By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Brendan Courtney, MC of the inaugural ‘Leading in Wellbeing’ lunch at the Clayton Hotel.
Business & Finance, in partnership with Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, celebrated the launch of the 2023 ‘Top 100 Companies leading in Wellbeing’ at an inaugural ‘Leading in Wellbeing’ lunch at the Clayton Hotel on 27th April last. The date also marked Ibec’s 9th National Workplace Wellbeing Day.
As we approach the final quarter of the year, a busy period for companies, it’s timely to prioritise the wellbeing of employees and reflect on how we can best support our people going forward. We take a look back at some of the key learnings from the event.
In recent years, employee wellbeing has continued to rise further up the agenda for employers. Public awareness of the importance of good workplace mental health and wellbeing is also growing. To move beyond good intention and to realise a true culture of wellbeing, employers must make positive health and wellbeing a core business priority.
Ibec has long recognised the importance of wellbeing in the workplace and designed this event to celebrate companies who are leading the way. At the inaugural ‘Leading in Wellbeing’ lunch, Ibec also recognised companies who are excelling across key areas of their KeepWell accreditations throughout the year with a ‘Best in Class’ awards ceremony.
Brendan Courtney, MC of the event, started off proceedings and introduced Paula Cain, Executive Director, Commercial Services, Ibec. She urged businesses to equip themselves with the right skills and help, saying: “Our offering in Ibec is constantly evolving in line with our members’ and customers’ needs. If businesses need a little extra help with developing a sustainable wellbeing strategy, we have a dedicated masterclass available through the Ibec training academy.”
Neil O’Brien, Life Coach and Author of book, ‘Time to Fly’, spoke next and gave an inspiring keynote. He spoke about wellbeing strategies, saying: “The single most successful wellbeing strategy of them all, this beats everything, is spending more time in the company of good people.” He added that as a ‘recovering banker’, people congratulate him on starting his own business and always ask him, ‘are you busy?’.
He noted that he is never asked a much more pertinent question, namely, ‘Are you happy?’.
Ibec KeepWell Mark Best in Class Awards 2023
The KeepWell Mark is an Ibec initiative which helps companies in Ireland embrace corporate wellbeing. The KeepWell programme focuses on key areas of influence, ranging from leadership, mental health and absence management to physical activity and healthy eating.
Sophie Moran, Programme Manager of The KeepWell Mark noted it was important to continue to advance the conversation about wellbeing and mental health and said the excellent results on show were due to dedication by people in each of the companies.
She also spoke about the purpose of National Workplace Wellbeing Day, saying; “[The purpose] is to raise awareness of the importance of wellbeing in the workplace at a national level, to educate all stakeholders and help employers evolve and excel in their wellbeing strategies.”
Winners
Best in class: Leadership – Fexco
Best in class: Nutrition – Teva Pharmaceuticals
Best in class: Physical Health – Cork County Council
Best in class: Mental Health – William Fry
Company of the Year SME – Horse Racing Ireland
Company of the Year Large – Oracle EMEA
Outstanding Contribution to Wellbeing – Brent Pope, Former Sports Journalist RTE, Mental Health advocate and Founder of The Elephant in the Room movement.
READ MORE:
Top 100 Companies Leading In Wellbeing 2023｜Business & Finance in partnership with Ibec
