees’ health and wellbeing falls to
line managers. As we have already seen, the manager can be a significant cause of stress and
is the second most attributed reason for staff taking time off work due to mental ill-health.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

Managers have two distinct roles in relation to wellbeing in the workplace. The first is
managing ill-health and supporting employees who are unwell. This will apply to general
ill-health and specific implications of the current pandemic. The process for this will vary
from organisation to organisation but will typically include areas such as return-to- work
interviews, discussions about absence from work, supporting a return to work, making
reasonable adjustments and liaising with occupational health or medical professionals. In
many respects this is the more straightforward part of their responsibility as it is usually
governed by internal policies and procedures and supported by HR staff. If absence in your
organistion is rising as a result of the pandemic managers may need to be refreshed on these
practical policies and processes.

The second part of the management role is more varied and involves enabling wellbeing
in the workplace. This will again vary from organisation to organisation, but may include
encouraging employees to engage in wellbeing activity, tackling observed issues such as a
long hours culture or late-night emailing, acting as a role model and ensuring that their
own team work with wellbeing in mind. In the short term this will also include supporting
employees with the very specific implications of the pandemic on wellbeing.

In order to deliver both parts of their role successfully, managers will need to be trained.
Such training needs to include:

• awareness of internal processes and procedures and how to implement them

• a broad awareness of wellbeing and what supports and enhances it – and in the
current climate this should include the potential wellbeing implications of the
pandemic on physical and mental health and work life balance.
• an awareness of the causes of work-related stress and specifically how the
manager can have an impact on this
• an awareness of the organisation’s approach to wellbeing, plus activities
available to them and their teams – especially any specific support on offer
during the pandemic.
• how to identify potential signs of ill-health and what to do about them
• work-related behaviour and team culture that might negatively impact on
wellbeing and what to do about it – include how these can be identified in a
remote environment
• what good role modelling looks like
• what is expected of them in respect of wellbeing
• how to have wellbeing conversations and how to respond to disclosures from
employees who are struggling with their health and wellbeing.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

The wellbeing conversation is important – but does not have to be complicated. Managers
can ask a few straightforward questions to ‘check in’ with employees. These can be as simple
as “how are you?” and “Do you need any support?”. Such conversations can take place

during one-to-one meetings or indeed any conversation with their team. This shouldn’t
be something that is limited to an annual performance review but a regular event. Make
this part of your manager training. During the current situation it will however be all
too easy for the signs and symptoms of poor wellbeing or mental health to be missed.
Wherever possible managers should be encouraged to check in at least weekly with their
team members, and wherever possible to do this through an online meeting so that no
verbal signals can be noticed.

Don’t forget that managers are employees too. They may have their own wellbeing challenges
and their job will also have its own pressures related to their specific responsibilities. They will
of course also have their own challenges relating to living and working during a pandemic.
Ideally, manager training should include discussion about how they can enhance their own
wellbeing too, now and in the future.

There is real power in the manager who discusses wellbeing and takes active steps to engage
and encourage their teams to take part. This alone can provide implicit permission and start
to shift culture. Employee engagement will be enhanced by a manager who is seen to care
genuinely about the health and wellbeing of their employees.

Promoting Wellbeing
Promoting your wellbeing offering effectively and regularly is key to its success in any set
of circumstances

One option is to create an internal brand for your wellbeing programme. Some people use
the 5 Ways to Wellbeing for this, whereas others choose to develop their own based on
their agreed areas of focus This could currently be as simple as stating that you are offering
specific support for wellbeing during the pandemic. An internal brand will provide consistency
of message and visuals and join all the various strands of your wellbeing activity together.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

Here are further ideas about promotion:

1. Share your why – and your plans. Tell your employees why you are focusing on
wellbeing. Be clear about your wider aims and what you are trying to achieve
in the short term.
2. Be clear about when and how people can engage. For example, before attending
an event in working time, does someone need to check with their manager? Are
there a given number of hours a month or a year that you can give to staff to
focus on their wellbeing? Currently, be as flexible as you can with this.
3. Use a variety of communication methods to share your messages. Many
organisations have multiple channels. These might include email, an intranet,
posters, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, face-to-face briefings or magazines. Make
sure that every possible channel is used.
4. Consider whether, in addition to the usual channels, you want to create a
wellbeing-specific communication channel. This could include a wellbeing blog,
newsletter, calendar, a dedicated online space or podcast. This can be achieved
quite quickly – many blogs for example are free to easy to set up in a situation
where speed is of the essence.
5. Target people managers at an early stage. We have already discussed the
critical role of the people manager, so send some targeted communication
to them about why wellbeing matters, what they can expect and how they
can support their team.
6. Identify any ‘hard to reach’ groups within your organisation. For example, do
you have any remote workers or employees who won’t often be using a PC
or other digital communication? Do you have any employees who work away
from main office locations? Are any not working or on leave because of the
pandemic? Have a plan to ensure that communications reach them too.
7. Communicate, communicate, communicate! It doesn’t matter how often you
think you have communicated your wellbeing programme, there will be people
who miss what you share.

