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Introduction and getting started

Welcome to this guide

A healthy team leads to a great experience for all your team members, and ultimately better care for our patients. This guide is designed to help you 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.

We know that being healthy and well is different, for different people, at different times and that one size does not fit all. This guide recognises this by empowering you and your team to create a wellbeing culture that is right for your team, in your local setting, and at your own pace. It has been designed so that you and your team:

• will experience a flexible journey to create a personalised culture of team wellbeing
• are supported to explore health and wellbeing holistically, including aspects of environmental, physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing
• have an engaging experience, by offering practical insights, quick ideas, experiences, and exercises to recognise and bring about the very best in wellbeing in your team
• can flexibly benefit from the guide in your context, by supporting teams across our diverse range of health and care organisations both large and small, having been co-designed collaboratively with colleagues across healthcare, primary care, social care, and voluntary sectors
• are introduced to the existing evidence base around team wellbeing in a simple and engaging way, having been inspired by the NHS health and wellbeing framework, Healthy leadership framework and NHS people promise
• have access to resources that are designed to grow over time, by continually adding inspiring content, resources, links, and case studies for you to use that will support you on your ongoing journey of improvement.

We hope that you enjoy engaging with this guide and wish you well on your personalised journey of growing your team’s health and wellbeing culture.

Suzanne Douglas, Senior Associate Director, NHS Leadership Academy.
Dr Adam J. Turner, Improving Health and Wellbeing Lead, NHS England.

Introducing this guide

Who is this guide for?

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.

How will the guide help my team?

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.

Why was this guide created?

This guide was developed because you suggested it and in response to feedback and engagement with colleagues.

When NHS England refreshed the NHS health and wellbeing framework in 2021, people asked for a guide that that would support them to grow wellbeing in their teams.

There are lots of initiatives that support organisational or sector wellbeing, but people recognised that they spend most of their time with their immediate team and the wellbeing of that group of people was crucial to them.

You will look at health and wellbeing holistically, and this includes aspects of environmental, physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing. All these factors need to be maintained to keep us personally healthy and well.

Inspired by the NHS health and wellbeing framework, this guide has been co-designed with colleagues across health, social care and voluntary sectors to support teams across a range of organisations on a journey to grow their team wellbeing culture.

NHS health and wellbeing framework

The framework is a high-level culture change toolkit that supports organisations to diagnose their NHS people’s health and wellbeing needs and plan, deliver and evaluate interventions.

Wellbeing for our NHS people is also a core part of the NHS people promise. The promise sets out, in their own words, what our NHS people in many different healthcare roles and organisations have said would make the greatest difference to them in their working lives.

The guide aligns with the NHS core values:

• working together for patients
• respect and dignity
• commitment to quality of care
• compassion
• improving lives
• everyone counts.

By living these values, we can ensure the best possible care for patients, as well as looking after our own wellbeing. This guide also reflects the diversity that is so important to us all. Having a diverse and inclusive workforce is important because:

• it helps create a culture where everyone is valued and respected
• it helps tackle health inequalities by having a workforce which is more representative of the population we serve
• we know that patients have better experiences in NHS organisations when there is a culture of inclusion for all staff.

How will you experience this guide?

Your team’s personalised journey is at the heart of this guide. It has been co-designed with people who work in the NHS and social care, so that you are in the driving seat and choose the journey and pace that is right for you.

You will start by exploring what health and wellbeing means to you as a team. This will provide you with your starting point to begin exploring how to improve things, together.

You will then be guided through a series of sections that will help you to further explore and improve your team health and wellbeing, at a pace that is right for you. Each of these sections links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework.

You and your team will probably have been thinking about and working on your wellbeing for some time now, and you are the expert in what works and will work for you. There is no set order in which you need to do the sections – you chose where the start is, based on your knowledge of your team. There is also a facilitator’s guide, with tips and ideas if you would like to take the lead in delivering an activity with your team.

In keeping with the idea of a journey, you can come back to any section or sections if you like or repeat activities – a good time to do this might be when new members join the team, for example.

Overview

This guide is separated into the following sections. We recommend 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.

Ways to use this guide

There is no one way to work through the guide, so pick the way that best suits your team. Some ideas to get you started include:

Are you looking for an overview?

Yes – Quick wins approach: You could do all the quick wins from each chapter, to grow or maintain momentum, and then go back and do more in-depth exercises.

No – Linear approach: Work through the guide in a linear fashion.

Have you already completed an assessment of your team wellbeing?

No – Collective approach: You could ask team members where they want to start and take a cue from them.

Yes – Planned approach: You might want to review the sections within this guide and plot the order you will work through the themes, in line with your own priorities based on the outcome of your team assessment.

Do you have wellbeing priorities?

Yes – Themed approach: If your organisation, system or region is focussing on a wellbeing theme that also appeals to the team, you might want to make use of any resources available and focus on that theme.

No – Self-assessment approach: Use the quick self-assessment tool in this section to identify with your team where to start. You could decide to focus on areas of wellbeing that you all identify you haven’t explored much yet, or you could decide to consolidate an area of wellbeing that you’ve already given some time to.

Remember

There is no timescale to complete either the guide or each section – take as long as you think you need.

We want your feedback

If you have good ways of exploring topics in the guide already, use those, and please tell us by emailing growing.ohwb@nhs.net – we’d love to hear about your experiences and spread your ideas!

Prepare for your team’s wellbeing journey

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• introduce the guide
• begin to talk about what wellbeing means to you
• introduce team check ins and team check outs.

Hints and tips on preparing for your team wellbeing journey

• Share this guide with team members – share the online link, leave a copy in the rest areas, think about whether any of your team need the guide in different formats. Start talking about the guide and how you might use it as a team.
• Identify and set aside time to start working through the guide, for example, as part of a wider team meeting/huddle.
• Ask if team members would like to volunteer to be team wellbeing champions and take a lead in supporting the team to work through the guide.

Quick wins

• Create a team health and wellbeing space, in a visible, accessible space for everyone in the team. This could be a section of a noticeboard, or an online space. Throughout the sections there are ideas of information you can add to this space and ask team members to add anything to do with health and wellbeing as well.
• Introduce team check ins and team check outs.

Team check ins and check outs are a way to get people to talk about wellbeing on a regular, routine basis. Check ins and check outs can be used at the start or end of the shift, or at the start and end of meetings. One person asks a question, and each team member takes turns to respond.

Check ins and check outs are a good way to check the mood of the team, and it’s a good way to check that the basics are in place (something we’ll come back to in the section about environment). Some example questions team members could ask one another:

• What one word sums up your mood today?
• What one thing are you looking forward to today/this week?
• What one thing are you doing to manage your wellbeing today?
• What’s your favourite habit for mental or physical health?
• What went well today?

Take a look at the Inspiration Library for more information about team check ins and check outs.

Activity – when you have a bit more time

Introduce the guide

Before beginning the journey, introduce the guide to team members and discuss:

• Why is team wellbeing important to us? For example,
  • The impact on patient care.
  • Feeling healthy and well is good for everyone.
  • We all want to help and support each other.
  • Talking about wellbeing helps us to work better as a team, creates a sense of team belonging, nurtures a positive and compassionate workplace, team and environment, creates a culture of appreciation at work, enables team members to speak openly about wellbeing and care for one another)
• The benefits of focussing on wellbeing.
• How this guide can help the team.

