Nottinghamshire County Council is hosting a Health Wellbeing and Performance at Work event on Friday, 11th April.

The event is being attended by representatives from public, private and voluntary sector organisations across the county, including HR and workplace health champions, and public health representatives.

Coun Joyce Bosnjak, chairman of the Nottinghamshire Health and Wellbeing Board, and one of the key note speakers at the event said: “Especially during financially difficult times a mentally and physically well workforce can make a huge difference to the performance of a business or workplace.

“Wellbeing is more than just the absence of physical illness; it’s about being mentally well, physically fit and motivated to work.

“Employers that embrace a positive healthy workforce policy and really back that up with actions will reap the benefits of a healthier environment, giving them a real competitive edge over their rivals.

Penny Spring, public health consultant for the council, said: “We’re seeing this event as a starting point to help us develop a health workplace strategy that Public Health can take forward to make a real difference in this area locally.

“There’s lots that employers can do right now though to start improving colleague health and wellbeing from introducing things like workplace challenges, cycle to work initiatives or team sessions, to simple things like using communal areas to display advice or information on things like eating more healthily or stopping smoking.”