How are you Nudging your wellbeing ideas?

Much like Freakonomics and The Tipping Point, every now and again a book is published that gets tongues wagging and people thinking differently. For a short while at least.

Now in paperback, the book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness written by Chicago University academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein is still the subject of much hot debate. Considering it's a book all about behavioural economics, it's really got those in positions of power thinking about new ways they can get their messages and wishes across.

But how does this relate to health and wellbeing? Quite effortlessly actually.


When it comes to talking to people about their health and wellbeing, there are fewer tricky subject areas than this. What people eat is very personal and can get them behaving very defensively if you were to make healthier suggestions. People can also spend a lot of time in denial about the amount of exercise they do and the amount of free time they have to do it - so again, broaching this subject with new ideas is a sensitive one.

But, it is a fact, that healthy eating and regular exercise will help everyone feel more energised, focused, healthier and perform better in all areas of their lives. So how do you do the right thing without offending anyone? Why not try nudging your ideas?

According to a new article in HR Magazine,

"Many employers will already have schemes in place that fit well with the nudge agenda. Bike-to-work schemes, childcare vouchers and automatic opt-in, work-based pensions, for example, are all in line with this theory; but much more could be done to harness the potential of employer-based incentives. "

You may have one of the schemes currently running but there are plenty more out there to get thinking about. Take a look at your employees and think about their mindset and lifestyles. What would they respond well to - are they competitive, are they time poor, are they young and eager with no real family ties yet or are they shift workers with little free time at normal times of day. Whatever make up your employees are, they could all benefit from wellbeing schemes tailored to compliment their lives. Not useless schemes that are irrelevant. (e.g. obligatory bonding sessions on an orienteering course that no one wants to go to versus creating a mini sports tournament in the summer encouraging teams to get together and have fun whilst getting competitive and fit and bonding.)

Think about your teams and think what would suit them - not just what would suit you.


Photograph by dominiccampbell (flickr)

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The secret to making your wellness scheme work

The desire to set up a health and wellness programme that will really help your employees and genuinely get your absenteeism figures down is a shared dream for many companies. Especially at a time like this when there is no room or time for tolerating staff who can't give 100%.

But some companies actually knuckle down and do it and reap the HUGE benefits. There's a great case study released this month about First ScotRail who did just that. It'll inspire you I'm sure to get out of the 'thinking about it stage' into the 'getting on and doing it stage' I'm sure.

When you have a staff base who come to you as school leavers and stay with you for their whole working lives, you get to know them and what makes them tick. More importantly, you get to understand what causes them to be absent from work and why and you know when it's time to tackle this.

This is exactly what happened to the Nicola Macpherson, occupational health advisor at First ScotRail.

Her approach was a smart one - tackle each obstacle by taking on the biggest problem first and working from there. She knew her staff were mostly shift workers so there was a work-life balance issue to be addressed and she knew that absenteeism was mostly caused by musculo skeletal problems and mental health problems and so again, she addressed these big issues above all else.

Read her brief case study - it really does make you want to get stuck into your own programme today and get the problems ironed out.

The best tip to be learned from Nicola Macpherson I think is that by tackling the biggest problem first, the rest will follow. Don't put off taking on the elephant in the room.

We help companies to solve their problems by supplying the expertise they need to address the health and wellness of their workforce. Why not contact us and tell us what your biggest issues are and we can give you free and friendly advice.

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How many people in your office could do with shaping up?

Sneak a look round your office right now..... How many people do you see who look fit and glowing and healthy? And how many do you see who are carrying too many extra pounds, a bit too red in the face when they climb the stairs and generally 'letting themselves go' a bit?

Chances are, there are more people around you (maybe including you) who aren't feeling as great as they could and looking as healthy as they could. But it doesn't have to be this way says the Department of Health in their report released this week highlighting the need for office staff to lose weight and get fit.

The Department of Health released a report this week entitled, ‘Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: One Year On’ The report calls for employers in the public sector to encourage staff to lose weight, starting with the NHS which the report shows has 300,000 obese staff and a further 400,000 who are overweight. Out of a total of 1.2 million employees, that’s nearly 60%.

Evidence shows that people in better physical shape feel more positive and produce better results both at work and beyond.

So looking around your office again, how many people do you think could do with shaping up, getting a bit fitter, maybe relaxing a bit more often and generally taking better care of themselves.