There are no right or wrong answers, and your team’s answers are likely to be unique to you.

Talk about what wellbeing means to you

As a team, reflect on and share:

• What does wellbeing mean to you? This is the definition of wellbeing from the Oxford English Dictionary, which may help to start the discussion: “the state of being healthy, happy…ability to flourish”.
• When was the last time you felt really healthy and well, at home or at work? What do you notice about your habits, day-to-day activities, etc that might contribute to that?
• What is positively contributing to our team’s wellbeing culture? For example, “we have regular health and wellbeing conversations”.
• What is negatively impacting on our team’s wellbeing culture? For example, “we forget to focus on our wellbeing when the team is under pressure”.

You may want to capture the things that positively and negatively contribute to the team’s wellbeing culture. As a team, identify what you can do to maintain the things that positively impact and reduce/remove the things that negatively impact.

Helpful tip

If you are doing this activity virtually, you could use a virtual pinboard to capture team members’ responses to the prompt questions. You could ask team members to make notes on the virtual pinboard before a team meeting/huddle.

Inspiration Library

The Inspiration Library also contains further background information about the NHS health and wellbeing framework and NHS values.

Using the traffic light tool to understand your current team’s wellbeing culture

Many factors influence team wellbeing. We know that wellbeing is not a one size fits all concept. The following activity will help team members to review the team wellbeing culture and agree on the areas the team would like to focus on.

You can use the traffic lights to score the team’s current position when it comes to wellbeing. Some ways you could approach the activity are to:

• Email each team member and ask them to complete the traffic light tool and email it back to a colleague to collate responses.
• Display the statements on a whiteboard or flip chart and invite team members to rate.
• Set up an online whiteboard and ask team members to rate.
• Print out the traffic light tool and give each team member a copy to complete and put in a box – agree who will collate the responses.

Compile the feedback, taking an average from all the responses, to create an overall picture for your team. You can now agree on where to start your team wellbeing journey, from all the sections, based on the team ratings. As you do this, you could also ask for volunteers to lead individual sections.

Identify and connect with your team’s wellbeing ambition

This gives team members a common goal to work towards on their wellbeing journey. This activity will enable team members to develop an understanding of the team’s reason for promoting and focusing on wellbeing and be something everyone can personally connect to.

• Ask individual team members to write down what they hope to achieve by undertaking the wellbeing journey as a team, and then share. Some things to think about include what could your team wellbeing be like in six/12/18 months? How will the future feel to us as a team?
• As a team, agree on how to combine individual ambitions into a wellbeing mission statement for the team. Some criteria for a good mission statement include easy to remember, short – aiming for no more than a sentence or two, uses simple language, speaks to team members.
• Agree what the team will do with their wellbeing mission statement and where it will be displayed. During your journey, you may want to reflect on the wellbeing mission statement and refine it as your team wellbeing journey progresses.

Agree the principles for working together on team wellbeing

For all team members to have open, safe and inclusive conversations about wellbeing, setting some ground rules is a good place to start.

• As a team, discuss “What processes and what behaviours will help us to feel safe to speak openly with one another in this team?”
• Capture the behaviours/processes starting with “we will….”. Some example behaviours and processes are listed on this page.
• Write up the team behaviours and processes and display them somewhere everyone can refer to it (for example, on your team meeting agenda, on the wellbeing noticeboard, on a whiteboard during meetings).

Example behaviours:

In this team, we will:

• be open and honest with one another
• treat each other with dignity and respect
• listen to each other’s ideas and opinions
• offer one another constructive and positive feedback
• celebrate one another’s accomplishments

Example processes:

In this team, we will:

• be on time, prepared and ready to contribute
• hold regular team meetings/huddles to check in on and progress our team wellbeing journey
• recognise our interdependencies – if we can’t meet a deadline, it could impact others – so let each other know ahead of time
• we will do a wellbeing check in at the beginning of team meetings/huddles

Acknowledgements

NHS England and NHS North West Leadership Academy and Lifelong Learning team would like to thank and recognise the invaluable contribution from all the organisations, teams and individuals who have helped shape this guide.

Using the Growing your team health and wellbeing guide – a facilitator’s guide

This interactive guide is designed to take teams on a journey to grow their team wellbeing culture.

How to get started

The first step is picking up this guide and being interested in your team’s wellbeing! But what next?

Anyone in the team can initiate a conversation about team wellbeing. It could be any member of the team, or maybe there is someone in your team who is already a health and wellbeing champion, a professional midwifery advocate or a professional nursing advocate or especially interested in wellbeing? What is important is to recognise that this is your team journey, and your journey will be the right one for you.

You can work through the sections in any order, depending on what works best for your team. Remember, the most interesting journeys are sometimes the ones that are a bit twisty or take a different route than you first expected!

Something to bear in mind is that your team journey may take a circular route at times – there may be some sections you want to revisit and repeat, whether you want to do that in a month, six months or a year.

Hints and tips on leading an activity

Once you’ve decided as a team which section you want to focus on, you might want to try some of the activities suggested in this section, which includes some hints and tips about facilitating group conversations. Remember – anyone can facilitate an activity, but you might want to agree in advance who will take a lead, so they have a bit of time to prepare.

Preparing yourself to lead the activity

• Familiarise yourself with the activity you will be leading.
• Reflect on how you will run this activity with your team.

Teams come in many shapes and sizes. Teams may be working face to face, in a hybrid way and virtually. Teams might meet regularly in meetings or huddles, and some may work on shifts, so team members may see one another less frequently. All these are good things to consider when you’re thinking about the activities contained in this guide.

Think about the diversity of your team and adapt the activities to meet the team’s needs. You could talk to your team leader or to members of your team if you need any help in planning activities everyone can take part in.

If you’re asking the team some questions, it might be a good idea to have some ‘answers’ up your sleeve, to introduce if people need a few suggestions to get going.

Think about how long each activity might take, and make sure you have enough time. If you are a member of a larger team, the activity may take longer, and vice versa if you are in a small team. You might want to think about running the activity across several meetings to ensure you have enough time or breaking a large group into smaller groups for discussions.

Think about how to engage team members who have different learning styles. We are all unique and learn in different ways, so it may be helpful to check in with team members if they feel there would be a different or more beneficial way to do the activity.

Some of us prefer:

• to learn through images and pictures and may need more time when information is not presented in this way
• to learn through listening, reading aloud and discussion
• to learn through reading and writing
• to learn by doing and experiencing things.

Think about time and location to ensure the activity is accessible and inclusive.

• Identify some time to do the activity. This could be part of a team meeting, a separate session, or over a longer period if you ask people to contribute to the activity outside of a meeting or session.
• If your team are doing the activity face to face, think about room layout and seating – placing chairs in a circle can make people feel more engaged because they can see everyone else.
• If your team are doing the activity virtually, think about which platform (Zoom, MS Teams) you will use to meet, how you might use break-out rooms for smaller group discussions, and what support team members may need to access the meeting.
• Gather the equipment required to do the activity, – this might include a whiteboard, flipchart and paper, pens or post-it notes or a virtual whiteboard.

