Workplace health and wellbeing for young people has come a long way since the times of the 1833 Factory Act, which was introduced to protect the very young from the incredibly poor working conditions of the 19th Century mills and factories.
This new legislation forbade children from working under nine years of age, introduced a strict 12-hour maximum working day for children under the age of eighteen, ensured children were entitled to two hours schooling per day, and introduced factory inspectors to uphold the new laws.
Thankfully, almost two hundred years later, these kinds of conditions are unheard of now in the developed world, and the U.K has a myriad of health and safety legislation to protect workers of any age.
So how do we protect the health and wellbeing our younger employees in the workplace? Are they entitled to any additional legislation and are their needs any different?
Here at Wellspace we are always interested in any aspect of health and wellbeing, so we thought we’d explore this topic in more depth. Want to find out what we discovered? Read more here!
Workplace Legislation For Under 25’s
Statistics show that people aged between 18 – 24 are more likely to suffer an injury or have an accident at work than their older colleagues.
This could be for a variety of reasons, including lack of experience and lack of physical and psychological maturity.
Young people are entitled to receive adequate training and importantly, supervision, to offer them enough workplace protection to prevent issues from arising that could potentially compromise their health and wellbeing.
And for those under the age of 18 who may be on vocational work placements for example, or apprenticeships, there are extra rules and employee rights that need to be upheld by the employer which prevent young people from being exploited and put at unnecessary risk.
Protect Their Mental Health As Well As Their Physical Health
Young people are less likely to feel confident in speaking to their manager if they feel they have a problem at work or otherwise.
By providing regular workplace reviews, offering mentoring from more established members of the workforce and operating an ‘open door policy’, this will encourage newer members of staff that there is a positive workplace culture and that they can approach their managers and colleagues if they have something on their minds causing them distress.
It’s also worth considering that for many young people entering employment, this could be their first step into the world of work and remember how daunting this can be? There are lots of new challenges for them to face, not least of all fitting in to a new environment and meeting new people.
These new challenges can evoke a degree of anxiety in anybody, and as statistics prove that there is a marked increase in poor mental health amongst young people, it is worth remembering that as we spend so much of our time at work the adjustment to daily pressures can prove symptomatic to an increase in stress which can be a trigger for more complex mental health issues such as depression and general anxiety disorder.
It’s also worth noting that young people can have their own financial worries that different generations may not have experienced at a younger age. This could be for many reasons, including having sick or elderly parents where they have to act as carers in some capacity, or they have an unstable home life which means they live independently.
So being aware that many young people have their own personal issues to cope with, which potentially could affect their mental health, means you may have to offer more support whilst they adjust to their new routines and build resilience to their changing lifestyle.
What Can I Do To Support Workplace Health and Wellbeing For Young People?
As an employer or HR Manager, it is worth considering what practical and positive steps you can take to support young people in the workplace.
One of these ways could be to introduce a digitally focused Corporate Wellness Scheme which although it may seem a bit high tech and hocus pocus on first inspection, is definitely ‘the norm’ to millennials who have been brought up in the age of the technology revolution.
The Wellspace Application and Portal offers a fantastic way for employers to support their employees achieve their health and wellbeing goals, and offers a pragmatic and business like approach to taking care of mental, physical and social wellbeing within the organisation.
This approach to Corporate Wellness is one that is being adopted by companies across the globe, as the health and wellbeing of employees becomes equally as important as health and safety, and responsible business owners realise the advantages of investing in the wellbeing of their employees.
There are many ways in which the Wellspace Application can support employers and employees, including Wellbeing Training, Focus Training, and 1-2-1 Support.
This training looks at things like dietary advice, physical activity and mental health support, all tailored to individual needs, and yet is cleverly designed to instil a team approach and full employee engagement towards corporate wellbeing.
On the Wellspace website, you will find regular blogs and interesting articles all focused on health and wellbeing, and customers have access to exclusive wellness research to keep staff motivated, leading to a positive and productive working environment.
Contact Us
So if you are an employer who has the wellness of your employees at heart, and you are looking for innovative ways to support the workplace health and wellbeing for young people, you can contact us here for more information on Corporate Wellness or if you prefer, you can call us on 0808 178 0748.
We have an expert team of wellbeing professionals who have studied the benefits of looking after employee health in the corporate sector for years, and who would be delighted to chat to you about any aspect of workplace wellness and the overall impact of taking care of your employees.
Contact us TODAY to find out more!
