What is a Health and Wellbeing Strategy?

I have asked many employers this question and I have had many answers in reply.

I'm afraid that some people couldn't get past challenging me on how to spell wellbeing. It's got a hyphen... no it hasn't...it should be two words...

If it is difficult to agree on just the spelling of a word, how easy is it to agree on the definition of a health and wellbeing strategy? It isn't.

It can mean different things to different people.  It is quite common for different parts of the same organisation to have different views.  Very rarely there is consensus, but without consensus, organisations immediately start creating problems for themselves leading to misunderstanding and missed opportunities.

There is no universally accepted definition. In fact, I've never come across a subject where there is so much difference of opinion on the right or wrong use of terminology.

For clarity and consistency, the Shandwell definition of a Health and Wellbeing Strategy is:

'The integration of an organisation's internal resource and expertise with the purchase of appropriate external service provision to deliver on the published health and wellbeing objectives agreed at senior level'

I'd like to just comment on some key words in this definition.

Integration - in my view, buying a product or service or some advice in isolation without understanding the impact on the rest of the organisation is not a Health and Wellbeing Strategy, although I have met people who have tried to persuade me otherwise.

Internal resource and expertise - not all employers realise that if properly coordinated, what they already have in house can reduce reliance and expenditure on external provision.

Published – going to print on objectives helps for greater communication and commitment to see things through.

Agreed at senior level – without senior level ownership, few strategies deliver.

To keep things simple, I define Health and Wellbeing within an organisation as anything it does to prevent ill health and for ill or injured employees, what it does to manage their treatment and rehabilitation.