For some activities, you may want to think about enlisting the help of others to keep an eye on time or take notes, so you can focus on keeping the discussion going.

Preparing your team

• Share this guide with all team members, so they are familiar with the journey.
• You may find it helpful to share the activity you are leading in advance, so that team members have time to reflect before doing the activity.
• Think about if there is anything you want to ask team members to think about, before doing the activity.

Doing the activity

• Ensure everyone can be fully present when doing the activity – team members may find it helpful to ‘check in’ before beginning an activity:
• ask team members to individually make a note of anything that is distracting them and then put it to one side (the act of writing it down and putting to one side can help to mentally remove any distractions)
• you could also ask team members to write their distractions on a post-it note and ‘park’ them on a flipchart or whiteboard
• ask team members if there is anything that is a distraction for them as a team – if there is a deadline looming or an unforeseen crisis occurs, it may be beneficial to rearrange a time to do the activity.
• Set the scene by acknowledging that because wellbeing is personal, different views and ideas may come up, and everyone’s input is valued.
• Explain what the activity involves, the purpose for doing the activity, how the team will do the activity and how it will benefit the team.
• Encourage the team to be curious and ask questions – this is a great time to ask what expectations others have of the activity.
• Ask for volunteers to note down any ideas. This could include discussion that isn’t directly related to the activity but could be picked up at a different time.
• Ensure everyone can speak, by asking those who have not contributed if they would like to add anything to the discussion (team members can add to the chat function if working remotely).
• Keep to time – it may be helpful for one team member to be the timekeeper to help keep the activity on track.
• Check out after the activity to reflect on the team’s learning and to celebrate success. The following prompts could be helpful to support the check out:
• one thing that went well
• one thing that could have gone/been done better – and take this into account when you do the next activity
• one thing that would help team members to take agreed actions forward.

Embedding and sustaining the outcomes from the activities

• Depending on the time available, you might review the notes from the session by reading the highlights at the end of the meeting, or by sharing them with the team after the meeting. Are there any common themes or things the team feel strongly about? Are there any actions that can be followed up? If you think you need more time to fully explore the topic, it’s a good idea to come back to any activities in future meetings.
• There is an action plan template as part of this guide to help you organise any actions the team have suggested and identify action owners.
• Agree on a process for how and when the team will review the action plan to ensure agreed actions are being progressed.

Below is a handy table with some hints and tips on how to handle different situations when leading the activities:

Take a look at the Inspiration Library for more information and support on leading activities. You may also want to contact your local organisational development team for local resources. The Inspiration Library also contains additional resources about the NHS people promise and equality, diversity and inclusion, including online training modules.

Identifying your team’s wellbeing goals

Understanding our health and wellbeing needs and measuring our effectiveness in supporting them.

This section will help you gather the information you need to understand your team’s wellbeing needs – it links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on data insights. This will help you to think of a set of wellbeing metrics specifically for your team and develop ways of measuring the team’s effectiveness in supporting them.

We are all different, and our wellbeing will be positively influenced by a range of different factors. When we feel well at work, we feel good, we function well, we have a sense of purpose, and we experience positive emotions.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• review team wellbeing to encourage team members to share how they feel
• identify individual wellbeing goals to encourage team members to actively work on their wellbeing
• use data to check how things are going to encourage team members to identify measures of success
• identify team wellbeing goals to encourage team members to actively work on wellbeing as a team
• have structured health and wellbeing conversations to enable team members to develop a personalised wellbeing plan.

The Inspiration Library also contains a link to the How are you feeling NHS? toolkit which explains what contributes to decreased wellbeing and how to encourage improvements.

Use data to track your wellbeing

To check how your team’s wellbeing journey is progressing, you may want to use existing data and information sources. These could be quantitative sources of information including feedback from staff surveys or Pulse surveys, the Wellbeing Dashboard on Model Health System, workplace wellbeing needs assessments or workforce data. You could also use qualitative information, including compliments or feedback from patients, service users or other teams, feedback from team meetings or from conversations at work.

Having a wellbeing conversation

It’s good practice to have regular structured wellbeing conversations and develop a personalised plan. Wellbeing conversations consider the whole wellbeing of an individual and identify areas where the individual may need support, signpost them to that support, and regularly monitor their wellbeing over time. They capture individual health and wellbeing needs, and this information can be used to inform the overall team picture, if all team members are comfortable to share some or all of their personal plans.

The NHS people plan encourages every member of the NHS to have a wellbeing conversation with their manager and develop a personalised wellbeing plan. These personal plans and goals should be reviewed at least annually.

Support and training for those leading wellbeing conversations is available on the NHS England website.

Helpful tips

• Once you’ve decided what information sources you’ll use, you might want to pull together a team wellbeing dashboard and agree on timescales to regularly review the indicators that the team have chosen.
• For those working remotely, whether that’s from home or in a shared workspace, MIND has designed a wellbeing conversation template, to help identify what best supports mental health and wellbeing whilst working remotely. Take a look at the Inspiration Library for more information on wellness action plans.

Quick wins

• Check that team members have wellbeing conversations scheduled throughout the year, based on how often the individual wants them.
• Ask team members to bring an object or picture to team meetings that reflects how they are feeling about their wellbeing today and share why. Pictures could be added to your team health and wellbeing space.
• Keep a list of compliments and good feedback. Gather the ones relating to the team somewhere where everyone can see them – the health and wellbeing noticeboard or virtual space you created would be the perfect space!

When you have a little more time

Think about the data available and how you could use it

Ask around about the data available to track wellbeing in your team, organisationally, regionally or even nationally. Make a list and have a conversation as a team about the pros and cons of each set of data. Some questions to talk about include:

• When was this data collected?
• Who contributed to the data?
• Are there themes or patterns in the data that we recognise as a team?
• Does it cover all elements of wellbeing, or does the information focus on one area?
• What information do we have as a team that isn’t more widely shared?

Practice talking about wellbeing in the team regularly

Wellbeing conversations with your manager are one way of exploring personal wellbeing. Team members can also buddy up with each other for a regular conversation. Some good questions to ask each other include:

• How are you and how are you really?
• Is there anything influencing your wellbeing at the moment?
• What would help to boost your wellbeing?
• What can I do to support you?

From the conversation, you may want to identify one wellbeing goal to work on over the next few months. You may find it helpful to agree on a time to come back together to review progress.

Agree how you will capture and track your team’s progress

Recording and reviewing how you are getting along is an important part of the team wellbeing journey. It helps keep morale up, it is a record of what has been achieved together and can act as an inspiration to the team and others.

As you work through this resource pack, there will likely be actions that arise – as they do, capture them and write them down. This is also a good time to agree who will make sure the activity is done, and by when. Agree on how and how often you will review progress against your team’s wellbeing actions.

You could use whatever sort of action plan works best for you – an example template is part of this guide.

Creating a safe and inclusive space to talk about wellbeing

Our managers and leaders are fundamental to providing health and wellbeing support as part of their role

This section will help team members to think about leadership behaviours in a team – it links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on managers and leaders.

