Staying Well @ Work case studies

Dec 16, 2022

The ESF Priority 1 funded Staying Well @ Work Service (SWAW) is led by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.  It offers support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) within RCT to ensure all those employed in the Local Authority area have access to ‘in work’ support services which pay particular attention to the wellbeing needs of individuals and the development of supportive Policies.

Client A case study

In supporting individuals, the project provides clinical support to staff to improve daily functioning and symptom management, enabling people to return to, or continue to, work.  Below is an example of how the project has helped one of these clients.

The client was referred to the SWAW team by their line manager as it had become apparent that their work competences were being affected due to an ongoing issue with a colleague. They were experiencing symptoms of anxiety and profoundly decreased confidence in their work.

The client engaged with six weekly/fortnightly review appointments via the Attend Anywhere platform. During these review appointments, the client was supported to discuss their work-related issues in a confidential and non-judgmental environment. This allowed the client to build on their confidence, recognise their triggers and apply effective coping strategies. They were also supported to work on their assertive rights and how to implement these in work related situations.

“I felt listened to and Emma created a safe space so that I was able to share what was going on for me. I have regained my confidence and how I was feeling was normalised and helped me put things into perspective. On my first session I was a shadow of my former self, emotional and with a lot of self-doubt, on my final session I was the confident, focused person who found her passion for her work again”.

Business support case study

As well as clinical support for individuals, SWAW supports businesses and their staff in fostering a culture of equality and wellbeing through the development of robust policies, structures, processes and behaviours.  One of the companies they have recently worked with is Pontus.

Pontus, based in Hirwaun offer R&D services to the aquaculture, marine and aquatics sectors for the development of nutritional and health products.

The business is looking to grow and expand to additional premises in the near future. As part of this growth plan, they required a more robust framework of policies to support the health and wellbeing of their workforce. The policies also need to provide support and protection for the business, enabling them to work towards becoming an employer of choice in the community.

SW@W suggested a review of their existing workplace policies and additional policies to support the wellbeing of their staff and make their people management framework more robust. They then successfully implemented these interventions in partnership with the company.

The result was the development of a workplace culture where the health and wellbeing of staff has improved, with clarity around the rights, entitlements, expectations and support available to employees.

Ivan Tankovski – Director of Research said:

“I’m happy to say that the feedback on our current policies was very useful, but what was even more appreciated was the fact that this programme allowed us to adopt many new policies, without investing additional resources in the writing. Since the implementation of the policies, our staff are much more aware of their rights and responsibilities, and so is the management. This has resulted in an improvement in staff morale and general wellbeing. I would strongly recommend Staying Well @ Work to companies with limited manpower and/or capital to focus on policy writing.”

ERDF funding has also been awarded to Pontus via the Welsh Government’s SMARTCymru project’s Innovation Voucher and Innovation Voucher Plus programmes.  This funding has been used to assist the company in introducing innovative processes into the business, and in implementing these and other new and improved processes and service options to help them grow and expand the business.