NUS Interview, Large Employer Workplace Health Awards Winner 2022
NUS, Awards Winner Interview
What does it mean to you to be a Global Healthy Workplace Awards winner?
As the saying goes, it takes a village, and it is with the consolidated work across teams, departments, faculties and schools that the vision of a healthier workplace was able to emerge. Every small step matters and we are proud of every step we take towards a better NUS.
We are thrilled that the Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces has recognised our efforts, as one NUS, to move towards a healthier workplace. And as a large scale employer, we believe we can make a difference to the wellbeing of the many staff and students under our charge and we are committed to building an ecosystem of care around our NUS community.
We also believe that this is just the start and that in spite of the award, we have barely begun to scratch the surface of what we can do to support the mental health and wellbeing of the NUS community. It is our sincere hope that as one NUS we will continue to work together and not lose sight of a better, healthier, thriving NUS community..
What do you think are the strengths of your program?
Holistic Support
NUS believes that the responsibility to care for the health and wellbeing of our staff is not simply a HR function but one of the entire organisation. Therefore, a key strategic move was made by leadership to create dedicated wellbeing offices to synchronise university wide health promotion approaches and create accountability for different NUS stakeholders. For our NUS employees there are 2 main units that look after the wellbeing of NUS staff:
1. Wellness Unit at the University Health Centre to look after general employee physical health
2. Health and Wellbeing Unit to look after employee mental health & wellbeing
Wellbeing framework as a guiding north star
The team developed the WellNUS© framework, a holistic health and wellbeing framework that systematically maps out the different parts of a person’s wellbeing journey and identify the relevant initiatives and key stakeholders to provide support. This framework simultaneously serves as a gap analysis tool to see which areas need more work and identifies key stakeholders in charge of services.
Where do you see the main challenges of creating a healthy workplace coming out of a global pandemic?
The main challenges we see to creating a healthy workplace post pandemic for a large organisation would be:
1. Ensuring each layer within NUS is held accountable and stays committed for the whole of organisation, top down and bottoms up – which is where the guiding framework comes in
2. Ensuring that the strategy and programmes remain relevant and up to date.
What advice would you give to a multinational employer thinking of developing or advancing a global strategy?
The top management needs to be invested and walk the talk. It is okay to start small. Be agile, listen to the ground and focus on test bedding and building as you go rather than waiting for the “perfect” programme to be completed before launching.
What did you take away from the 2022 Global Healthy Workplace Summit?
Every organisation has a different take on what makes a healthy workplace and we have so much to learn from each other. And together, organisations big and small, can make a difference for their employees.
View NUS’ profile and Awards presentation:
https://www.globalhealthyworkplace.org/profile/national-university-of-singapore-large-employer-awards-finalist-2022/
Learn more about the 2022 Summit: https://www.globalhealthyworkplace.org/event/10th-global-healthy-workplace-summit-virtual-2022/
Learn more about the Awards: https://www.globalhealthyworkplace.org/awards/application/
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