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Share advice from our experts on various topics such as portion sizes and essential vitamins and minerals to help your team thrive.

Can gut health affect mental health?

It's thought that gut health can affect lots of different aspects of your health. We explore what gut health means, good bacteria and how your gut and brain might be connected.

Good and bad fats explained

Understanding food portions

In this article, we explore the importance of a balanced, healthy diet and the recommended portion sizes for the key food groups that will meet your nutritional and energy requirements.

Portion size guide

How dental health contributes to your overall health

There's a noticable link between gum and heart disease, but how does this affect your overall health?

More on dental health and overall health

What is chronic fatigue syndrome?

Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex condition that affects multiple parts of the body. It can make doing normal activities such as work or school more difficult.

Chronic fatigue syndrome explained

Guidance and support from our experts

Our experts are joined by some familiar faces as they discuss signs and symptoms as well as tackling some well-known misconceptions.

View transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Bupa Bitesize Academy module.

I'm Emma Shatliff, manager of the Bupa academy.

In today's session will be discussing the role line managers can play in supporting employees with long term health conditions in the workplace.

I'm delighted to be joined by Dr.

Ravi Lukha, medical director at Bupa Welcome, Ravi.

Thanks Emma.

Great to be here.

So it's estimated that a staggering 15 million people in England are living with a long term condition.

So can you define what a long term condition is?

And maybe provide some examples of those?

Sure.

So long term conditions, also known as chronic diseases, are health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years.

They can't currently be cured, but they can be managed by certain therapies or medication.

Now, examples can include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancers as well as some lung conditions like asthma and mental health conditions as well, like depression.

So what impact can long term conditions have in the workplace if employees are not supported?

Yeah.

So failure to support employees with long term conditions can have marked negative impacts on employees in the workplace.

So I’ll highlights three here.

Firstly, it's around increased absence due to staff being unable to manage their conditions whilst working.

Next is around high staff turnover, which can also increase in unemployment levels, which we know from the evidence base is bad for individuals health.

Finally, is around low morale in the team in the organisation, potentially due to staff members feeling unable to fulfill the demands of their job.

And these three negative impacts can of course affect the individual employees as well as the organisation and wider society as well.

I think with the low morale thing, if one person's feeling that if they're part of a team, it can quite quickly escalate and then everyone feels the same thing and that can equally have a negative effect on productivity and things like that, would you say?

Absolutely.

I think that's the point, that it can affect the individual.

It can be something that is spread between within the team and ultimately can affect your workplace productivity.

And ultimately, in that case, everybody really suffers.

So it's important that long term conditions are recognised within the workplace.

So what the steps managers can take to support employees with long term conditions?

So there's a number of steps that I'll highlight here, Emma.

So four in particular, firstly, communication is key.

So line managers should be able to recognise any signs of symptoms if people are struggling at work due to any long term conditions and really know where to signpost them for any support.

Now, although policies and procedures are important and I'll touch on on those in a second, what's really important ultimately is having a supportive line manager and they should make sure that they direct people to HR occupational health as well.

So next is around understanding those policies and procedures within your organisation that I just mentioned.

So line managers should understand these, for example, around your sickness absence policy, and that means you can offer a consistent, systematic and fair approach to each individual and really support them within the workplace.

The third is around making the right workplace adjustments.

And this is important because we know that creating the right work environment can be a great step forward in supporting people, not just stay in work but also flourish in work as well.

Employees who have long term conditions may also be covered by certain statutory protection that requires employers to make reasonable workplace adjustments.

So line managers should be aware of these, do make the changes and evaluate them as well.

Finally, it's important that line managers do signpost people to any support if they need it.

So for example, if we talk about stress and mental health, we know that these are two of the leading causes of long term sickness absence in the workplace in the UK.

Now, people might be reluctant to seek any help, but it's important that, as I said, line managers recognise any signs of people struggling at work and do signpost them to any places they can get support.

For example, your Employee Assistance Program or EAP if you have one.

And can healthy behaviours have any impact on long term health conditions?

