Background
Mental health and wellbeing have become an increasing concern in wider society in recent years, with research estimating that mental health problems cost the UK economy £117.9 billion a year. This can only have been increased with the pandemic and lockdown. Employers may need to be proactive in highlighting the importance of wellbeing as a factor in a long-lasting and successful career in horseracing, and that the sport can have a culture of employees denying that they need support. Research has shown, for example, that staff are inclined not to report injuries to their employer, with women being even less likely than men to do for fear of being viewed as weaker.
Creating a culture that encourages employees to seek early support is good for both employer and employee. There is a wealth of accessible material available to draw on, so employers need not develop their own.
See a link to further resources here
What are the benefits of supporting mental health and wellbeing?
Creating a culture of good health can increase the loyalty and productivity of your employees. Encouraging them to come forward when issues first manifest can save issues further down the line, for example, getting physiotherapy and following a specific exercise programme at the first signs of a back issue can stop something more serious and career-inhibiting developing. Mental health can be just as important, with poor mental health potentially affecting quality of work, leading to absences and lowering productivity. All of these issues are even more important where staff are working in highly physical roles, with animals and/or equipment and can present the possibility of health and safety risks.
What can employers do?
Recent reports have identified that employees who are given proactive help to stay healthy are less likely to leave and more likely to feel productive (and therefore motivated). Prevention is more important than cure, with recent employee surveys showing that good work-life balance and management support are considered key workplace factors in maintaining good health. Visit the Work-Life Balance section for more information.
One easy step is to encourage employees to make use of the support mechanisms within horseracing, such as Racing Welfare. Employees also need to feel valued, and there are many ways to do this that do not involve significant cost. Research shows, for example, that alongside opportunities for personal and career development, flexible working, being involved in the decisions that affect them and recognition such as ‘employee of the month’ or team-based events are all important and have an impact on mental wellbeing. Social/community activities such as family days can also have a positive impact. Industry support on employee wellbeing can be accessed via the Racing Welfare Workforce Wellbeing Programme.
Some ideas for action
- Foster open discussions between staff and manager about their health, which will help to develop trust and allow some anticipation (and the ability to plan for) any problems that arise.
- Be proactive! Making employees feel valued need not necessarily mean high cost, with ‘thank you’ notes, public recognition, gift vouchers, additional days off, educational or developmental workshops, or occasional early finishes all being ways of showing appreciation.
- Be sure to signpost staff to the wellbeing services available for horseracing, such as Racing Welfare.
- Encourage staff in staying healthy -this need not mean a lot of expense, for example, the NHS provide home workout videos
- Management and colleagues can familiarise themselves with some of the key indicators that they are experiencing stress, and also some ways to alleviate this.
For some additional reading and resources for this page click here.
