The bWell Podcast: Recent Episodes
wellbeing2019
Sleep underpins wellbeing. Without a good night’s sleep our health and wellbeing are likely to be affected. To cover all things sleep, we’re joined by guests from Square Health, the partners powering Help@hand, the award-winning health and wellbeing app from Unum.
We live in a society where many of us don’t prioritise sleep. When there’s pressure to be ‘always on’, spending hours a night lying horizonal might not feel like a good use of time for some people.
Yet sleep is vital to managing our health and wellbeing. Without sleep, our mood, immune system, metabolism and even our heart and brain health can suffer. This podcast will cover the benefits of sleep, plus some top tips on how to get a good night’s rest.
Men are less likely to engage with many healthcare services — this includes mental health support. Too often, this can lead to tragedy. So how do we make accessing mental healthcare services easier for men to improve frequency of use?
The most cited reasons for not attending healthcare services amongst men is not being able to get time off work (and the potential for lost earnings if they do), inconvenient opening times, long waiting lists and simply not being aware of the services available to them.
In this podcast, we talk more about the resources and support available to men to tackle these barriers to accessing vital care for their mental health and wellbeing. This includes health and wellbeing apps available on their phone, bringing wellbeing to men rather than men having to take time to seek it out.
In this podcast, dentist and digital health leader Dr Deepak Aulak sits down in front of our mic to cover why maintaining your oral health with regular visits to the dentist is vital to your entire body, not just your mouth. To support the 2024-2026 theme of World Oral Health Day (a happy mouth is a happy body), we’ll discuss the links between poor oral health and poor physical health.
Regular dentist visits for preventative care and treatment as soon as you recognise a problem is vital not just for your mouth but the rest of your body. Poor oral health has been linked to endocarditis (infection of the inner lining of the chambers of the heart); cardiovascular disease; pregnancy complications such as premature birth and low birth weight; pneumonia; Alzheimer’s disease; strokes; and respiratory/lung disease.
Dr Deepak will cover the links between poor oral health and poor overall health, including preventative tips straight from a dentist’s mouth on beating the links between such conditions and poor oral health by making simple improvements to your dental routine.
As well as being a registered dentist, Dr Deepak heads up Toothfairy, a company providing digital dental services in the UK. In partnership with Unum, Toothfairy offers a wide variety of support to our Dental Insurance customers, including a 24/7 chat line manned by dentists; videos and articles packed with tips on maintaining oral health; a symptom checker; discounts on at-home cosmetic treatments and more.
We’re more aware of neurodiversities than ever, with diagnoses among adults rising due to this greater awareness and better diagnostic criteria. For many working adults, receiving a diagnosis later in life may prove a revelation, helping them to understand for the first time that their brain is wired differently — although by no means worse than — the brains of their colleagues.
In this podcast, we have someone from inside Unum talk about their experience of neurodiversity in the workplace. You’ll hear from their own personal experience about their neurodiversity, their journey to diagnosis and their role in the world of work both before and after that diagnosis.
Join us as we cover the best adjustments employers can make to accommodate neurodiversities and why having a neurodiverse team can prove an asset.
In partnership with cancer charity Maggie’s, this podcast spotlights the UK’s unpaid carers looking after a friend or loved one — whether that person has cancer or any other illness.
There are an estimated 10.6 million unpaid carers in the UK. Caring can take a major physical and emotional toll, but carers often push their own needs aside to focus on their loved one. In 2023, a poll of unpaid carers found 62% needed support with their health and wellbeing and 30% said their mental health was bad or very bad. Meanwhile, 29% of unpaid carers feel lonely often or always.
It can be difficult for carers to focus on themselves when a loved one is so ill, but it’s important they take the time to recharge. The philosophy about being unable to pour from an empty cup is so true — without time to recharge, carers may find themselves unable to keep doing everything they do. In this podcast, we discuss supporting the wellbeing of unpaid carers, as well as that of the people they’re caring for.