Many academics recognise that there is a strong relationship between good leadership and management, and team wellbeing. Everyone can be a leader and display leadership characteristics, not just those who have line management responsibility.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• recognise healthy leadership behaviours
• develop team inclusivity to enable team members to connect and get to know one another on a deeper level
• recognise bias to enable team members to identify ways to foster inclusion in the team

To check how your team’s wellbeing journey is progressing, you may want to use existing data and information sources. These could be quantitative sources of information including feedback from staff surveys or Pulse surveys, workplace wellbeing needs assessments or workforce data. You could also use qualitative information, including compliments or feedback from patients, service users or other teams, feedback from team meetings or from conversations at work.

Healthy leadership framework

In this section, we use resources developed by the NHS North West Leadership Academy as part of a Healthy leadership framework. This was developed to support managers and leaders in the NHS to understand and develop their leadership at work. It has three core elements.

1. How I am (being)

Actively engage with opportunities to understand and enhance positive mental and physical health for self and others, sharing own experience, being authentic.

2. How I do (doing)

Actively support and empower others to manage work and how it’s done.

3. What we are doing together (enabling)

Actively empower an inclusive healthy wellness culture that mutually enables us all to bring our whole selves to work.

How does leadership have an impact on wellbeing?

When we talk about leadership at work, there are some key elements that are useful to focus on:

• Leadership styles and behaviours – good leaders are honest, authentic, and show compassion and empathy for other people. They also prioritise getting to know people on an individual level, treating them as humans not just colleagues, and recognise and thank people for their efforts.
• Shaping a positive workplace environment – good leaders are role-models, uphold organisational values, and set clear expectations and objectives/goals for their team. Good leaders also respect and value difference, taking an inclusive approach, recognising individuality, and encouraging people to be themselves.
• Managing your own wellbeing and being aware of the wellbeing of others – good leaders are self-aware and understand how their own behaviour impacts on others. They are also honest about their wellbeing and ask for help when they need it.
• Encouraging self-leadership – good leaders trust individuals and teams, giving them the autonomy and control to do their jobs.
• Implementing good people management practices and supporting health and wellbeing initiatives – good leaders consider how work scheduling can support others’ wellbeing and achieve work life balance.

Quick wins

• Download the one page Healthy leadership framework and display it in your workplace. This includes hints and tips to improve your leadership behaviours every day.
• For those wanting to explore leadership in more depth, the online Edward Jenner leadership course provides a groundwork of leadership skills that can help enhance your confidence and competence in your role. Those working in health and social care in the UK can apply to access the materials for free.
• Show leadership by creating informal opportunities to check in with the rest of the team. You could offer around snacks or make drinks and ask as you go round the team how people are today.

When you have a little more time

Deepen your team culture of support at work

You may spend a lot of time working with your team members. Developing a culture of support amongst team members can help boost wellbeing. Your team may want to try some of the following activities – each will take about five to ten minutes.

• Team support check in – ask team members to share what they are working on this week and outline if there is any support their colleagues can give.
• What does compassionate support look like to you? – ask team members to share what compassionate support looks like to them. Make a note of all the ways to show compassion.
  • Is it someone actively listening to them when they want to share something?
  • Is it someone helping them solve a work problem, and suggesting new things to try?
  • Is it someone recognising when you seem like you are having a tough time and asking about it?
  • Is it making a cup of tea for you?

Review your healthy leadership behaviours

This activity builds on the Healthy leadership framework that you may already be familiar with. This activity will enable team members to reflect on how they role model healthy leadership behaviours. Remember, everyone can be a leader and display leadership characteristics. This activity is for everyone, not just those who have line management responsibility.

The Healthy leadership framework details fifteen behaviours that promote positive health and wellbeing. Encourage team members to reflect on how they demonstrate the behaviours within the team by self-assessing against the framework and developing an action plan.

Recognising and celebrating the team as individuals

This activity will enable team members to connect, appreciate different experiences and create a sense of belonging by learning more about one another.

Challenge team members to find out about each other and find out who they have things in common with. The organiser could create a ‘scorecard’ for people to record their responses.

Over the course of a week or two, ask team members to talk to each other to find out about experiences or preferences they have in common – try and find one other person in the team who has the same experience or preference as you. You can ask people to find their own common experiences, but some questions to get the ball rolling include:

• favourite place visited
• schools/colleges attended
• length of service in the NHS
• jobs done in the past, for example, worked in catering, worked in retail
• favourite or least favourite food or cuisine
• favourite TV show/film/band/book
• professional training route
• names of parents or grandparents
• broken a bone/had their tonsils out

In a future team meeting, ask people to share who they had things in common with. Are there experiences that multiple people have in common? Another way to do this is to set aside some time in a team meeting and ask people to share with the rest of the team:

• their claim to fame
• the most famous person they have met
• the most interesting place they have travelled to and why
• what they wanted to do as a job when they were at school (and do they think they would be good at it now)

You might have other questions you could ask – keep it fun and work appropriate though!

Recognising bias

This activity supports team members to reflect on what working in an inclusive team means to them. Ask all team members to watch the Inclusion starts with I video, developed by Accenture, which highlights that we can all make a difference in creating an inclusive team (you could do this individually or as a team).

Then, facilitate a team discussion:

• What matters to you?
• What does being included in this team look like and feel like for you?
• What would be happening if this team was fully inclusive?
• What action will you commit to individually to foster inclusion in this team?

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

The Inspiration Library contains further information, resources and training opportunities about psychological safety and inclusion.

Looking after your emotional, physical and mental health

Mental and emotional health, physical health and a healthy lifestyle all contribute to an individual’s health and wellbeing.

This section will help each team member to identify the things they can do to boost their own wellbeing. It includes resources to support team members with their individual mental, physical and emotional health, and links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on improving personal health and wellbeing.

One of the themes running through this guide is the understanding that we all need something different to maintain good wellbeing. Wellbeing is personal to every one of us.

Mental and emotional health, physical health and a healthy lifestyle all contribute to an individual’s health and wellbeing. Having positive emotional and mental health enables us to reach our full potential, cope with the stresses of daily life, work productively and make meaningful contributions at work. Although we can all take individual steps for our health and wellbeing, sometimes we need the support of others to make a real impact – think about how going to the gym with a friend makes you more likely to go, as you get a boost from going together.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• develop a ‘five ways to wellbeing’ team challenge to build team wellbeing commitments
• stay healthy while hybrid/remote working to identify actions that team members can take to look after their wellbeing while working hybrid/remotely
• spot the early warning signs and take action to agree how team members will recognise and support one another’s wellbeing

Quick wins

• If it’s possible, arrange to take a break with a colleague. You could eat lunch together, get outside for a short walk, or have a cup of tea.
• Taking part in health challenges can be a good way to support each other’s health and wellbeing. If your team are keen walkers, runners, cyclists or swimmers, are there any local events you could all sign up to take part in?
• Or you might have several enthusiastic singers in your team – does your organisation have a workplace choir you could join?
• Practice doing small acts of kindness for others in the team. Reflect on how it makes you feel to receive an act of kindness and how it feels to give one.
• Ask team members to share ideas and tips for a Wellbeing Wednesday – you could email the team, put something on social media, or share at a team meeting or huddle. Action For Happiness has a wellbeing tip of the day or you might have other sources of inspiration.