Champions
Wellbeing Champions are internal advocates who work with an organisation to help
to embed wellbeing and spread wellbeing messages. Usually a volunteer role, many
organisations now recognise the value of mobilising their own workforce to support and
enable workplace wellbeing.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

Each Champion programme will vary, but responsibilities can include:

• sharing wellbeing messages and awareness campaigns

• encouraging colleagues to get involved
• organising their own local activities
• supporting organisation-wide activities or events.

The role of a Champion can be ongoing or for a specific time period, such as one year.

Wellbeing Champions can help overcome barriers to engagement with wellbeing activities
and can also reduce any cynicism that may exist within other employees as the activities
will be employee rather than organisation-led. In the current context, Wellbeing Champions
can support in the communication of vital wellbeing messages. Where existing Champion
networks exist consider how you can quickly leverage them to maximise benefits. Establish
an online space for discussion and sharing, and have regular online catch-ups. Provide them
regularly with simple content that they can share.

Where there is no Wellbeing Champion network, consider setting one up. Ask for volunteers
to help enable and support wellbeing during this time and beyond. Put a company wide
communication out through your most appropriate communication channels. Consider the
following in order to successfully introduce a Wellbeing Champion programme:

• Provision of training – Champions should understand broad concepts around

wellbeing and in particular what influences it in the workplace. You may need
therefore to provide them with some simple online briefing and helpful reading
and other resources.
• In their training, make sure that you brief them on the potential wellbeing
implications of working from home, quarantine and bereavement.
• Provision of ongoing support – make sure that you engage regularly with the
Champion network and see what support they need to be effective.
• Further learning – Champions may also benefit from other learning
opportunities such as influencing skills (how to get wellbeing on the agenda
where they work), train the trainer-type courses (for Champions who want
to get more actively involved in sharing messages) or event organisation and
delivery. Mental Health awareness training can also be especially useful. These
activities can follow once the network is established.
• Provide regular opportunities for the Champions to meet, share and learn
from each other in order to build the relationships and knowledge within
the network. This will have to be online for now but can transition to
face to face in the future.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Long Term Planning

• A clear role description is essential. Your Wellbeing Champions aren’t there to

be medical professionals or provide active support to people who are unwell.
They should, however, know how to signpost people to relevant services
internal and external.
• Have a formal launch of your Wellbeing Champion programme.
Explain the purpose of the role and raise the profile of the individuals
involved. Keep up with communication – share good news stories on the
activities of the Champions.
• Share the names of the Champions in an easy to access place (such as an
intranet) so people can contact them directly.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Ten Simple Wellbeing Activies

TEN SIMPLE WELLBEING ACTIVIES

Here are a few tips to support the introducing or improvement of wellbeing at work
during a pandemic situation. These are drawn from the ‘ways to wellbeing’ set out in in
the previous chapter.

1. Create opportunities to connect. We are social creatures and benefit from

connection with family, friends and colleagues. These is currently challenging
whilst also maintaining social distancing. Create online opportunities for
connection. Brining people together for non work related reasons, even if it just
for a short period for a time each week.
2. Support and signpost learning – but do not make it compulsory. Some people
may find that as a result of working from home and limits on going out
and socialising that they have more time. They may therefore benefit from
undertaking learning – but not everyone will be able to, or may feel like it is
too much pressure. Therefore, suggest and signpost only.
3. Promote relevant services internally and externally. For those employees that
need some specific support, such as for those experiencing poor mental health
or even staff who feel that they are consuming too much alcohol signpost
to relevant support whether that is internal (such as an Employee Assistance
Programme) or externally to relevant agencies. Staff often forget that an EAP
exists so regular reminders are required.
4. Create online support groups. Different groups and individuals will be
experiencing the pandemic differently. They may benefit from supporting each
other; for example a parents support group or carers support group could
provide vital support. Consider setting up such groups in online spaces.
5. Virtual hobby groups. Lots of organisations have book clubs, craft groups or
exercise challenges and competitions. These can run effectively as virtual events.
Review what you already have and help people to get them online if required.
If you don’t have any consider setting up one or two – this can also help with
the aim to connect people or support learning.
6. A wellbeing blog. The pandemic is a shared event but people are experiencing
it differently, as well as taking different approaches to maintaining their
wellbeing. Consider setting up a wellbeing blog and encourage staff to
contribute their stories. A blog is simple to set up and easy to maintain. You
may need to start it off with a few posts – aim for regular content addressing
all aspects of wellbeing.
7. Support volunteering. Volunteering can support wellbeing. It will not be
possible for everyone and not everyone will want to undertake it, but for those
that would like to do so consider how you can support them to support their
local community or the wider efforts relating to the pandemic. Share stories of
the volunteer work your people undertake – celebrate their successes.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Ten Simple Wellbeing Activies

