Is your staff getting enough sleep?

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce is urging local businesses to encourage their staff to get more sleep, boosting their emotional wellbeing and productivity at work.

Earlier in the year, Suffolk Chamber teamed up with Public Health Suffolk to improve how businesses support their staff. The Chamber has set up an online resource on its website aimed at providing Suffolk organisations with a definitive list of issues which affect health and wellbeing and the support available to help address them.

Public Health Suffolk’s Five Ways to Wellbeing are underpinning this campaign.

40 per cent of absenteeism is mental health related, before even considering the link between mental and physical health, and the number of workers who are present but functioning at reduced capacity.

The single biggest contributor to living better is: better sleep! For a more detailed account of the link between a good night’s sleep, and a positive day’s work, there is a Public Health Matters blog, with a link to the new sleep toolkit from Business in the Community.

John Dugmore, chief executive of Suffolk Chamber said: “There have been numerous studies in recent months which suggest that British adults are not getting enough sleep. This has a direct impact on their mental and physical wellbeing both at home and in the workplace. We hope that local businesses will help support the basic message of this month’s campaign: Don’t sleep on the job – sleep to do the job better!”

Suffolk Chamber and Public Health Suffolk are encouraging Suffolk businesses to share their tips and ideas on: “How do you ensure your staff are getting enough sleep?” by using the hashtag #HealthyWorkplaces.

Pictured L-R: Abdul Razzaq, Suffolk County Council’s director of public health and protection, Cllr. Tony Goldson, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for health and John Dugmore, chief executive of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.

Photo credit: David Garrad