The Retailer Spring Edition 2021

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In a study conducted at the University ofWarwick, three different styles of experiment were conducted where randomly selected individuals, who were made happier by various interventions, exhibited around 12 per cent higher levels of productivity. The research also discovered that lower happiness levels reduced productivity, leading researchers to conclude there’s a causal link between happiness and performance. According to the CIPD health andwellbeing at work annual survey, ‘A focus on employee health and wellbeing should be a core element of any HR strategy, and central to the way an organisation operates and fulfils its mission. It should not simply consist of one-off initiatives.’ Despite this, the CIPD’s research showed that only around half of organisations have employee wellbeing on their senior leaders’ agendas. What they should be doing to foster a healthy workplace, they say, is: • Creating supportive leadership cultures where senior leaders lead by example • Training people managers to confidently point employees in the right direction for support • Using occupational health to address long-term absence, pro - mote health and reduce sickness • Providing a general environment in which people feel comforta - ble and safe when talking about health issues. A Happiness Survey of more than 100,000 UK workers in January 2021 by WorkL (which was founded by former Waitrose boss and John Lewis Partnership deputy chair Lord Mark Price), showed that we – retail – scored an average happiness rating of 66 per cent, compared to tech (the happiest sector to work in, apparently) at 77 per cent. Hackett, Browns and Moonpig topped the retailer chart with a rating of 93 per cent, however, none of our retailers made it into the top 100. In fact, Hackett was placed at 215. What can we learn from these three retailers and why did they score so highly? Three reasons, claims Lord Price: staff were fairly remuner - ated, enjoyed strong relationships with managers and had clear career progression mapped out for them by their employers. In other words, they felt valued, listened to, supported and secure. And this is how we at retailTRUST would like all retail workers to feel, andwhywe are doing everything we can to support retailers in fostering a workplace culture that supports their teams, particularly from a mental health standpoint. One in four of us will suffer with mental ill health at some point in our lifetime, but every single one of us will experience some sort of setback or difficult life event. At retailTRUST, we are #forthefour and that starts and ends with our mission of providing hope, health and happiness for all in this glorious sector.

The health and wellbeing of the people that work for us is critical to the success of our organisations. Jo Walmsley, Director of People Capability, John Lewis Partnership

Chris Brook-Carter retailtrust.org.uk cbrookcarter@retailtrust.org.uk