What is well-being?
According to Cambridge Dictionary, well-being is defined as “the state of feeling healthy and happy”.
Why is well-being important?
For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, well-being is a
“a positive outcome that is meaningful for people and for many sectors of society, because it tells us that people perceive that their lives are going well. Good living conditions (e.g., housing, employment) are fundamental to well-being. Tracking these conditions is important for public policy.”
What affects well-being?
Some of the factors that affect health and happiness as featured in The Better Health Channel (Dept. of Health, Australia) are:
• Enjoying a fulfilling career
• Getting enough sleep
• Having enough money
• Living in a democratic society
• Good nutritional diet
How can we achieve good wellbeing?
For the TUC (Trade Union Congress) the “biggest lifestyle gains can be made through reducing stress, long hours and introducing policies that promote “work-life balance” and unions should try to get employers to tackle these as a first priority.”
There are practical ways that the School may help to assist the well-being of their employees and students.
For staff, there is the Employee Assisted Programme and access to counselling via Only Connect.
For students, the School has a dedicated Student Support Services that offer services such as Counselling and Emergency Hardship Fund.
The library has a list of electronic books on the subject of wellbeing available on open access, go here and look for the open access symbol. You do not need to sign in for open access items.
