Lincolnshire Police introduce workplace wellbeing initiative
Lincolnshire Police’s Chief Constable Bill Skelly has announced the introduction of two additional days per year for staff to look after their mental and physical wellbeing.
Responding to this news, Faye McGuinness, Blue Light Programme Manager at Mind, said:
“We welcome the announcement by Lincolnshire Police that their staff will benefit from an extra two days a year to look after their wellbeing. Offering additional time to rest and recuperate is just one example of employers putting greater priority on looking after their staff. Our emergency services perform challenging, potentially traumatic and dangerous roles every day in order to keep the public safe. The unique pressures faced by our 999 staff and volunteers can put them at greater risk of developing a mental health problem. That’s why it’s so important organisational support is made available - to ensure dedicated workers are at their best and ready to carry out these incredibly difficult and life-saving roles we often take for granted.
“Providing additional leave does have a cost attached, but is likely to save money in the long run, through increased staff morale, productivity and loyalty, and decreased sickness absence. Analysis by Deloitte as part of the independent Government-commissioned ‘Thriving at Work’ review recently found a return to business of £1.50 and £9 for every £1 invested. Small, inexpensive measures like offering regular catch up with managers, buddy systems, flexible working hours and generous annual leave can make a huge difference.”
