The Norfolk Working Well Conference will give attendees a chance to hear the economic case for investing in health and wellbeing initiatives and encourage them to implement the ideas within their own organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff.

The event has been arranged by NHS Norfolk in partnership with the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and will take place on Tuesday, May 11 2010 at Open, on Bank Plain in Norwich between 9am-1.30pm.

Sheila Childerhouse, NHS Norfolk’s Chair will open the conference, before it is chaired by Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. The conference will also include a keynote speech from the National Director for Health and Work, Dame Carol Black.

Over 100 organisations are expected to be represented at the event from a mixture of both public and private backgrounds, some to exhibit their ideas and some to discuss how they may be able to implement the initiatives themselves.

Business representatives will be able to explore how the introduction of similar initiatives and policies could benefit their own organisations by potentially reducing staff sickness, staff turnover, recruitment costs and stress – but increasing staff morale, productivity and loyalty.

Around 22 stands will be on display from a range of organisations to promote initiatives for a variety of aspects regarding health and wellbeing, such as ideas to help people stop smoking, become more active, eat well at work and maintain positive mental health.

Representatives from NHS Norfolk will be promoting programmes offered by the organisation, which was recently awarded ‘Fit for Business’ status for its efforts to implement and promote initiatives and policies to improve the wellbeing of its staff.

Catering for the conference is being provided by The Joy of Food (a project hosted by NHS Norfolk) which has trained a number of individuals to work alongside the project team to feed the delegates some of the Joy of Food’s speciality dishes, all of which represent the key elements of a balanced diet.

Justine Hottinger, joint-organiser of the event and NHS Norfolk’s Health Improvement Specialist for the Workplace, said: “I have been working closely with NHS Norfolk management to implement a number of policies and initiatives which encourage our members of staff to take suitable breaks, be active, eat well and generally lead a healthier lifestyle in and out of work.

“This can really help to increase productivity in the workplace, make staff feel like a valuable resource and ultimately benefit the organisation they work for by increasing efficiency and reducing staff sickness.

“At the Norfolk Working Well conference, we will demonstrate to Norfolk businesses that investment in the wellbeing of staff can reap significant rewards. For example, by helping staff manage their stress levels and stay healthy generally, businesses can reduce the number of staff absences which tend to cost businesses significantly over the course of a year.”

The conference is for Norfolk businesses and free of charge, though booking is required. For more information about the Norfolk Working Well event or information about how to book, go to: www.workplacehealth.biz