Yeah, absolutely.

So for most long term conditions, promoting a healthy lifestyle can help to slow down their progression or even treat them.

For example, if you think about diabetes and healthy eating and physical exercise, but we should always be mindful about an individual's medical condition to make sure that they're doing in a safe way along with any medical advice.

So in general, healthy behaviours can can help to prevent long term conditions for the wider workforce.

So they're important from that point of view.

Specific advice I give to line managers towards promoting healthy behaviours at work includes ensuring that they're upskilled to spot any signs of symptoms of people struggling at work and to encourage people to seek help.

If you're having any any internal events to align them with key national campaigns such as Alcohol Awareness Week and do use your Wellbeing champions if you have any, to help spread the word and promote any initiatives that might be available to employees in the workplace.

I think as well on that, it'd be great if you're just one individual as part of a team that has got a long term health condition, you know, maybe getting involved in more team activities to support that person because I think having that encouragement to maybe change some of those behaviours is better achieved if you've got a team of supporters around you, or joining in with you to sort of make those changes as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think a good example of that is around mental health and wellbeing and mindfulness.

So I've seen really good examples of mindfulness exercises in over a number of weeks that the teams take part in and really help support some people that are struggling with mental health.

Also help to prevent any ill effects of mental health as well in the workplace.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Ravi.

That was super helpful and really, really interesting.

Inside Health:

Sleep Uncovered

Discover the secrets behind better sleep so you can wake up feeling fully recharged. Get a better understanding of sleep and learn some practical ways to get a better night's sleep from our experts: TV's Dr Zoe Williams, Bupa's sleep specialist, Amy Gallagher, and Professor of Sleep Science, Dr Jason Ellis.

More from our inside health series

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Bupa Bitesize Academy module.

I'm Emma Shatliff, manager of the Bupa academy.

In today's session will be discussing the role line managers can play in supporting employees with long term health conditions in the workplace.

I'm delighted to be joined by Dr.

Ravi Lukha, medical director at Bupa Welcome, Ravi.

Thanks Emma.

Great to be here.

So it's estimated that a staggering 15 million people in England are living with a long term condition.

So can you define what a long term condition is?

And maybe provide some examples of those?

Sure.

So long term conditions, also known as chronic diseases, are health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years.

They can't currently be cured, but they can be managed by certain therapies or medication.

Now, examples can include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancers as well as some lung conditions like asthma and mental health conditions as well, like depression.

So what impact can long term conditions have in the workplace if employees are not supported?

Yeah.

So failure to support employees with long term conditions can have marked negative impacts on employees in the workplace.

So I’ll highlights three here.

Firstly, it's around increased absence due to staff being unable to manage their conditions whilst working.

Next is around high staff turnover, which can also increase in unemployment levels, which we know from the evidence base is bad for individuals health.

Finally, is around low morale in the team in the organisation, potentially due to staff members feeling unable to fulfill the demands of their job.

And these three negative impacts can of course affect the individual employees as well as the organisation and wider society as well.

I think with the low morale thing, if one person's feeling that if they're part of a team, it can quite quickly escalate and then everyone feels the same thing and that can equally have a negative effect on productivity and things like that, would you say?

Absolutely.

I think that's the point, that it can affect the individual.

It can be something that is spread between within the team and ultimately can affect your workplace productivity.

And ultimately, in that case, everybody really suffers.

So it's important that long term conditions are recognised within the workplace.

So what the steps managers can take to support employees with long term conditions?

So there's a number of steps that I'll highlight here, Emma.

So four in particular, firstly, communication is key.

So line managers should be able to recognise any signs of symptoms if people are struggling at work due to any long term conditions and really know where to signpost them for any support.

Now, although policies and procedures are important and I'll touch on on those in a second, what's really important ultimately is having a supportive line manager and they should make sure that they direct people to HR occupational health as well.

So next is around understanding those policies and procedures within your organisation that I just mentioned.

