What is wellbeing washing?
You may have heard of the phrase green washing in relation to a company’s environmental commitments, or even sports washing when it comes to the hosting of events or ownership of teams to improve damaged reputations but what is wellbeing washing? According to the Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA) the term wellbeing washing, “describes a superficial wellbeing strategy, which is ‘all talk and no action’”. Basically, this boils down to companies appearing or wanting to be seen to look after their employees through a whole range of things, but not actually delivering any tangible benefits which really address the issue of employee wellbeing and make a difference.
How common is wellbeing washing?
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) carried out an online poll in January 2023 to look into the issue of wellbeing washing and to assess its prevalence. The poll revealed that 51% of respondents believed that their employer was guilty of wellbeing washing. The sample of this survey was relatively small with 400 respondents but even if the 51% figure is not entirely accurate there are most certainly employers, particularly in times such as now when recruitment is challenging, who want to be perceived from the outside as being an employer who looks after its people without actually getting to the root cause and addressing its internal issues around employee wellbeing.
What are examples of wellbeing washing?
Typically, wellbeing washing happens when companies put in place a whole host of what they consider to be benefits which employers neither want nor need and which don’t deal with the real issues at hand. Examples of wellbeing washing initiatives include discounts on products and services that are rarely used so offer no material benefit, fruit boxes that are eaten by the people who already eat healthily anyway or a sofa and football table put in a corner so that it can be renamed a “chill out zone”. Another common example of wellbeing washing is making a big deal over a particular wellbeing awareness day but then taking no follow up action or providing no on-going support and just having it as a one off that gives a quick bit of positive PR but changes nothing and will just be repeated again in 12 months’ time.
How can you avoid wellbeing washing?
There are two golden rules to avoid wellbeing washing and these are also rules or guidelines that employers need to bear in mind with any sort of employee engagement. Firstly, there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to employee wellbeing, what works for one business and its staff is highly unlikely to be relevant and practical for another so avoid going for off the shelf quick fixes as they will be no more than a sticking plaster. Secondly, talk to staff and listen to what they say, it really is that simple! Find out what concerns or issues staff have when it comes to their wellbeing, find out what suggestions they have about improving their wellbeing and what interests them and what they would like and what they would engage with and then use that information to make a plan. Once you have a plan go back and check with staff that it meets their needs and then deliver on it. Don’t just sit back and think that you work here is done though. Review the wellbeing interventions and support that has been put in place regularly, is it being used and is it having a positive impact on wellbeing that you can measure? Likewise, as new challenges present themselves and the world inside and outside of the workplace changes then use those opportunities too to reflect on what your business is doing about wellbeing and if it is still relevant or if you need to flex and do something different.
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Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic Workplace Wellbeing
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