Hello Fans of Plans and welcome to 2023. As we continue on the rollercoaster that is the current economic climate, let’s keep in mind what we can do to ensure wellness is at the top of our agenda. With the biggest strikes occurring across the UK in a very long time, we can all get hung up on the strikes being all about pay. But that’s only the half of it… one thing that is often forgotten about in the news headlines is that the strikes are also about the conditions the workforce are expected to operate under. I’m sure you are all familiar with the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that sets out five areas that your colleagues need to feel completely supported. If not here’s a brief recap, going from the most basic upwards: 1. Psychological needs – air, water, shelter food, sleep, clothing etc. 2. Safety Needs – personal security, employment, resources, health and property 3. Love and Belonging – friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection 4. Esteem – respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength and freedom 5. Self-actualisation – desire to become the most that you can be Having a workplace that helps towards all of these areas is key to working well. The more of these five areas we feel supported in, the better our wellbeing will be. Of course, many of the basic needs in areas one and two do rely on fair pay and we do need to get these basics sorted before we can think about moving up the scale to areas four and five. So it’s important to listen to your colleagues. Is there any additional support organisations can be offering at this time? This goes beyond pay and making sure there are enough of the right people in the right roles. It extends into areas including offering decent pensions, health insurance, or on-site health check-ups for physical and mental wellbeing. It is also tricky to judge where an organisations duty of care to colleagues should extend to. But by offering benefits that might not seem to directly impact on their work, it will inevitably have a positive impact on their lives. For example, if you know what lifestyle issues are important to your colleagues – maybe eating healthier, or exercising more, then we can help to nudge them in the right direction to make these positive lifestyle choices. It could take the form of onsite nutritional advice, or even teaming up with a local health centre to offer discounts or sessions for your employees. The important thing here is not to assume this is what employees want. Ask them and involve them in these discussions so you know that you are offering something they will actually use. You can offer all the additional employee benefits you want, but if they are not relevant to your employees, or they are too difficult to access, then there is no point in wasting time and money on these benefits. There will never be a one-size fits all, but by canvassing employee opinion, you can make sure you are helping them towards wellness in their hierarchy of needs. So, here’s to a working well for all in 2023.