More than 100 construction and built environment professionals met online last week to come together for an Inspiring Change Conference on the topic ‘Wellbeing: Prevention is Better Than Cure.’
The headline speaker was Rachel Suff, Senior Policy Advisor at the CIPD and author of the CIPD’s “Health and Wellbeing at Work 2021” report.
Further panel discussions centred on sharing best practice, inspiring stories from professionals who have encountered ill-health, and practical steps businesses can take to safeguard the wellbeing of their employees in a holistic manner.
Delegates heard panel presentations from representatives of:
- HS2
- Cancer Research UK
- Civil Engineering Contractors Association
- The Lighthouse Club
- Mercer Marsh Benefits
- Mott MacDonald
- Ollio
- The British Dietetic Association
- Flourish Workplace
- Diabetes Safety
- Arcadis
- Balfour Beatty.
Throughout the conference delegates discussed the latest developments in workplace wellbeing, with an emphasis on ‘prevention’ of harms rather than their mitigation, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges presented by both homeworking and working on site in the current climate.
Commenting, Katie Holt, Development Officer at the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors, said: “I, like many others, am pretty zoomed out at the moment, but today’s Inspiring Change conference held my attention all the way through and was fascinating and thought-provoking as to current best practice and how a focus on wellness from a preventative angle will deliver better outcomes across the construction industry.”
Chief Executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Alasdair Reisner said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges for everyone in all walks of life and specific challenges to those working in construction. This conference was an excellent opportunity to examine the business case for wellness strategies in organisations of all sizes, and to present current best practice from a wide range of experts across our sector.”
Recordings and material presented at the conference, which was supported by CITB and the Construction Leadership Council, are freely available to the whole industry here.
The Conference was also supported by the industry’s Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Programme.
To find out more about the forthcoming Inspiring Change Conference & Awards which are due to take place in November, including details of how to enter, click here.