8. Share positive stories. Just like with the example above, share positive stories.
This might be how your employees are supporting the pandemic efforts, or the
work that people have done to support the organization during this time.
9. Encourage physical activity. Exercise is extremely important – not just
for physical health but for mental wellbeing too. Promote online courses,
create challenges that people can undertake in their own home or within
the permitted guidelines and help existing activity groups to transfer
their work into virtual spaces.
10. Offer workshops
Remember:
You can also sk people what they want – involve your employees in deciding the
activities. As each organisational context will vary, it will be helpful to understand
what employees would find beneficial to their wellbeing. Offer a range of activities  –
don’t just offer one thing.As we have seen in earlier chapters, wellbeing is a multi-
dimensional construct. There is no single ‘solution’ to wellbeing at work and therefore
there is no single intervention that will make a significant difference to employees
now or in the future. A wellbeing programme of activities should consider physical,
psychological, nutritional and social wellbeing – as well as financial.
11. Include competitions and challenges.
These are simple and low cost ways to engage both teams and individuals. Examples
include steps challenges or hydration challenges. Check online for free templates and
information. Always ensure that participation is voluntary and no one feels compelled
to take part. These can be run virtually just as easily as they can face to face.
Finally, consider promoting flexible working. The pandemic may mean that some
people cannot work their normal working hours or the traditional 9am-5pm
pattern. Promote options to staff – if the roles within your organization permit it,
let people know that they can flex their working hours. Promote other options like
compressed hours, flex time or, for those staff that wish it, the option to reduce
their working hours on a temporary basis.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Barriers to Wellbeing at Work During Coronavirus

BARRIERS TO WELLBEING AT
WORK DURING CORONAVIRUS
Not everyone will want to get involved with wellbeing in the workplace at any time or
now, and participation in any activity must always be voluntary. . Employers should also
take care to ensure that there is no implied pressure to take part. However, there will be
occasions where specific barriers to participation exist and employers may wish to reflect on
how these can be mitigated. Some of these barriers remain the same during Coronavirus –
others are unique to the situation.

Time
Not having enough time is a common reason for not engaging in wellbeing activities. During
Coronavirus some people will have more time as they are not commuting. Others will have
much less time if they are caring for others or combining work with schooling children.
It is therefore important to offer a range of activities including ones that can be done on
demand at a time that suits the individual, and that can be done in a short period of time.
Managers may need to send clear messages that employees are encouraged to engage with
wellbeing opportunities even in work time. Encouraging high levels of wellbeing participation
can support staff during the pandemic and on their return to work.

Stigma
Many employees are concerned about the potential stigma of openly stating that they have
a mental health condition. Many employees choose not to tell their manager if they are
suffering from a mental health issue. This can apply to wellbeing activities too, especially
those that relate to topics such as resilience. Even in a crisis situation some people may
feel that there is pressure to ‘cope’. Some employees may be concerned that engaging with
wellbeing activities at work might lead to a potential negative reputational impact of being
seen to requiring support even in the most difficult of times. This barrier can be overcome
with effective role modelling by senior leaders, either through attending activities or talking
about their own wellbeing.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Barriers to Wellbeing at Work During Coronavirus

Lack of awareness
All organisations have communication challenges. Some employees will argue that they have
too little information, others that they have too much. Wellbeing is no different to any
other organisation activity or programme (and indeed crisis led wellbeing is the same as
wellbeing in typical times); it needs regular and consistent communication across a range of
available channels in order to support awareness. Both Wellbeing Champions and managers
have a role to play in supporting awareness.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Measurement

MEASUREMENT
Evaluating impact can help you to understand the return on your investment, gain valuable
employee perceptions and continually develop your wellbeing offering, and therefore is a
must-do for your wellbeing programme.

However, in the short term at least we would advocate that formal measurement on
matters such a return on investment is less important that simply getting your activity
available to your people.

Here are some areas that you may want to measure although many are more suited to non
crisis situation – consider these for the longer term (and some of them will help you to
measure your efforts during the pandemic).

Now:

• Are your employees aware of the wellbeing programme?

• Have they engaged with it or attended any activities? If so, how valuable did
they find them?
• In relation to those individuals who have not participated in wellbeing activities,
what (if anything) has prevented them from doing so?
• Employee’s perceptions of their own wellbeing and in particular their levels of
perceived stress in the workplace.