When you have a little more time

‘Five ways to wellbeing’ team challenge

Using principles from the Five ways to wellbeing – New Economic Foundation, this activity will enable team members to identify a set of five things that they will commit to doing as a team to maintain good wellbeing.

The principles are:

Connect

Connect with people around you. Family, friends, colleagues, neighbours. At work, home, or your local community. Invest time in developing them as these connections will support you on a day-to-day basis.

Be active

Go for a walk, step outside, cycle, play a game, garden, dance and exercise – these all make you feel good. Discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

Take notice

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Keep learning

Try something new or rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things makes us feel more confident as well as being fun, it can also be a really helpful distraction.

Give

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself being linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. Maybe phone someone and try to really listen to them.

• Ask team members to share what they are already doing in each category to boost their wellbeing.
• Are there any categories where team members want to do more, or start focussing on their wellbeing in a category?
• Ask team members to identify and commit to a team action that will help to boost everyone’s wellbeing in the chosen category.
• Review at subsequent team meetings and identify another category from the five ways of wellbeing to work on.

Examples of team commitments:

Connect – we will all commit to having an in-person or virtual coffee break with a colleague.

Be active – we will all commit to doing one activity that we don’t usually do this week.

Take notice – we will all commit to sharing a photo of something nice we have done via email/our Teams channel and practice taking notice of other people’s needs.

Keep learning – we will all try a new recipe this week.

Give – we will find time to send an email recognising someone who has helped us this week.

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

Staying healthy while hybrid/remote working

For teams to work well, they need to connect with each other. Remote or hybrid working can often make this more difficult, so think about how you can introduce, plan and recreate more casual ways of connecting with each other, for example, chatting while the kettle boils.

If your team works remotely or has a hybrid working pattern, the ‘five ways to wellbeing team challenge’ is a good way to create connections in the team.

You could also delve more deeply into the subject by exploring further:

• Ask team members to reflect on:
  • What is the biggest benefit of remote/hybrid working on wellbeing for me and for the team? Some examples include reduction in travel time, better work-life balance, fewer interruptions when I want to concentrate.
  • What is the biggest challenge of remote/hybrid working on wellbeing for me and for the team? Some examples include it’s not always easy to share ideas or spot if someone needs extra support, opportunities for collaboration can be less obvious.
• Ask team members to discuss their reflections.
• Ask team members what they can do individually and as a team to promote wellbeing while working in hybrid or remotely. Some examples include daily check in as a team, agree on a day/time when everyone will meet in person, buddy system to check in on team members, make time for non-work based conversations in remote teams.

Hints and tips on staying healthy

For those working remotely, whether that’s from home or in a shared workspace, MIND has designed a wellbeing conversation template, to help identify what best supports mental health and wellbeing whilst working remotely. Take a look at the Inspiration Library for more information on wellness action plans.

The Inspiration Library also contains further guidance about remote working.

Spotting early warning signs and taking action

This activity will help team members to identify early warning signs when a colleague is under pressure and it is affecting their wellbeing, and ways to take action to support one another. When working in teams, we have an ideal opportunity to spot when a colleague’s wellbeing is not at its best. Discussing and sharing how to spot the early warning signs can help team members to support each other at the earliest opportunity.

You may want to remind team members about the benefits of having a structured wellbeing conversation.

Step 1 – Spotting the early warning signs when a team member’s wellbeing isn’t at its best

• Ask team members to reflect individually on the following question “what early warning signs might you notice when a team member’s wellbeing is under pressure?”
• Ask team members to share the early warning signs. Some examples of what you might notice are: looking tired, relying on sugar or caffeine to get through the day, being distracted or not performing as they usually do, struggling to meet deadlines becoming less talkative in team meetings or one to ones.
• Capture the early warning signs and keep the notes visible to remind team members what to look out for.
• Encourage team members to add to the early warning signs over time.

Step 2 – Supporting each other to attend to wellbeing

• Ask team members to reflect individually on the following question “what could you do to support a team member if you notice their wellbeing deteriorating?”
• Ask team members to share what they could do to support a team member.
• Discuss what wellbeing support is available within your organisation and externally (for example, mental health first aider (MHFAider®), occupational health, Employee Assistance Programme, health and wellbeing champions, MIND).
• Capture ideas and add to the team action plan.

The Inspiration Library provides further resources and hints and tips about how you can look after your wellbeing.

Ensuring you have a safe working environment

Physical workspaces and the facilities available for our team to rest, recover and succeed

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. It links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on environment.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• hold a teamwork environment huddle to begin talking about the team’s work environment
• conduct an environment audit to ensure the basics are in place to support wellbeing
• have a team conversation about preventing and controlling aggression and violence at work to help team members recognise and know where to go for support
• carry out a team stress risk assessment to help team members identify ways in which to reduce stress in the team.

The workplace environment has an impact on how we feel at work. A healthy workplace is one that is safe and one where our need to function well is supported. Features of a safe work environment include:

• access to a rest area or a staff room with basic facilities to make tea, coffee, or another drink
• an environment that is well maintained and free of obstructions
• access to drinking water, washing facilities and toilets
• having the equipment you need to do your job.

On top of the requirements of a safe workplace, there might be other things that your team think would enhance the work environment. These could include:

• plants or greenery
• the colour of the walls in rest spaces
• display spaces or notice boards.

Quick wins

• Check everyone in the team is up to date with any training offered to ensure they can work safely and identify workplace risks.
• You might find this section complements other things going on across your organisation and system, so it’s a good idea to find out about organisational policies and processes that might already be in place.
• An ‘improve our team environment’ challenge – find out if there are local funds that you can apply for to enhance staff amenities and ask team members to come up with free or low-cost ideas to review at a future team meeting/huddle. Sometimes local NHS charities or trade unions have funds to help teams improve their environment and wellbeing.

When you have a little more time

Conduct a workplace environment audit

This activity will enable team members to identify ways to enhance the team’s physical work environment to boost their wellbeing.

Encourage team members to reflect on their work environment by asking them to review the following prompts that are appropriate to your work setting:

• I have access to drinking water
• I have access to healthy food choices
• I have access to facilities to store food
• I have the opportunity for regular breaks and fresh air
• I have access to personal storage space
• I have access to toilets with locks
• I have adequate lighting in my workspace
• I have access to space for dedicated breaks
• I have access to a safe space to go during times of high pressure
• I have access to equipment to do my job, for example, phone, desk, specialist equipment
• I have access to cycle storage
• I have access to shower facilities
• I take responsibility for ensuring my work environment is safe and free from hazards (such as trip hazards)
• I can connect and socialise with colleagues regularly (virtually or face to face)
• I have regular 1:1s with my team leader/manager and can access them for support when I need it.

You may want to add some of your ideas to this list too.

Encourage team members to share their responses to identify the aspects of the team’s work environment that they would like to improve. For those areas you need support to improve, you may want to consider:

• involving colleagues from your organisation’s facilities or health and safety team in your discussions
• opportunities to share facilities with other teams
• if any charities/fundraising teams could help to fund some of the things you want to improve
• talking to the organisation’s leaders about the things you would like to see improved the next time they do a walk-about.