So line managers should understand these, for example, around your sickness absence policy, and that means you can offer a consistent, systematic and fair approach to each individual and really support them within the workplace.

The third is around making the right workplace adjustments.

And this is important because we know that creating the right work environment can be a great step forward in supporting people, not just stay in work but also flourish in work as well.

Employees who have long term conditions may also be covered by certain statutory protection that requires employers to make reasonable workplace adjustments.

So line managers should be aware of these, do make the changes and evaluate them as well.

Finally, it's important that line managers do signpost people to any support if they need it.

So for example, if we talk about stress and mental health, we know that these are two of the leading causes of long term sickness absence in the workplace in the UK.

Now, people might be reluctant to seek any help, but it's important that, as I said, line managers recognise any signs of people struggling at work and do signpost them to any places they can get support.

For example, your Employee Assistance Program or EAP if you have one.

And can healthy behaviours have any impact on long term health conditions?

Yeah, absolutely.

So for most long term conditions, promoting a healthy lifestyle can help to slow down their progression or even treat them.

For example, if you think about diabetes and healthy eating and physical exercise, but we should always be mindful about an individual's medical condition to make sure that they're doing in a safe way along with any medical advice.

So in general, healthy behaviours can can help to prevent long term conditions for the wider workforce.

So they're important from that point of view.

Specific advice I give to line managers towards promoting healthy behaviours at work includes ensuring that they're upskilled to spot any signs of symptoms of people struggling at work and to encourage people to seek help.

If you're having any any internal events to align them with key national campaigns such as Alcohol Awareness Week and do use your Wellbeing champions if you have any, to help spread the word and promote any initiatives that might be available to employees in the workplace.

I think as well on that, it'd be great if you're just one individual as part of a team that has got a long term health condition, you know, maybe getting involved in more team activities to support that person because I think having that encouragement to maybe change some of those behaviours is better achieved if you've got a team of supporters around you, or joining in with you to sort of make those changes as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think a good example of that is around mental health and wellbeing and mindfulness.

So I've seen really good examples of mindfulness exercises in over a number of weeks that the teams take part in and really help support some people that are struggling with mental health.

Also help to prevent any ill effects of mental health as well in the workplace.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Ravi.

That was super helpful and really, really interesting.

View transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Bupa Bitesize Academy module.

I'm Emma Shatliff, manager of the Bupa academy.

In today's session will be discussing the role line managers can play in supporting employees with long term health conditions in the workplace.

I'm delighted to be joined by Dr.

Ravi Lukha, medical director at Bupa Welcome, Ravi.

Thanks Emma.

Great to be here.

So it's estimated that a staggering 15 million people in England are living with a long term condition.

So can you define what a long term condition is?

And maybe provide some examples of those?

Sure.

So long term conditions, also known as chronic diseases, are health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years.

They can't currently be cured, but they can be managed by certain therapies or medication.

Now, examples can include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancers as well as some lung conditions like asthma and mental health conditions as well, like depression.

So what impact can long term conditions have in the workplace if employees are not supported?

Yeah.

So failure to support employees with long term conditions can have marked negative impacts on employees in the workplace.

So I’ll highlights three here.

Firstly, it's around increased absence due to staff being unable to manage their conditions whilst working.

Next is around high staff turnover, which can also increase in unemployment levels, which we know from the evidence base is bad for individuals health.

Finally, is around low morale in the team in the organisation, potentially due to staff members feeling unable to fulfill the demands of their job.

And these three negative impacts can of course affect the individual employees as well as the organisation and wider society as well.

I think with the low morale thing, if one person's feeling that if they're part of a team, it can quite quickly escalate and then everyone feels the same thing and that can equally have a negative effect on productivity and things like that, would you say?

Absolutely.

I think that's the point, that it can affect the individual.

It can be something that is spread between within the team and ultimately can affect your workplace productivity.

And ultimately, in that case, everybody really suffers.

So it's important that long term conditions are recognised within the workplace.

So what the steps managers can take to support employees with long term conditions?

So there's a number of steps that I'll highlight here, Emma.

