7OS06 Well-being at work

Learner Assessment Brief

Level 7 Advanced Diploma in

• Strategic People Management
• Strategic Learning and Development

7OS06

Well-being at work

This unit highlights the importance of wellbeing in the contemporary workplace to employer and employee outcomes. It provides learners with a comprehensive knowledge of the links between work, health and wellbeing, and an understanding of the social responsibilities of organisations, based on key theories in this area. The unit develops a critical understanding of how wellbeing initiatives can be created, supported, and integrated within people practices for strategic benefit and supports students to engage with key critiques of the wellbeing agenda.

CIPD’s insight

Growing the health and wellbeing agenda

There are few employers that would disagree that a workforce in a good state of health and wellbeing must surely contribute to enhanced business outcomes. This simple premise is as good a place to start as any when considering the business case for why an organisation should take action on employee well-being. However, if many employers are still not prioritising health and well-being, we need to look seriously at how the ‘business case’ is articulated and communicated. For example, a business case will be persuasive only if it is relevant and based on the unique needs and desired outcomes for the employer in question. Convincing senior management to integrate well-being throughout the business may need to start with a pilot area or by highlighting pockets of good well- being practice that already exist, and the organisational benefits that can be realised. However, there is another perspective on why employers should take action to improve the health and well- being of their workforce, aside from the mutually beneficial impact it could have for employees and the business, which is that it’s the right thing for enterprises in the twenty-first century to do for their people and for wider society.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health-well-being-agenda_2016-first-steps-full- potential_tcm18-10453.pdf

Wellbeing at work

There’s now a much broader understanding and application of holistic health and wellbeing approaches in many workplaces. However, it`s also clear that there`s an implementation gap, with many organisations not yet embracing the health and wellbeing agenda to full effect.

Investing in employee wellbeing can lead to increased resilience, better employee engagement, reduced sickness absence and higher performance and productivity. However, wellbeing initiatives often fall short of their potential because they stand alone, isolated from the everyday business. To gain real benefit, employee wellbeing priorities must be integrated throughout an organisation, embedded in its culture, leadership and people management.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/disputes/managing-workplace-conflict-

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/factsheet

Assessment Principles

In your assignments at Level 7 you will be required to achieve the following:

1) Systematic understanding of knowledge and techniques, and a critical awareness of problems and/or new insights in the field of study and area of professional practice.

2) Originality in the application of knowledge relating to practical issues.

3) Ability to make decisions about complex issues, both systematically and creatively, and justify your judgements in the absence of complete data.

4) Ability to show self-direction and insight in tackling and solving problems, and in planning and implementing tasks at a professional level.

5) Clarity and confidence in communicating conclusions which can influence both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

6) Demonstrate insight in tackling and solving problems, and in planning and implementing tasks at a professional level.

7) Critical reflection and a passion for learning to advance your own knowledge and understanding through independent learning and the development of new skills at a high level.

8) Consistent and professional standard of presentation.

Preparation for the Tasks:

• Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.
• Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work.

You will also benefit from:

• Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and training and continuing professional development.

• Reading the CIPD Insight, Fact Sheets and related online material on these topics.

• You should relate academic concepts, theories, and professional practice to the assessment task(s), in a critical and informed way, and with reference to key texts, articles and other publications.

Don’t forget to:

• Complete the front cover sheet, sign with a “wet signature” and place at the front of your assessment.
• Use the bullet points below each task as headings and sub-headings so your marker can see where your answer begins

Task 1 – Short Journal Article

LO1:	Understand how wellbeing is relevant to the workplace

You have been asked to write a short discussion piece for your local CIPD branch newsletter, focusing on how wellbeing is relevant to the workplace.

Your article must include:

• A critical evaluation of the key theories and definitions that relate to wellbeing at work and why wellbeing is important for employers and employees

When conducting your critical evaluation, areas you should include are:

• A critical analysis of the different definitions of wellbeing and key theories and how these relate to your own organisation.
• The business case for wellbeing, underpinned with wider research and organisational examples to support your judgements.