Feeling safe at work

This activity will enable team members to begin to talk about and identify ways to make the team’s work environment feel safer and more supportive of wellbeing. Before leading this activity, you may want to find out more about your organisation or system’s speaking up policy, identify the freedom to speak up guardians in your area, and be aware of how to access any available training.

You’ve probably already come across the idea of psychological safety. The idea of psychological safety was first introduced by organisational behavioural scientist Amy Edmondson, who defined it as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking”.

It is whether we feel able and supported to be direct, take risks, and be willing to admit mistakes.

Psychological safety plays a role in wellbeing, by creating an environment in which change can be embraced, with the confidence that any conflicts can be resolved. This supports new approaches being tested and reflected on without threat to the unity of the team. It also supports learning from those times things don’t turn out as expected, allowing space for reflection without the fear of blame.

At the next team meeting or huddle, add to the agenda some conversation prompts about psychological safety. The following prompts may be helpful:

• Have people heard of psychological safety? What do they think it means? Why is it important?
• Are there ever any times when you feel you can’t speak up? Is there anything we could change to make this better?
• Do you know who we can speak to about anything that gets in the way of providing good care, affects our working life or any other aspect of our life?
• What do we do, and who do we go to if we experience aggression or violence at work?

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

Have a team conversation about preventing and controlling violence and aggression at work

This activity will enable team members to have a shared understanding of where to go if they experience violence or aggression at work. This could be violence from a patient, user, or family member. Consider inviting someone who leads this in your organisation to join your discussion. Some prompt questions that team members may want to consider:

• What is our organisation’s approach/ policy/process? What support is available if we experience violence or aggression at work?
• What would you class as violence or aggression in the workplace? Examples of aggressive or violent behaviour could include (this list is not exhaustive) being shouted at, verbal threats, being pushed or shoved, someone invading your personal space to be intimidating, physical harassment, written abuse (including use of social media).
• If we see violent or aggressive behaviour towards a team member, do we know what to do? Are we clear about escalation routes?
• Are there physical things that can be put in place, for example, alarms?
• Are there training courses or resources in place that we can access?

Team stress risk assessment

This activity will help team members to identify ways in which to reduce stress in the team. Your organisation may have risk assessment templates and processes in place.

The Inspiration Library provides further resources about violence prevention and reduction.

Collaborative and supportive relationships that promote social wellbeing

The ways your team works together with care and compassion.

This section will help team members to reflect on the ways the team works together to boost civility, respect and build compassion. It links to the NHS Health and wellbeing framework section on relationships.

When individuals work together as part of an effective team, they are more satisfied with their work, more likely to stay in that team role, less likely to experience bullying and harassment, and make a key contribution to patient and customer outcomes. 

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• build team compassion, and encourage team members to show compassion to one another
• celebrate difference, enable team members to appreciate difference, and build inclusion
• talk about team civility and respect to help team members recognise and enhance positive interactions with one another
• recognise bias and encourage team members to challenge bias.

Health and wellbeing champions are individuals who work at all levels of our healthcare organisations, from all backgrounds and roles. They promote, identify, and signpost their colleagues to health and wellbeing support, in addition to their day-to-day role.

Many healthcare organisations have their own network of health and wellbeing champions and offer training for people who want to take on the role. Does your team have a health and wellbeing champion? If not, it may be worth finding someone who could take on this role for you, to offer additional support.

Quick wins

Celebrate or mark significant days from different cultures or communities, reflected in the diversity of your team. You could:

• share traditional food or snacks
• wear the appropriate coloured ribbon or badge to show allyship
• support a fundraising activity linked with the community
• find out about health and wellbeing champions.

Tip

Find out what other support team members can access in your organisation to enhance inclusivity, for example equality, diversity and inclusion networks and training. 

When you have a little more time

Build team compassion

This activity will help team members to understand what being compassionate to each other looks and feels like in the team. Hold a team conversation and ask team members one of the following questions in a team meeting/huddle:

• What does being compassionate to others mean to you? You could ask team members to share an object or photo which represents someone showing compassion to them, or to another person.
• What behaviours or actions demonstrate compassion to others? Some examples include listening carefully without judgement, encouraging other people to express themselves, helping one another, accepting people for who they are, and being considerate of other people’s needs.
• Share a recent example of where you have seen people being compassionate to others.

Hints and tips

How you can express compassion in words:

• I wish you didn’t have to go through that.
• You are making total sense.
• This sounds difficult for you.
• I can see that you are upset.
• What can I do to help you?
• Thank you for sharing this with me.

Celebrate difference

This activity will highlight the similarities and differences between team members and support them to find common ground. It also helps develop relationships, which is a vital component of team cooperation. This is especially important in remote work where team members interact less often.

• Split team members into pairs or small groups.
• Ask your team members to find one to four things they all have in common and one to four things that are different.

Ask each pair to share a similarity and difference they have with another team member. Add any actions to your action plan.

Have a team discussion about how the team can use differences and similarities to make everyone feel included. What might these similarities and differences illuminate about our different health and wellbeing needs?

Talk about team civility and respect

This activity will help team members to recognise and enhance positive interactions with one another.

Hold a team conversation and ask team members to list examples of:

• Incivility or disrespectful behaviour – some examples could include interrupting, talking over others, ignoring others, making inappropriate jokes, teasing, having private conversations, rejecting solutions made by others, using every opportunity to bring up negative subjects, and making comments under their breath. How does it feel when people are incivil or disrespectful to you?
• Civil or respectful behaviour – some examples could include saying thank you, listening to one another before expressing own views, encouraging team members to express ideas, reflecting concern for others, saying what you mean, never speaking over or interrupting team members, and demonstrating openness to others’ ideas.

Then have a team discussion using the following prompt questions:

• What can we do to enhance civility and respect in our team?
• How will we call out incivility when we see it in our team?

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

If you want to find out more about having courageous conversations, visit the Inspiration Library.

The Inspiration Library also contains further guidance about civility and respect:

• Civility and respect guide
• Just and learning culture
• Professional and cultural transformation toolkit 

Challenge bias in the team

We are all naturally biased. We have preferences towards some people or some groups. Bias only becomes an issue when we act out our biases. Some actions may be small, some large, some inconsequential and some unintentionally harmful. This activity will encourage team members to challenge bias when they see it.

Go to the Inspiration Library to find guidance developed by NHS Health Education England on how to handle difference. The following has been reproduced based on this guidance.

Explain to team members that it is important to challenge bias when they see it, even when it’s difficult. This is because it’s not just seen by those being challenged but those who are also watching. Ask team members to reflect on a time when they made a rapid judgement about someone that they later found out to be incorrect. Then do the following activity with the team.

Here is an example of how gender bias can operate, how it can feel to be on the receiving end of it and what can be done to reduce the effects.

Ask team members to reflect on and then discuss:

What are the consequences?

• By not asking either staff member for their views, the manager assumed that the female staff member would not be able to get childcare and that the male staff member had no caring responsibilities.
• The female colleague may not put herself forward for future travel commitments due to a feeling that she won’t be picked.
• It is possible the decision decreased the confidence of the female in question. A decrease in confidence can also have several effects, including a decrease in quality of performance and, therefore, a decrease in selection for visible projects leading to a vicious cycle.

