Wellbeing standards

These standards have been developed by People and Transformation.

Our wellbeing standards

1. Continually improve our wellbeing culture and levels of wellbeing awareness across the organisation.
2. Shift the focus of Essex County Council (ECC) wellbeing from ‘crisis’ intervention to prevention and early intervention.
3. The wellbeing of our people will be a central feature of all ECC policies, standards and strategies.
4. Equip our people with the tools and training to feel empowered to manage their wellbeing.
5. Our wellbeing offer will be evidence based, needs led, and developed in collaboration with our workforce, and we will robustly track our success and impact.
6. Our leaders and managers will champion wellbeing and set the best examples for our people.

Commitments

Essex County Council’s commitment to you 

We will define a set of desired wellbeing values and behaviours and set out clear, actionable ambitions for our wellbeing focused culture.

We will proactively support the mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing of our employees and determine action plans which focus on prevention and resilience building. 

We will ensure good people management policies and practices which take into account the wellbeing of the organisation and our employees - including approaches to change management and ways of working. 

To better understand the diverse needs of our people and use this information to develop our wellbeing approach and equip people with the right tools and training.

We will ensure that any initiatives are based on research evidence and identified needs within ECC. We will continually collaborate with employees, monitor and evaluate initiatives, and strive for improvements.

We will support leaders and managers to develop strong relationships with their teams with a proactive approach to wellbeing management based on best practice.

Your commitment as a line manager 

To act as champions for wellbeing and ensure you have the knowledge, skills and capabilities to promote this agenda and be leaders for change.

To promote employee wellbeing within your teams and functions. This can be done through effective communication, acting as a motivator to engage employees, providing support to employees where needed and promoting a culture of openness.

To demonstrate a commitment to ‘bring to life’ policies, standards and strategies and implementing and enacting these to support employee wellbeing. 

To have a personal responsibility for your own wellbeing, participate in wellbeing opportunities and acknowledge the benefits of initiatives provided by ECC and how these can be used to support your individual needs as a manager and that of your team. 

Strive to understand the needs of your teams and functions. Collaborate with the organisation and employees on the development, implementation and monitoring of any wellbeing initiatives. 

To lead by example to provide a supportive environment that encourages employees to be proactive about their own wellbeing. Leadership will have overall responsibility for developing, monitoring and reviewing our wellbeing approach.

Your commitment as an employee 

To recognise the role your everyday behaviours, engagement and commitment play in determining our wellbeing culture. 

To engage in positive health behaviours which support your overall health and wellbeing and to keep abreast of ECC wellbeing initiatives.

To be clear on our policies and practices which aim to support wellbeing and how they impact you and engage with these in a positive and proactive way.

To have a personal responsibility for your own wellbeing, participate in wellbeing opportunities and acknowledge the benefits of initiatives provided by ECC and how these can be used to support your individual needs.

Collaborate with the organisation, leaders and managers on the development, implementation and monitoring of any wellbeing initiatives.

To recognise the efforts put in by leaders and managers to champion wellbeing.