So four in particular, firstly, communication is key.

So line managers should be able to recognise any signs of symptoms if people are struggling at work due to any long term conditions and really know where to signpost them for any support.

Now, although policies and procedures are important and I'll touch on on those in a second, what's really important ultimately is having a supportive line manager and they should make sure that they direct people to HR occupational health as well.

So next is around understanding those policies and procedures within your organisation that I just mentioned.

So line managers should understand these, for example, around your sickness absence policy, and that means you can offer a consistent, systematic and fair approach to each individual and really support them within the workplace.

The third is around making the right workplace adjustments.

And this is important because we know that creating the right work environment can be a great step forward in supporting people, not just stay in work but also flourish in work as well.

Employees who have long term conditions may also be covered by certain statutory protection that requires employers to make reasonable workplace adjustments.

So line managers should be aware of these, do make the changes and evaluate them as well.

Finally, it's important that line managers do signpost people to any support if they need it.

So for example, if we talk about stress and mental health, we know that these are two of the leading causes of long term sickness absence in the workplace in the UK.

Now, people might be reluctant to seek any help, but it's important that, as I said, line managers recognise any signs of people struggling at work and do signpost them to any places they can get support.

For example, your Employee Assistance Program or EAP if you have one.

And can healthy behaviours have any impact on long term health conditions?

Yeah, absolutely.

So for most long term conditions, promoting a healthy lifestyle can help to slow down their progression or even treat them.

For example, if you think about diabetes and healthy eating and physical exercise, but we should always be mindful about an individual's medical condition to make sure that they're doing in a safe way along with any medical advice.

So in general, healthy behaviours can can help to prevent long term conditions for the wider workforce.

So they're important from that point of view.

Specific advice I give to line managers towards promoting healthy behaviours at work includes ensuring that they're upskilled to spot any signs of symptoms of people struggling at work and to encourage people to seek help.

If you're having any any internal events to align them with key national campaigns such as Alcohol Awareness Week and do use your Wellbeing champions if you have any, to help spread the word and promote any initiatives that might be available to employees in the workplace.

I think as well on that, it'd be great if you're just one individual as part of a team that has got a long term health condition, you know, maybe getting involved in more team activities to support that person because I think having that encouragement to maybe change some of those behaviours is better achieved if you've got a team of supporters around you, or joining in with you to sort of make those changes as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think a good example of that is around mental health and wellbeing and mindfulness.

So I've seen really good examples of mindfulness exercises in over a number of weeks that the teams take part in and really help support some people that are struggling with mental health.

Also help to prevent any ill effects of mental health as well in the workplace.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Ravi.

That was super helpful and really, really interesting.

The Doctor Will Hear You Now Podcast:

Gut Health

Gut health is a talking point across media, news, and even conversations with our friends. Here, Dr Zoe Williams is joined by actress and former Strictly star, Catherine Tyldesley, and Lead Dietician from the Cromwell Hospital, Niamh Hennessy as they discuss discovering more about gut health.

Listen to the podcast

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Bupa Bitesize Academy module.

I'm Emma Shatliff, manager of the Bupa academy.

In today's session will be discussing the role line managers can play in supporting employees with long term health conditions in the workplace.

I'm delighted to be joined by Dr.

Ravi Lukha, medical director at Bupa Welcome, Ravi.

Thanks Emma.

Great to be here.

So it's estimated that a staggering 15 million people in England are living with a long term condition.

So can you define what a long term condition is?

And maybe provide some examples of those?

Sure.

So long term conditions, also known as chronic diseases, are health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years.

They can't currently be cured, but they can be managed by certain therapies or medication.

Now, examples can include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancers as well as some lung conditions like asthma and mental health conditions as well, like depression.

So what impact can long term conditions have in the workplace if employees are not supported?

Yeah.

So failure to support employees with long term conditions can have marked negative impacts on employees in the workplace.

So I’ll highlights three here.

Firstly, it's around increased absence due to staff being unable to manage their conditions whilst working.

