Healthier Approach to Work/Life Balance Adopted by Northgate
13 August 2007
- Heath-awareness pilot scheme to be made available to entire company -
With stress now highlighted as the main cause of mental health related illness in the workplace, resulting in an average of 21 days absenteeism per year, one local technology company is leading the way in its bid to help employees identify and tackle the issue before it becomes a major problem, affecting both working and home life.
Northgate Managed Services has launched a number of new health-related pilot schemes, including a ‘Stress Awareness for Managers’ initiative after company research revealed that some employees identified high levels of stress in their roles. The HR team from Northgate, which employs almost 500 people across NI, recognised the need to take action at an early stage, and introduced this initiative to help managers spot the signs of stress amongst team members. The managers were also trained to offer advice and support to their staff, and direct them towards specialised counselling services or training courses if required.
Northgate has also introduced a ‘Well-being at Work’ scheme which aims to further improve conditions for staff and help them adapt to the demands of the fast-paced technology sector. This has included visits to their head office in Newtownabbey from the Action Cancer bus, which offered consultations, breast cancer screening sessions and complementary therapies to employees who have been personally or indirectly affected by cancer.
And in line with the new smoke-free legislation, Northgate has partnered with High St healthcare expert, Boots, to offer a 12-week Stop Smoking initiative to staff. Not only does the scheme provide professional advice and mentoring services but it pro-actively encourages employees to support each other in their bid to stop smoking.
Thanks to the uptake and positive feedback, Northgate plans to make the schemes available to its 3300-strong workforce throughout the UK. According to Peter Thompson, HR Manager of Northgate, staff are the lifeblood of the company so their wellbeing is essential to overall business performance,
“The facts say it all – stress is increasingly impacting on our lives and our priority at Northgate is to deliver a healthy working environment which offers the best opportunity to maximise the skills of every member of staff. By putting our people first, we believe we are tackling one of the major issues affecting business life today, and creating a win: win situation for everyone.”
Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the Health Promotion Agency, said: “It is great to see Northgate developing policies for the workplace such as these and taking the proactive step of identifying stress in the workplace. Work is where many people spend the largest proportion of their time so employers can play a key role in contributing to their employees’ health and in turn the health of their organisation.
“The health of the workforce, both mental and physical, is a major contributor to the success or otherwise of an organisation which can enhance its’ performance and possibly help organisations gain a competitive advantage. More information for employers who would like to develop a healthy workplace policy can be found by visiting: www.healthpromotionagency.org.uk/Work/workwell/menu.htm
