JW Filshill has repositioned its business strategy to put mental health and wellbeing at the centre of everything it does, with the wholesaler setting up a wellness group. The business recently conducted risk assessments for each employee and continues efforts to ensure that every member of staff receives regular wellbeing calls.
Health and safety manager Amanda Casey is driving the strategy and she recently expanded her remit by engaging heavily with the workforce on mental health.
She said: “In a busy wholesale operation like ours it is easy to associate health and safety with the safe operation of equipment like forklifts in our depot and drivers handling deliveries.
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“So once we were confident the workplace was secure from a Covid perspective, our focus became the wellbeing of employees.”
Filshill became the first wholesaler in Scotland to receive Covid asymptomatic testing centre status in conjunction with the Scottish Government. Home-testing kits are made available to those working from home.
“With the Wellness Group and organised activities such as hillwalking, a bootcamp in the car park and a hugely successful step challenge, we bridge the gap between homeworkers and those on site to promote the physical health and mental wellbeing of all employees,” Casey explained. “Activities are based around culture, sleep, exercise, meaningful activities, social.
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“Now firmly at the core of Filshill’s overall business strategy with each manager required to introduce a new wellbeing/safety objective every 90 days, the mental health and wellbeing focus will continue to evolve and adapt to meet future challenges. Staff will be invited to participate in regular surveys outlining what they would like to see.”
Filshill chief executive Simon Hannah said: “We have put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that as a responsible employer we need to do this not only for our employees and their families but also because of the positive impact it has on our business and our customers.