In the future:

• What overall percentage of employees have engaged with wellbeing activity? How
is this split across job types and departments?
• What has your total spend been on your wellbeing activities?
• How many managers were trained? How has their (self-assessed) level of
confidence or competence changed as a result?
• Referrals to occupational health, EAPs or counselling services – during the
immediate crisis and on an ongoing basis.

Possible questions (some of which can be graded on a scale) include:

• To what extent do you feel that your manager cares about your wellbeing?
• Do you have wellbeing conversations with your manager?
• To what extent do you feel you could talk to your manager if you had a
wellbeing issue?

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Measurement

• To what extent do you feel stressed at work?

• Are you able to take breaks most days?
• To what extent do you feel you are able to achieve an effective work-life balance?
• To what extent do you feel that you are able to cope with your workload?

Your measurement period is also an opportunity to ask your employees what more might
they want to support their wellbeing at work. Remember, feedback should be a continuous
process, and not a one-off event.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Other Considerations

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Working Remotely
Employees working remotely may have sub-optimal working conditions at home –
they may not have a dedicated workspace or appropriate chairs or desk set up. This
may result in aches and pains or even musculoskeletal issues. Where it is not possible
to provide equipment to all employees consider providing guidance and information
on safe working practices, alternatives that can be simply introduced at home and
encourage regular breaks.

Working remotely may also mean that there is a lack of distinction between work and
home which some employees may find contributes to poor work life balance or additional
stress. Issue guidance to employees about maintaining effective work life balance, and
continue to encourage people to do as much as they practically can within their home
environment to create boundaries between work and home and have dedicated times
when technology will not be accessed. Also encourage people to still take regular breaks
and their annual leave.

Returning to Work
At the time of writing many employees are working from home. It is not clear when this
will change, and it is likely that any return to work will be gradual or phased with some
employees undertaking some working from home and some from their usual location.
Returning to work may bring with it some of its own challenges. Employees may be fearful
of returning, or of using public transport for their commute. Some employees may be in
vulnerable groups or have family members who are – and caring responsibilities may continue
for some time. Other employees will have experienced bereavements or be experiencing
poor mental health.

There is no simple answer to these challenges. Employers will need to be prepared to have a
flexible approach and consider adapting policies and usual ways of working. The following
should be considered:

• Training for line managers on supporting returning employees.

• Specific interventions around stress, anxiety and depression – consider
workshops, increased occupational health support and 121 coaching.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Other Considerations

• General mental health awareness raising across the organisation.

• Practical interventions to allay fears about risk, such as visible hygiene
measures, provision of personal protective equipment or anti-bacterial
products for all employees.

Key Workers
There are broadly two categories of employee who are not working from home during the
current situation. These may be referred to as key or essential workers. The first group are
those directly involved with the pandemic and its impacts, including medical staff and health
and care providers. The second group are those involved with critical tasks and essential
services. This latter group includes a wide range of occupations including retail, transport,
utilities, fulfillment, security and the emergency services. Each group has its own unique
challenges and pressures as a result of the work that they are undertaking.

The breadth of the roles within these two categories, as well as the unique and individual
nature of wellbeing means that there is no single solution to support and enable their
wellbeing. It is very likely that these employees are working under stressful conditions, and
for some in undertaking their work they are putting themselves at risk of contracting the
virus. There may well be both short and long term impacts of this; at the time of writing
when the risk remains high many may be in a ‘coping’ pattern, and the fuller effects on
mental health will only become apparent in the future. We know that we will be living with
the Coronavirus for many months, and the risks to these workers will therefore remain.

As a minimum employers must engage in formal risks assessments, seek to minimize risks
to employees including providing relevant equipment and provide ongoing support. In
terms of that support, this must include mental health interventions. These could include
the provision of counselling or an Employee Assistance Programme, signposting external
resources, supportive policies around sickness absence and supportive managers.

The following additional points are recommended:

- Closely monitor mental health absence trends

- Train managers in having conversations about mental health
- Undertake mental health awareness training for all staff – including non key
workers, so that signs and symptoms can be quickly recognized and supportive
interventions undertaken
- Ask people undertaking those jobs what specific support they require to support
them in remaining well at work.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Other Considerations

Remember that the potential long term nature of the situation and its resulting impacts
mean that mental health interventions should be maintained for as long as necessary – this
may be many months or even years.

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WELLBEING AT WORK, A PRACTICAL GUIDE Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
When it comes to addressing wellbeing at work at any time, there is no silver bullet. There
is no single solution to supporting and engaging people or even tackling the more complex
strategic aspects of workplace wellbeing. Wellbeing is personal and contextual. What it
means to live and work well is different for each of us. These things are equally true in
the current context as they were before it All employers must take urgent action to support
the wellbeing of their employees and support those experiencing ill health as a result of
the Coronavirus. The ideas within this book can help you begin; as the situation continues
to develop so must the wellbeing strategy and operational activities needed to support it.

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