Your evidence must consist of:

• Short Article (1,000 words)

Task 2 – Report

LO2:	Understand the links between work, health, wellbeing and people management practices and processes

LO3:	Understand how employer and employee wellbeing aligns with strategy

LO4:	Understand the importance of the wellbeing strategy to sustain organisational performance

Charming Housing is a relatively small Housing Association based in the South West of England. They employ around 200 people and manage circa 5000 homes, alongside a small private development strand.

In 2019 Charmin Housing implemented several initiatives under the ‘wellbeing’ banner. A flexible benefits ‘pot’ became available to all employees, and they could choose to spend this on any of the following:

• Health cash plan
• Dental scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Gym membership

They also introduced an employee assistance programme and ‘launched’ it all through a benefits roadshow at head office. A lunch and learn workshop covering resilience was also rolled out to all employees. Overall, approximately 65% of employees attended. 80% of employees work at head office, with a further 20% being remote or working in small satellite offices. The People team were responsible for designing and launching the scheme and convinced the senior leadership that it was the right thing to do and would improve attendance and engagement.

The programme has not been formally reviewed since that time, but the senior leadership team are doubtful that the promised benefits have materialised. In fact, they believe that engagement has dropped and there has been an increase in stress related absence. LO1 Understand how wellbeing is relevant to the workplace

You are new to Charming Housing and have recently joined as a People Partner. You have a keen interest in wellbeing and the how a holistic approach can reap benefits for an organisation. In your initial stakeholder meetings, you have asked about the team wellbeing and have been told that it is poor. The senior leadership believe that wellbeing is a ‘fad’ and has no value within the organisation. In a recent finance review the CEO and Finance Director suggested that wellbeing could be streamlined to save costs. You know that wellbeing can have a very positive impact on the organisation, but you realise that you may need to persuade others of this. In the latest strategy review the organisation has identified the following people related KPIs

• Reduced absence, particularly in the areas of stress related absence
• Improved mental health support
• Increased engagement and morale across the organisation

You have asked the People Director if you can investigate this further and critically review the arrangements in place. The People Director has agreed.

Following your research into a ‘good practice’ approach to implementing wellbeing programmes, you need to critically review what is currently in place and make a judgement as to whether it is fit for purpose or requires change. You are required to put forward your justified recommendations, ensuring that these meet the strategic aims of the organisation and supports improved employee outcomes.

You may use the case study or an organisation which you are familiar with, as the basis for your review. The report should be broken down into three sections:

Section 1

• Critically evaluate the key domains of creating and maintaining wellbeing strategies and determine the extent to which your organisation aligns with the underlying elements of these.

• Using evidence from your wider reading and organisational examples, assess the impact of the organisation’s wellbeing strategies on employer and employee experiences and outcomes.

Section 2

• Select a minimum of two wellbeing initiatives currently in place and critically evaluate how wellbeing has been managed and integrated with other areas of people management activity, including health promotion programmes.

• Develop justified recommendations for change.

Section 3

• Evaluate the ways in which the people function can contribute to supporting wellbeing and sustained organisational performance.

• Discuss the importance of supporting line managers in implementing sustainable wellbeing policies.

This is a report going to a Director / VP, so you need to ensure that it is laid out professionally and includes a wide range of research, analysis and original thinking. LO1 Understand how wellbeing is relevant to the workplace. It is important you use your word count carefully and ensure your answers follow the assessment principles laid out on page 3

Your evidence must consist of:

• • • Report (3,000 words)

Assessment Grading

You will receive either a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refer/Fail result at unit level.

The grid below shows the range of results you could achieve based on total number of marks awarded across all assessment criteria.

To pass the unit assessment you must achieve a Pass or above for each of the learning outcomes.

The overall result achieved will dictate the outcome you receive for the unit, provided

NONE of the assessment criteria have been failed or referred.

You will either receive a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refer/Fail from the CIPD once the work has been moderated. A critical evaluation of the key theories and definitions that relate to wellbeing at work and why wellbeing is important for employers and employees

Overall mark	Unit result
0 to 7	Refer / Fail
8 or 9	Pass
10 to 13	Merit
14 to 16	Distinction