IOSH launches health and wellbeing course

Work-related ill health and occupational disease caused almost 26 million lost work days in Britain in 2016/17. In the UK alone sickness absence costs the economy £100bn each year, £8bn of that is due to mental ill-health, and presenteeism (working when unfit to do so) is estimated to cost a further £15bn.

To combat this issue, IOSH has created a new course for managers titled ‘Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing’ to equip managers with the right knowledge and techniques to recognise health risks and the range of skills needed to manage people with health issues.

The new course is one of the first courses of its kind developed specifically to help managers look after the physical and mental wellbeing of their workers. Looking after workers’ health and wellbeing is now a top priority in the world of work. 

IOSH chief executive Bev Messinger added; “Health, safety and wellbeing should be a priority in every organisation.

“I’m proud to be part of bringing this course to all business managers, reaching beyond the network of occupational safety and health professionals.

“By equipping all managers with the tools to recognise health and wellbeing risks in their environments and how to deal with them, this course forms part of IOSH’s WORK 2022 strategy to make the world of work a safer place.

“This is such an important part of occupational safety and health today that all IOSH people managers will be undertaking this course.”

The one-day course has been designed with the help of Christina Butterworth of the Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing Development Group and is delivered by a network of IOSH approved training providers. The course is for anyone who manages activities of employees and covers four key areas:

• A healthy company – what it means to commit to the health of the workforce;
• Health risk management – how to protect the workforce from health risks;
• Fitness for work – how to manage the effects of health on work; and
• Wellbeing – giving information and tools to maintain optimal heath

For more information on the course, visit www.iosh.com/ManagingOHW