What are the beliefs and biases of the manager (perhaps some of them may be unconscious), that lead to this decision?

• Women with children do not want to travel or be away from their children.
• Men are willing to travel at short notice as they do not have the same commitments as women.
• Men with spouses or long-term partners can give more commitment to their job as their partner will look after their personal or family commitments.

How can I avoid these biases or beliefs affecting my behaviour?

• Reflect upon and question your assumptions.
• Ask colleagues to evaluate your decisions.
• If you know that an individual has personal challenges, make your decision purely on competence and experience.
• Talk to both individuals.

Share and discuss your learning as a team from this exercise. Ask if there is anything team members want to do differently because of their learning. Don’t forget to add any actions to your action plan.

The Inspiration Library contains further information and resources about challenging bias, including five powerful TED talks on ethnic diversity and unconscious bias.

Finding meaning in the work you do and bringing your whole self to work

How our work at the NHS inspires the diverse people in our team and how we can support their growth and passion.

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. Bringing our whole self to work means bringing all the elements of who we are to work, including our values, passions, strengths and even our vulnerabilities. This allows us to be truly ourselves and alleviates some of the pressure people might feel to leave behind some of their personalities and experiences as they enter the workplace. It links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on fulfilment at work.

Team members that have a sense of fulfilment at work have higher levels of job satisfaction, experience improved team performance and personal motivation.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• bring your ‘whole self’ to work (to encourage team members to bring more of themselves to work)
• create a culture of appreciation (to encourage team positivity)
• tap into your team’s full potential (to make the best use of the team member’s knowledge, skills and experience)
• create a team member selfie (to enable team members to have a greater understanding of one another)

Quick wins

• Ask your human resources team if there are any trained facilitators in your organisation for some of the popular personality preferences systems, for example, Myers Briggs, Belbin or DISC and if so, ask them to facilitate a session with your team to discover each team member’s preferences. If you don’t have a local facilitator, try asking the team to describe what motivates them at work, and what doesn’t, to find out more about people’s workplace personalities.
• Promote recognising and thanking people in the team for their support. This could take the form of an email, or by saying thank you in person, or by letting someone’s manager know how they have supported you. You could also take a few minutes at team meetings for team members to give a ‘shout out’ for support they have received from others.
  Many organisations have opportunities for recognising and thanking staff for their work, from staff awards to mentions in organisation-wide newsletters. You could research these and use these channels to share your thanks.
• Build in regular opportunities where the team share their successes for the week (it could be inside or outside work) and take the opportunity to celebrate together.
• In your next one to one, talk to your manager about how you like to be appreciated or recognised.

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

When you have a little more time: bring your whole self to work

These activities will help team members to share and bring more of their ‘whole self’ to work. Bringing our whole self to work means bringing all the elements of who we are to work, including our values, passions, strengths and even our vulnerabilities. This allows us to be truly ourselves and alleviates some of the pressure people might feel to leave behind some of their personalities and experiences as they enter the workplace. Try using some of the questions/activities at the beginning or end of your team meetings/huddle to learn more about one another:

Something you don’t know about me

In a team meeting, ask team members to reflect and then share something that others don’t yet know about them (remind team members to only share what they feel comfortable)

Create a culture of appreciation

These activities will help to build a culture of team appreciation. You could try one of the following:

• Ask team members to reflect on and then share how they can show appreciation to one another (for example, being invited to share ideas and opinions, being thanked, being given extra responsibilities, being acknowledged for contributing to a task, giving a small token of appreciation to a team member, for example, some biscuits/a thank you note). Capture on a whiteboard/flip chart and keep visible for the team to check in with.
• Ask team members to think about something that they are pleased about with regards to how they have worked together as a team over the last month and share.
• Ask team members to note something they have appreciated about a colleague in the last week (be as specific as possible, for example, a time when they have helped you or done something supportive for you). Then ask them to find an opportunity to share their appreciation with their team member(s).

When you have a little more time: tapping into your team’s full potential

This activity will help team members to share how they can contribute more to the team.

Ask team members to agree:

• the top 10 skills, behaviours, and knowledge areas needed in the team to provide a good service (for example, skill – excel, behaviour – being organised, knowledge area – governance)
• put the list on a whiteboard or flip chart
• ask team members to place their initials or avatar next to the skill, behaviour and knowledge area that they possess
• encourage team members to review and tap into one another’s skills, behaviours, and knowledge areas when they can

Go to the Inspiration Library to find out more about learning opportunities to develop your potential. Team members may also want to discuss plans for their development with their manager and access any training on offer.

When you have a little more time: create a team member ‘selfie’

This activity will enable team members to share information about themselves in a way that is memorable and accessible, so the team can get to know one another more.

Example: My Selfie

A hidden talent – for example, creative flair, abstract art, use of colour

How best to check in with me – for example, if you notice I’m quiet, ask how I am

What makes me happy – for example, working in a team

What do I do well – for example, putting people at ease and making them laugh

How I like to learn – for example, straight in and having a go

What makes me unhappy – for example, when someone takes credit for the work of others

Three words that others use to describe me – for example, empathetic, trustworthy, mischievous

Share the selfie headings with team members and ask them to complete:

• what I do well
• how I like to learn
• what makes me happy and what makes me unhappy
• three words that others use to describe me
• a hidden talent
• how best to check in with me.

Ask team members to bring to the next team meeting/huddle to share. Once completed agree on where best to display the team ‘selfies’.

The Inspiration Library contains further training and activities to help you understand your purpose and what makes you happy (find my why) and bring your whole self to work (my whole self).

Knowing where to go when you need wellbeing support

The teams and services who are available to support our health and wellbeing.

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. It links to the NHS health and wellbeing framework section on professional wellbeing support.

There is a wealth of wellbeing support available to us all, offered by the NHS for its people, as well as by external organisations. Knowing where to go to get help when we need it is important to maintain our wellbeing.

In this section, the team will find support on how to:

• have a team workload conversation (to enable team members to start to talk about workload and identify ways in which they can support one another)
• find out what wellbeing services are available (to enable team members to identify where to go for wellbeing support)
• prioritise team workload (to enable team members to prioritise workload).

Quick wins

• When you find good wellbeing resources, remember to share with others in the team – this could include podcasts or apps, or local events or classes.
• Consider inviting inspiring health and wellbeing champions from your organisation, system or region to come and talk to the team and share their tips and ideas.

When you have a little more time: find out what wellbeing support services are on offer

Your organisation or system will likely have a range of services dedicated to supporting employee health and wellbeing.

As a team, find out the key contacts for the following, and display the contact details in a prominent place. It could be helpful to note how to access some services (for example, by self-referral or management referral):

• human resources advice and information
• your organisation’s workforce policies and procedures
• professional networks and support groups by sector or experience
• occupational health and wellbeing teams
• mental health first aiders, training courses
• Employee Assistance Programme
• freedom to speak up guardians
• health and wellbeing champions
• professional nurse advocates
• unions and professional bodies
• health and safety
• any local or national employee benefits related to wellbeing support, for example, discounts on gym membership, cycle to work schemes.

