Mental wellbeing remains one of biggest causes of short-term sickness absence in the UK, costing 18 million workdays annually. Social care lost more than 1.6 million days to sickness absence in 2022-2023, with almost one-third of these due to mental health, stress or work-related stress. That’s to say nothing of the people struggling in silence, masking their stress and returning too soon.
Skills for Care’s 2024 Workforce report highlights the issue: “Stress and burnout are prominent issues for adult social care staff and workforce wellbeing is paramount”.
As a provider of wellbeing training, we would be expected to say that wellbeing training is key to supporting good mental and physical health. But our years of experience working closely with the adult social care sector have led us to understand the significant effects organisations can see from embedding wellbeing into their learning and development.
You don’t have to just believe us - Skills for Care have identified learning and development as one of their four pillars of workforce productivity. Empowering care workers with the skills to maintain good wellbeing helps them to feel confident and competent, and to feel that their workplace is dedicated to investing in them.
This is true across sectors - a 2023 study by the Open University found that 96% of respondents saw a link between learning and development activity and wellbeing. A survey by United Healthcare shows that 62%of employees using wellness programmes report productivity rises, and that 56% have fewer sick days. And research from the World Health Organisation shows that companies which prioritise health and wellbeing programmes can see a boost in productivity of up to 20%.
Wellbeing Training That Works
Courses on resilience, stress management, and self-care are everywhere—but are they actually helping? Too often, they’re generic, rushed, or irrelevant. Many feel like tick-box exercises rather than meaningful learning experiences.
At Flourish, we take a different approach. We believe that learning about wellbeing should feel like a wellbeing-enhancing experience. Because if training is overwhelming, rushed, or detached from real-life challenges, how can it make a real difference?
The Science: Why Learning and Wellbeing Go Hand in Hand
It’s no secret that stress affects how we think. Anxiety and low mood make it harder to concentrate, retain information, and problem-solve. In contrast, a positive mental state helps us absorb knowledge, stay engaged, and apply learning effectively.
This is particularly important in adult social care, with professionals working in emotionally and physically demanding roles. Training shouldn’t just outline strategies for wellbeing - it should teach them: demonstrating their value, how they work and help create a supportive environment.
But wellbeing training isn’t just about personal resilience - it’s also about community. When staff understand wellbeing, they become better equipped to spot the early signs of stress, burnout, or mental health struggles in their colleagues. Social care is built on compassion, and that should extend to those providing the care just as much as those receiving it.
Why Wellbeing Training Matters in Adult Social Care
The Reality of Burnout
Social care professionals are dedicated and resilient – but they’re also at high risk of burnout. Long hours, heavy caseloads, and the emotional toll of supporting vulnerable individuals can lead to stress and compassion fatigue. In this context, wellbeing training is essential for sustaining a workforce that can continue to care for others.
Spotting the Signs
Stress, exhaustion, and poor mental health can become routine without people even realising. Unhealthy habits like skipping breaks, overworking and neglecting sleep can feel like just ‘part of the job’ when they shouldn’t be. Often, learning about wellbeing helps people take a step back and recognise when they or their colleagues need support. When teams have the knowledge and confidence to check in on each other, it creates a culture where no one suffers in silence.
Beyond a Checkbox: Creating a Culture of Wellbeing
Too often, wellbeing initiatives are treated as standalone sessions rather than an ongoing commitment. But real change happens when wellbeing is woven into workplace culture, with managers leading by example and employees feeling empowered to prioritise their own mental health.
Wellbeing is More Than Just Mental Health
Another important point: when we talk about wellbeing, we’re not just talking about stress management. True wellbeing is holistic. It includes physical health, emotional resilience, financial stability, and confidence. These elements are interconnected, and meaningful training should reflect this.
Our bundle of wellbeing courses, designed specifically for those in high-stress environments cover a range of crucial topics designed specifically for the social care workforce. It’s about building the base level knowledge to help care staff support themselves in all of the most important ways.
Wellbeing training also helps break the silence around difficult topics. Knowledge gives people the language to discuss things they may otherwise feel uncomfortable addressing—whether that’s gender identity, sexual wellbeing, menopause or suicide awareness. When staff and managers understand these issues, they can have more open, constructive conversations that lead to real support, rather than stigma or avoidance.
The Future of Wellbeing Training
As the World Health Organisation puts it, health is more than the absence of disease. To build a truly healthy workforce, we need to empower people across the range of factors that contribute to truly good health. To do this, we need to start by rethinking how we teach wellbeing. That means creating training experiences that feel empowering, engaging, and genuinely useful – not just another task on a never-ending to-do list.
Our online wellbeing course bundle has been carefully designed to help people improve their mental, physical, emotional, and social wellbeing.
