Wellbeing at work - compliance, culture & beyond box-ticking

Budgets are finite and resourcing wellbeing support in the workplace may well be a conundrum for many HR leaders.

Having chatted anecdotally to a range or organisations, from agile start-ups to multinationals, it's a varied picture. Innovative partnerships, in-house champions, training, policies and practical adaptations are part of the mix. Some organisations insist they already have it covered, others are more open to new ways of working and emerging opportunities.

While finances are a consideration, so is compliance - and not just box ticking, but a genuine investment in meeting the needs of the 70% of women who cited that they felt unsupported by their employers during menopause*.

Menopause Action Plans are coming into being as a legislative requirement for employers with more than 250 staff. Smaller companies might breathe a sigh of relief from a compliance perspective, but the truth of the matter is that from an employee retention point of view, it's not something that we can afford to overlook.

While this is of particular interest as a (long overdue) piece of legislation, it is part of a much broader approach to wellbeing at work which requires considered attention. And dare I say, we should go into greater depth than the guidance published in the government outlines. There is, off course, great merit to cultivating in-house support groups, champions, policies, training and development to create greater understanding. 

There's also room to consider the privacy and discretion of 1-1 emotional and psychological coaching support. Let's face it, as someone living through this liminal phase right now, I know that the reality of peri/menopause is complex, confusing, confronting and incredibly personal. Having a trusted space to explore this with someone outside of the dynamics of the workplace can be powerful.

So if you're an HR lead or business owner developing or evolving a wellbeing strategy right now, think about the legal, health and economic implications of this in the longer-term. It's worth staying open to ways of working beyond the bullet points in the government guidance, because there's a significant difference between transactional and transformative recommendations. And the steps you take are a fundamental reflection of your organisational culture and what's important to you and your people.

*Hoomph HR Consultancy research, 2024