Dr Rebecca Brady of HCML, the Croydon-based healthcare business, has been named as a finalist for the 2023 Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards in the Breaking the Silence category ahead of the national final in March.
Dr Brady’s nomination is in recognition of her work to inspire a wider company approach to wellbeing in the workplace. This includes introducing the company’s first menopause policy, taking positive action to ensure every employee going through the menopause, or experiencing the menopause indirectly in some way, is supported. Part of Dr Brady’s programme was to fully embed this policy within the organisation through training at all staffing levels to instigate a shift towards having open conversations and ‘breaking the taboo’ around the impact of the menopause.
The HCML menopause policy forms just part of HCML’s wider wellbeing strategy, led by Dr Brady and developed to encompass all aspects of wellbeing, including an Employee Assistance Programme, the presence of Mental Health First Aiders in the organisation and a commitment to hold regular wellbeing meetings on areas as diverse as nutrition, sleep and how to keep healthy in the era of hybrid working.
The Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards has been launched to recognise the people and organisations who are helping to make a true difference to the lives of our nation’s working population. The Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards were founded last year by the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in partnership with industry expert Wellity Global to bring conversations around workplace standards to the fore, and give leaders in the wellbeing space a platform to inspire others.
Rebecca Brady, Medical Director, HCML, said: “Never has it been more important for organisations, no matter how big or small, to have a wellbeing programme in place to support employees. People are a company’s greatest asset, but there are so many external factors that impact an employee’s ability to do their job efficiently and employers have a duty of care to ensure that everyone is supported so they can bring their ‘whole-self’ to work.
“At HCML we very much practise what we preach and believe that prevention is far better than cure. We encourage our clients to follow our example, by creating open and honest workplaces where employees feel that they can access the help they need when they need it and feel they can talk to management to seek support. The organisations that can achieve this will reap the rewards in terms of a happy and more motivated workforce and far less staff turnover. We’re absolutely thrilled that our work in this area has been recognised as we continue to drive new initiatives in workplace wellbeing. We’re only just getting started!”
Britain’s ambassadors for better wellbeing and satisfaction in the workplace are being highlighted for the second year after the first ever Grand Final was held in 2022. The inaugural awards saw trailblazing individuals and businesses big and small including Student Beans, Pets at Home Group PLC, KFC and Yorkshire Building Society recognised for their policies surrounding work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and mental and physical health.
With over 500 applications, the 2023 shortlist has proven to be equally distinguished and diverse, spanning numerous industries and corners of the UK.
The Grand Final will be hosted for the second year by Wynne Evans, who can be seen regularly singing to millions for the TV advertising campaign that has made him a household name as the spoof opera star Gio Compario.
The nominees will be whittled down to winners by a panel of expert judges from the wellbeing space across 16 categories including Wellbeing Team of the Year, Best Mental Wellbeing Initiative and Most Inspiring Employee of the Year. Industry leaders from Gymshark, TikTok and Wagamama are among many other members of the 2023 judging panel.
Founder of the awards Francesca James said that a happier and healthier workforce is needed going forward: “In recent years, a growing ‘hustle culture’ has made people believe that they need to work long, unsociable hours, miss out on social occasions and put their job above everything else to be successful. This has since been countered by the rise of ‘quiet quitting’, which has seen exhausted and dissatisfied employees working-to-rule and putting in minimal effort.
“This dichotomy is evidence that, on both sides of the coin, the support from employers and colleagues is lacking and the relationship between people and their work life still needs to be addressed. The finalists for this year’s awards have been selected as they are at the very forefront of the drive for improvement and demonstrate huge dedication to building a workforce that feels both respected and motivated to achieve.
“The judges now have some tough decisions on their hands in crowning the winners for each category – I look forward to finding out who they will be on awards night and wish all of the finalists the very best!”
Simon Scott-Nelson, co-founder of Wellity Global and the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards, said how impressed he was by the applicants after the first round of judging: “It’s fantastic to have received so many inspiring applications from passionate wellbeing champions for a second year. The standard of entries was incredible, so the finalists should be very proud to have made it to the shortlist.
“The growing appetite for change within the workplace is clear from the sheer volume of dedicated entrants committed to making working lives better in their respective industries. Changing working cultures is something nobody can do alone, and it is only through the collaborative efforts of so many hard-working people that working lives can be transformed.”