A healthy team leads to a great experience for all your team members, and ultimately better care for our patients. NHS England have created a guide designed to help you (as managers) and your team explore what being part of a healthy team means for you, and to embark on a collaborative journey where you are ‘in the driving seat’ to improve things, together.
This guide is separated into the following sections. It is recommended you start with identifying your team’s wellbeing goals, and then dip in and out of the other sections based on your identified needs.
- Identify your team’s wellbeing goals: this is where you can find help to support you in understanding your team’s wellbeing needs.
- Creating a safe and inclusive space to talk about wellbeing: this section will help team members to think about leadership behaviours in a team.
- Looking after your emotional, physical and mental health: this section will help team members to think about leadership behaviours in a team.
- Ensuring you have a safe working environment: this section will help you to review your physical workspaces and the facilities available to rest, recover and succeed. It also explores safety at work and dealing with aggression in the workplace.
- Collaborative and supportive relationships that promote social wellbeing: this section will help team members to reflect on the ways the team works together to boost civility, respect and build compassion.
- Finding meaning in the work you do and bringing your whole self to work: this section will help team members to connect with the wider purpose of the team and encourage each team member to tap into their full potential and bring their ‘whole self’ to work.
- Knowing where to go when you need wellbeing support: this section will help team members to gain a shared understanding of the workload within the team and the services available to support team members to look after their health and wellbeing.
- Review and revisit your team’s wellbeing culture and goals: this section will help team members revisit and review their wellbeing culture and goals.
- Inspiration Library: this section provides additional learning and resources to further support you and your team.
Download the Looking after your team’s health and wellbeing guide (pdf).
This guide supports any team that is seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of members of the team, through a culture change approach. It is for all teams working in health and care, inclusive of all team forms and functions, across healthcare, primary care, social care and voluntary sectors.
It is for teams who are looking for inspiration and guidance to begin creating your local culture of wellbeing in a simple, practical and engaging way.
This guide is a simple ‘one stop shop’ to help you and your team to improve your health and wellbeing over time, through a flexible, continual, and collaborative journey.
It will empower you and your team to explore and improve your health and wellbeing in an inclusive and holistic way, recognising that different people need different things at different times. It supports you to embed a team wellbeing culture for your local context.
The guide will also develop over time, by incorporating best practice resources all in one place for you, whilst also signposting you to wider resources and tools over time as we learn together from your experiences.
Guide authors: Suzanne Douglas, Senior Associate Director, NHS Leadership Academy. Dr Adam J. Turner, Improving Health and Wellbeing Lead, NHS England.