The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, TD, today, Thursday, 9th September 2021, launched a Health and Wellbeing Framework for the Civil Service.
The development of the Framework is aligned to the commitment made under the Programme for Government (PFG) 2020 – identification of new measures of Wellbeing and Progress – under Mission: A Better Quality of Life for All and the ongoing development of a Health and Wellbeing Framework for Ireland.
The Framework has been co-designed by the central Human Resources Policy Division of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service (CSEAS), together with 12 Civil Service Departments and Offices.
The Framework aims to provide Human Resources Managers across the Civil Service with an enhanced understanding of the breadth of considerations that need to be taken into account when seeking to effect positive health and wellbeing outcomes for civil servants.
The Framework outlines the key components of a healthy workplace across 5 Dimensions and 19 associated Themes. These Dimensions and Themes also include examples of workplace initiatives and activities that Civil Service Departments and Offices can put in place to support and enable the health and wellbeing of their workforce. It also identifies a number of performance indicators that will enable Departments and Offices to identify key health and wellbeing challenges in their organisations and to evaluate the success of measures introduced to addres these challenges.
This co-design initiative is a further example of the enhanced collaboration seen across Government organisations that came to the fore as we worked together to responded to the challenges of Covid-19.
On the publication of the Framework, Minister McGrath said:
“I welcome the publication of the Civil Service Health and Wellbeing Framework and consider its publication timely in light of the challenges and disruptions to the working environments of workers throughout the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. I am hopeful that the Framework will assist Civil Service Departments and Offices in providing our workforce with the supports to enable us to serve the people of Ireland to the best of our abilities, while protecting the health and well-being of our people.”
Minister McGrath also took the opportunity to thank civil servants for their continued hard work throughout the pandemic and for the agility and responsiveness shown by them in delivering essential services to the public.
“I would like to take this opportunity to pay special thanks to all serving members of the Civil Service for the hard work and dedication shown by them throughout a period of unprecedented challenge to the way we work and deliver services to the public. I am confident that the Civil Service will continue to deliver a high quality service as we emerge from this pandemic and move towards a new blended working environment. The Framework highlights the importance of positive leadership practices in maintaining a healthy working environment which is critical to ensuring a high-quality service and a positive user experience for the people of Ireland”.
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Notes for Editors:
The benefits of the Framework and its publication across the Civil Service can be summarised as follows:
- Provision of best practice guidance on assessing Health and Wellbeing programme needs and objectives through the application of the Public Spending Code Programme Logic Model. Health and Wellbeing performance indicators are also provided to guide needs assessment and enable evidence-informed interventions.
- Enable Departments and Offices to formulate tailored approaches that best meet the needs of individual organisations and their employees, within the overall Framework.
- Provision of guidance on evaluating outcomes of Health and Wellbeing programmes to ensure value for money for programme expenditure as well as positive health and wellbeing outcomes for civil servants.
- Ensure that the Civil Service will continue to deliver high-quality services to Government, the public and business.
The Framework outlines key components of a healthy workplace across 5 Dimensions and 19 associated Themes. These Dimensions and associated themes also include examples of workplace initiatives and activities that Departments and Offices may wish to consider putting in place. The Dimensions andThemes are informed by the WHO (2010) Healthy Workplace and Framework Model and the OECD measures on the Quality of the Working Environment.
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ContactClaire Godkin - Press Officer, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - 085 806 3969, pressoffice@per.gov.ie