General health and wellbeing have never been higher on the workplace agenda. So is it time for businesses to take a more holistic approach to training, one which promotes wellness as well as looking at skills? Rebecca Midgley investigates whether training holistically is just a pipedream – or set to become an everyday reality.

There is an overwhelming need for companies to respond to the growing pressures of sickness in the workforce. In a new development for training, some now advocate the use of a more holistic approach to training, designed to assess the overall strengths and weaknesses of a team alongside the working environment.

Stresses and strains in the 21st Century fast lane

"An individual's wellbeing is essential if companies are to get the best out of their workforce. Without that element of wellbeing, companies will be compromising their potential for being world class."

Michael de Groot, Staying Alive

Modern living is a high pressured environment: we travel further, work longer, pay higher living and childcare costs, lead a more sedentary lifestyle and are haunted by a lack of job security. This manifests in the workplace as a lack of focus, increased stress levels, and more sick days.

The traditional response for companies has been to set up subsidised leisure and health centre membership for its employees, like LA Fitness which has reported a 102% year-on-year growth in 'company partnerships'. It claims that independent research "proves" that employees on the scheme took five days less sick leave per year and were 12.5% more productive than their non-active counterparts.

The Department of Health has pledged financial incentives for businesses to promote a healthier lifestyle, as part of a £372m cross-governmental strategy. But it will take more than government spending to change long-standing attitudes towards mental and physical health.

Breaking tradition

So what is holistic training? An holistic approach to training addresses poor eating habits, nutrition, stress levels and exercise, and assesses them next to the work environment and current working practices.

The Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) now offers accredited training for workplace 'health champions' through a new health signposting qualification, whereby a dedicated and trained individual becomes responsible for promoting good health in the workplace.

Staying Alive is a pioneer in holistic training. Initially conceived to offer holistic training to individuals, founder Michael de Groot recognised there were also benefits to be had for businesses.

"We train people to focus on themselves and show them how they can take responsibility for their own wellness. Often people delegate the responsibility to the doctor and now employers are being placed under pressure by central government to assist employees with their stress issues," he says.

"Taking responsibility for your own wellness is hugely liberating and life changing. The key ingredient of our approach is the 'power of the mind'. The most successful athletes in the world use mind coaching as a way of achieving their top results, so why shouldn't everyone use this technique to improve their lives?"

"An holistic approach needs to be much wider than physical alone – but also look at the mental, the emotional, and the behavioural."

Katherine Tulpa, Association for Coaching

Sceptics could be forgiven for thinking this is simply life coaching dressed up under a fancy new title, but with companies like Virgin taking up the Staying Alive ethos, its future seems bright.

Fitting in the fitness

Katherine Tulpa, chair of the Association for Coaching and Co-CEO of Wisdom8, says: "The idea of adding in more physical and wellness aspects to corporate training programmes is an excellent one. Even learning simple breathing exercises, or mindfulness practice, can be extremely beneficial. We also know that training, coupled with coaching by a qualified professional, can yield even greater results. Furthermore, for sustainable change to occur, an holistic approach needs to be much wider than physical alone – but also look at the mental, the emotional, and the behavioural. A qualified coach who takes this holistic, or multimodal approach, will be able to work across all these areas, while equally knowing his or her professional boundaries."

It is not only individuals that benefit from an holistic approach, companies too can reap direct rewards, says De Groot. "UK companies have a huge desire to be the best in the world, but business directors sometimes forget that their greatest asset is their people.

"An individual's wellbeing is essential if companies are to get the best out of their workforce. Without that element of wellbeing, companies will be compromising their potential for being world class. You only need to look at any area of sport and then you realise how much money and time is spent on making that athlete world class. UK companies need to do exactly the same and we will see work life improving in the UK as a result."

"An organisation which enjoys workplace wellness acknowledges that people do need support and encouragement at different times."

Anni Townend, business psychologist

"Workplace wellness hinges on people feeling valued for who they are as well as what they do," says author and business psychologist Anni Townend. "The first step on the journey to workplace wellness is for people to feel well in themselves and to know who they are when they are at their best – feeling connected to and confident in themselves, while at the same time feeling connected to others.

"An organisation which enjoys workplace wellness acknowledges that people do need support and encouragement at different times, that people will from time to time experience 'unwellness' and that they will be supported during these times. Indeed in such organisations people are supported 'in sickness and in health' whilst the approach is one of prevention of sickness through creating a culture in which everyone participates in the health and wellbeing of the organisation."

So what are the practical implications of a new holistic approach to training? Nutritional guidance and cooking lessons in the canteen? Group exercise at the desk? Meditation around the water cooler? While these may sound a little impracticable, this could be the bedrock of a healthy, happy and moreover productive workforce of the future, and trainers will be expected to keep pace and provide holistic assessments and programmes.

Journalist Rebecca Midgley is the newest member of the TrainingZone.co.uk features team. She would welcome contact from members with feature ideas and comments to rmidgley@sift.co.uk