But what can you do about it without hurting someones feeling and crossing that line between professional and personal. Here are a few questions you could ask that will help:

1. What would make life easier and more fulfilling for the individuals concerned?

2. What could the business do to support these individuals in  making positive behaviour change?

3. How would these behaviour changes improve the lives of these individuals?

4. How would behaviour change by the individuals benefit the business?

Then consider your options. Whether it be a healthy eating plan, lunchtime activities, a lunchtime walking programme, on-site relaxation sessions or a stop smoking programme, there will be something the business can offer for everyone who’d benefit from help. When you know what will work best and have the quickest results, get started with setting it up as soon as possible.

If you are keen to do something sooner rather than later, contact The Tonic for some advice and tips. Every office has a solution, you just need to ask.

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Healthy workplace: how to target the men in the office

Marketing anything to men and women at the same time can be difficult because men like it one way and women like it another. Women tend to be more open to new ideas and willing to take a gamble whereas men are less open initially and need the science and hard facts before they'll engage. Generalisations I know but broadly true. 

HR departments sometimes feel this when trying to get men in offices interested in health and wellness. It's not surprising really that men are less keen to talk about any health issues or asking for advice when you consider how hard it is to get men to visit their doctor!

But men's health can't be ignored so what can you do about it to engage men more in the subject?


Recently, there was a discussion on BBC Radio 4 covering Men’s Health in the Workplace. This is a really hot topic at the moment.

At The Tonic we recently ran a ‘Men Only’ wellness event for one of our major clients and the response from a male population, previously not that interested in their wellbeing, was fantastic. The feedback from those that came along was brilliant and, as well as the guys learning a lot during the sessions, we had reports following the event that many more men had been booking in for cholesterol and Blood Pressure checks than in previous months.

This year National Men’s Health Week runs from June 15th to June 21st so don’t miss this opportunity to get the male population in your office into shape with good health and wellness initiatives. The benefits of doing so will be that the individuals concerned feel better about themselves which in turn makes the office a more positive place to be.

All you need to do is pitch your wellbeing messages carefully so they appeal to the male population:

1. Think performance, not health
Men aren’t too interested in the health benefits of maintaining healthy habits, they like to think they’re indestructible and can soldier on no matter what. So talk to them about how being healthy can sharpen up their performance. If they think they’re working well now, just imagine how well they could be doing if they tightened up on their eating habits or their fitness routine a little bit.

2. Get competitive
It’s in-built in men to be competitive so if you want to organize health related initiatives you need to think about some competitions or challenges. Things like, who can walk the most steps in one week; which department has the fittest team as measured by a few key performance measures; who can eat the best for a few days, and which group has the best work life balance? Individual and team challenges will capture the imagination and make sure there’s a reason for everyone to stay on track with their healthy behaviours.

3. Plan for the future
Think about initiatives that you can set up during Men’s Health Week that will continue for months to come. Use the National event to raise awareness of Men’s Health but then aim to keep the issue in people’s minds at all times by updating the challenges. Be sure to award prizes that men can display on their desks and publicise winning individuals and teams on notice boards and the company website. The more you make a feature of healthy men in the workplace, the more people you’ll reach to start them thinking positively about their own health.

4. Consider what you want them to say about the event when it’s over
When organizing any event, you need to plan for the best possible results. The comments below are from people who attended the Tonic ‘Men Only’ wellness event I mentioned earlier. Make sure you know the positive feedback you’re aiming to receive and then plan initiatives that will guarantee you get it.

‘Thank you for organising. This was excellent’

‘Very useful and thought provoking, this session was excellent and very informative’

‘Very useful – increase motivation to make changes’

‘Excellent’

‘Wasn’t sure what to expect – informative, made me think’

‘Very useful’

Did all the topics you were expecting get covered? ‘Yes, plus more.
Made me think about changes I need to make’

‘I would like a follow up session’



Photograph by POSITiv (flickr)

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How to make your wellbeing initiatives really work for you

When it comes to corporate wellbeing programmes, a discount at the local gym or a regular chair massage might be what springs to mind, but all that is changing. Are you ready to get up to date with what your offering. It may just be the change your company needs.

I've just had an article published in HR Zone all about how to take your wellbeing initiatives at work into the 21st century. 

Its important to do this because you could be in danger of spending money in the wrong place and not getting the results you want. No one has spare time, cash or resources so read on to hear exactly how you can implement a new programme today and get your staff buzzing.

Full article is here.

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