Matthew Rolph: What can employers do to address social wellbeing?

Matthew Rolph

As individuals, we all spend a large amount of our time at work. Therefore, the relationships we create there are pivotal to our overall wellbeing.

At Graf UK, we understand that our employees are critical to the success of the organisation, so we go out of our way to take care of them and to value their input, both in and out of the workplace.

As part of this approach, we have set up a wellbeing and resilience strategy team. This group has a voice throughout the organisation’s activities, whether that is to do with its day-to-day workings, or how employees blend together outside of the working day.

We value each employee’s opinion highly; our organisational values are currently being created by all members of staff, working together in a democratic process. Having this level of employee buy-in helps those involved really feel like they matter.

The organisation is also in the process of setting up training programmes, which will be delivered in new training rooms, covering a number of subjects related to social wellbeing. These include dealing with the everyday stresses and strains of life, looking after others who are struggling mentally and understanding how to deal with conflict.

We also value how we socialise together out of the workplace. The wellbeing and resilience strategy team works in tandem as a social function group, organising events and making sure we get feedback from everyone who participates.

Graf UK aims to create a strong bond within every team. Each employee should know that someone has their back, should they ever need it. This gives staff a real sense of security, which then reflects back into how the organisation performs every day.

Matthew Rolph is managing director of water management organisation Graf UK