When you have a little more time: team workload conversation

As a team, consider the following questions in one or two team meetings/huddles, adapted from Health and Safety Executive talking toolkit:

• Does our workload feel achievable?
• Which tasks are taking up most of our time?
• Do we feel the deadlines we are given are realistic?
• Do we have conflicting deadlines?
• Do we have the right training to fulfil our team’s purpose?
• What improvements or support could be put in place to help us with the issues we have talked about?

Team members may want to agree on the actions that team members can take to help each other.

These could include:

• Supporting team members to take regular breaks and encouraging team members to hold each other to account.
• Have regular one-to-ones/work or team huddles/meetings to discuss anticipated workload (and to deal with any predicted busy times). Review staffing arrangements and how you will support one another.
• Consider changes to start and finish times (allow flexibility for wellbeing, caring and other responsibilities).
• Help team members identify blocks of time for collaborative team working.

Team workload prioritisation

As a team discuss workload. You may want to use the following guide.

Step 1 – identify and categorise team tasks

• Ask team members to list the team’s tasks.
• Use headings in the Time management matrix developed by Covey (for more information about the matrix go to the Inspiration Library to categorise the tasks that are urgent versus not urgent and the tasks that are important versus less important. Some tasks might be important but not urgent for example, or an urgent request from someone else but not important to your team’s work.

Step 2 – agree on actions

• Do first – prioritise the tasks that are urgent/important and agree on who will do those tasks.
• Schedule – plan to revisit non urgent/important tasks (and agree on who will do those tasks and when).
• Delegate – discuss urgent/less important tasks and identify who you will delegate these to.
• Don’t do – take tasks that are non urgent/less important out of your teamwork plans.
• Revisit – agree on a timeframe to revisit the team’s tasks and re-prioritise.

Action plan

Don’t forget to add any actions to the team wellbeing action plan.

The Inspiration Library contains further information and resources about support to look after your own and team members’ wellbeing.

Review and revisit your team’s wellbeing culture and goals

Reviewing your progress as a team can build confidence and enable you to celebrate success. Reflecting on your progress can provide an opportunity to identify what has worked well and what you need to continue working on to boost your team’s wellbeing culture.

Here are some ideas to help you reflect on your team’s progress.

Repeat the traffic light self-assessment

Repeat the traffic light self-assessment and compare this against the last time the team completed it. Has anything changed? Why do you think they have/have not? Does the team need to take any action?

Review your team’s wellbeing ambition and principles for working together on team wellbeing

As teams change and develop over time, it’s a good idea to review the team’s wellbeing ambition and principles and discuss any changes or refinements you might want to make.

Check your team’s wellbeing action plan on a regular basis

Create time to review and discuss the team action plan at team meetings. Take the opportunity to:

• review the timescales – do you need more time?
• do you need to allocate extra people to make sure an action is delivered (for example, this might be key if a member of the team is due to be on leave)?
• are there any follow-up actions that have become necessary?

Celebrate

As your team’s wellbeing journey progresses, take time to celebrate what the team has achieved.

Some ideas to celebrate with your team include:

• organise a bring-and-share lunch
• apply for funding from an NHS or local charity to make improvements to your workplace
• ‘pay it forward’ and volunteer for a community activity or do a team charitable activity
• if your team’s work makes this feasible, agree a half hour at the start or end of the day to spend on an activity to benefit wellbeing either individually or as a team.

Inspiration library

Getting started

• How to create time and space for your team to think and share ideas (bitesize learning)
• NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement – The facilitator’s toolkit
• Our NHS people promise
• NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Hub
• NHS England – 15:1 programme: short videos to help you learn about religion, culture and communication, the equality act and civility and respect
• NHS Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – an example of a going home checklist
• Start well, end well – short video that provides a practical approach to supporting each other
• NHS health and wellbeing framework
• NHS values
• NHS England – safer and healthier workplace success stories, tools, events and training

Identifying your team’s wellbeing goals

• NHS Employers – How are you feeling NHS? toolkit
• NHS England – Wellbeing conversations: resources on how to have wellbeing conversations including video guides and templates
• NHS Employers – Health and wellbeing conversations: resources on how to have wellbeing conversations including video guides and templates
• Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership wellbeing conversations guide and your wellbeing action plan template

Knowing where to go when you need professional wellbeing support

• Supporting our NHS people – tips on helping you manage your health and wellbeing and look after others
• Hub of Hope – Local health and wellbeing support
• NHS Leadership Academy – Check my emotional and mental wellbeing
• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development – Job design: the role of effective job design in creating good work and assessing job quality.
• The Health and Safety Executive – Talking Toolkit
• NHS Health and Work Network – Health and Work Network – A network dedicated to maintaining a healthy motivated workforce
• Health Education England – Time management matrix

Creating a safe and inclusive space to talk about wellbeing

• NHS North West Leadership Academy – Healthy leadership framework self-assessment
• NHS Leadership Academy – Bitesize learning, for example, compassionate leadership, building inclusion
• The Kings Fund – Compassionate and inclusive leadership – Professor Michael West
• NHS England– inspiration sharing the “why’s” and the “how’s” of compassionate and inclusive leadership
• NHS Horizons – A practical guide to the art of psychological safety in the real world of health and care

Looking after your emotional, physical and mental health

• Supporting our NHS people – helping you manage your health and wellbeing while looking after others
• Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership – Wellbeing toolkit and programme
• UK – Mental wellbeing audio guides
• Skills for Care – Wellbeing resources
• UK ­­– Live Well: advice about healthy living
• UK ­­– Kickstart your health: advice about healthy living
• NHS England – Wellbeing apps
• NHS Employers – Enabling and supporting staff to work from home
• NHS Leadership Academy – Remote working guide
• MIND – Wellness action plans for remote and hybrid working

Ensuring you have a safe working environment

• The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) online learning: various courses including bullying and harassment
• Health Education England – Freedom to speak up guardians video
• The Health and Safety Executive – Resources to manage stress and mental health at work
• National Guardians Office – Speaking up
• NHS Employers – Risk assessments for staff
• The Health and Safety Executive – Stress talking toolkits: talking guide – prompts for the team to discuss stress at work
• NHS England – Violence prevention and reduction standard
• NHS England – Support for our NHS people
• NHS Employers – Back to basics infographic for a healthy working environment
• TED talk – Amy Edmonson on building a psychologically safe workplace

Collaborative and supportive relationships that promote social wellbeing

• NHS Leadership Academy – Courageous conversations.
• The NHS Civility and respect guide supports and promotes cultures of civility and respect
• Mersey Care – Just and learning culture online modules
• NHS Employers – Professionalism and cultural transformation toolkit
• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development – Five powerful TED talks on ethnic diversity and unconscious bias
• Harvard association – Project implicit is a US non-profit organisation and international collaborative of researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition
• Health Education England – How do I handle difference
• NHS Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust – Toolkit challenging microaggressions
• NHS England – six-word stories: an activity to support workplace compassion

Finding meaning in the work you do and bringing your whole self to work

• Find my why – A free and interactive questionnaire to understand yourself and what makes you happy
• Mental Health First Aid – My whole self
• NHS England’s The Learning hub