Next is around high staff turnover, which can also increase in unemployment levels, which we know from the evidence base is bad for individuals health.

Finally, is around low morale in the team in the organisation, potentially due to staff members feeling unable to fulfill the demands of their job.

And these three negative impacts can of course affect the individual employees as well as the organisation and wider society as well.

I think with the low morale thing, if one person's feeling that if they're part of a team, it can quite quickly escalate and then everyone feels the same thing and that can equally have a negative effect on productivity and things like that, would you say?

Absolutely.

I think that's the point, that it can affect the individual.

It can be something that is spread between within the team and ultimately can affect your workplace productivity.

And ultimately, in that case, everybody really suffers.

So it's important that long term conditions are recognised within the workplace.

So what the steps managers can take to support employees with long term conditions?

So there's a number of steps that I'll highlight here, Emma.

So four in particular, firstly, communication is key.

So line managers should be able to recognise any signs of symptoms if people are struggling at work due to any long term conditions and really know where to signpost them for any support.

Now, although policies and procedures are important and I'll touch on on those in a second, what's really important ultimately is having a supportive line manager and they should make sure that they direct people to HR occupational health as well.

So next is around understanding those policies and procedures within your organisation that I just mentioned.

So line managers should understand these, for example, around your sickness absence policy, and that means you can offer a consistent, systematic and fair approach to each individual and really support them within the workplace.

The third is around making the right workplace adjustments.

And this is important because we know that creating the right work environment can be a great step forward in supporting people, not just stay in work but also flourish in work as well.

Employees who have long term conditions may also be covered by certain statutory protection that requires employers to make reasonable workplace adjustments.

So line managers should be aware of these, do make the changes and evaluate them as well.

Finally, it's important that line managers do signpost people to any support if they need it.

So for example, if we talk about stress and mental health, we know that these are two of the leading causes of long term sickness absence in the workplace in the UK.

Now, people might be reluctant to seek any help, but it's important that, as I said, line managers recognise any signs of people struggling at work and do signpost them to any places they can get support.

For example, your Employee Assistance Program or EAP if you have one.

And can healthy behaviours have any impact on long term health conditions?

Yeah, absolutely.

So for most long term conditions, promoting a healthy lifestyle can help to slow down their progression or even treat them.

For example, if you think about diabetes and healthy eating and physical exercise, but we should always be mindful about an individual's medical condition to make sure that they're doing in a safe way along with any medical advice.

So in general, healthy behaviours can can help to prevent long term conditions for the wider workforce.

So they're important from that point of view.

Specific advice I give to line managers towards promoting healthy behaviours at work includes ensuring that they're upskilled to spot any signs of symptoms of people struggling at work and to encourage people to seek help.

If you're having any any internal events to align them with key national campaigns such as Alcohol Awareness Week and do use your Wellbeing champions if you have any, to help spread the word and promote any initiatives that might be available to employees in the workplace.

I think as well on that, it'd be great if you're just one individual as part of a team that has got a long term health condition, you know, maybe getting involved in more team activities to support that person because I think having that encouragement to maybe change some of those behaviours is better achieved if you've got a team of supporters around you, or joining in with you to sort of make those changes as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think a good example of that is around mental health and wellbeing and mindfulness.

So I've seen really good examples of mindfulness exercises in over a number of weeks that the teams take part in and really help support some people that are struggling with mental health.

Also help to prevent any ill effects of mental health as well in the workplace.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Ravi.

That was super helpful and really, really interesting.

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Further resources

Healthy eating

Do we really know what we're putting into our bodies each day? Learn from our experts as they detail what makes up a balanced, nutritious meal and how to maintain a healthy weight.

Healthy eating

Exercise and fitness

Keeping physically active can prevent a range of health conditions and boost your mental wellbeing. Whether you're a beginner or an enthusiast, we've got a range of information to help you.

Exercise and fitness

Sleep

If you're struggling to get the sleep you need, it could be affecting your health and quality of life. Get advice and further information about sleep from experts who can help.

More on sleep
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