Join us for this podcast with addiction and anxiety yoga specialist Ellie Shanley. Ellie will help us debunk the myth that yoga is just for lululemon clad women who drink matcha — world leaders from Canada’s Justin Trudeau to India’s Narendra Modi are big fans. Nor is it about tying your body into impossible knots. Just the principles of breathing and being present can reset your two vagus nerves, which run either side of your body from your lower brain to the chest a stomach and are important in helping you feel calm. Resetting your vagus nerves and taking time for yourself makes yoga an incredibly effective tool in supporting and enhancing your wellbeing and regulating your emotions and nervous system, all whilst also building physical and mental strength.
In this updated podcast, registered nurse Emma Squire joins us to discuss how making small, healthy changes to your life today can improve your health and wellbeing over the long-term. We also cover how simple changes can improve health risk management.
Following on from Back Care Awareness Week and just 3 days after World Mental Health Day, this podcast covers the important relationship between your mental health and moving your body. We’re delighted to have Square Health join us to cover the benefits of activity to both your physical and mental health.
A holistic approach to mental and physical health is essential as there’s a big link between them. Improving physical health can improve mental health; in turn, improving mental health can make taking steps to improve physical health (such as physical activity) easier to achieve.
For employees covered by a Unum Group Risk policy, our health and wellbeing app Help@hand provides unlimited mental health support. Meanwhile, employees covered by Group Income Protection get access to sessions with a personal trainer. One of the areas personal trainers can help with is supporting those struggling with injury to slowly build up their fitness in a way that doesn’t exacerbate their condition.
- For mild to moderate issues. Number of sessions subject to clinical appropriateness.
Neurodiversity is becoming less of a taboo topic and more widely discussed — especially on social media, which helps break down barriers to more awareness and knowledge on the topic. At the same time, confirmations of neurodiversities from clinicians are rising.
More diagnoses and greater awareness will likely mean the needs of neurodiverse employees and the accommodations employers can offer them will become more important to businesses. This podcast invites you to take the time to understand the topic a little bit more. It’s aimed at everyone, whether you are neurotypical or neurodivergent — and especially if you don’t know what those terms even mean!
Healthy Eating Week falls in June each year. It’s all about supporting and promoting healthier lifestyles with nutrition and diet. However, it’s not always simple. Food labels can be confusing and there are various fad diets that seemingly disagree on foods to reduce or increase to lose weight. So where can you turn?
Unum UK’s award-winning bWell podcast host Beth Husted is back to discuss the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. She’s joined by Samantha Beckinsale, a diet and nutrition expert from Help@hand,[1] our health and wellbeing app, to cover the basics of what a good diet is and why it’s important.
Nutritional coaching[2] is a new feature of Help@hand, introduced in April 2023 for employees of our Group Income Protection (GIP) customers. This provides virtual access to a qualified diet and nutrition expert who’ll help you build a tailored healthy eating plan.
Once you’ve given the podcast a listen, if you’re covered by a Unum GIP policy check out Help@hand for tailored diet and nutrition advice and guidance on making sustainable changes that stick.
[1] Help@hand is provided to Unum Group customers by Square Health. It offers access to services designed to manage the health and wellbeing of employees and their families. Help@hand is entirely separate from any Unum insurance policy. Help@hand is not part of the insurance contract, is provided by Unum for no additional cost to its customers, and Unum can withdraw or change the service in the future. Help@hand is available to UK residents only. Unum offers access to the Help@hand services provided by third parties. Square Health Limited, registered in England and Wales Number 07054181. Crown House, William Street, Windsor SL4 1AT.
[2] Six sessions per year for the insured employee. Only for employees insured by Unum Group Income Protection.
Join our team of wellbeing experts made up of psychologists, occupational therapists and exercise and ergonomics experts to hear about everyday tips to manage mental your health.
The importance of taking a holistic approach to your health, looking at taming those intrusive thoughts, exercise, mindfulness, journalling and other actions we can all take to look after our own mental health and the mental health of others.
Our wellbeing experts will also talk through what resources are available, such as mental health support from our award-winning health and wellbeing app Help@hand.*
- Help@hand is provided to Unum Group customers by Square Health. It offers access to services designed to manage the health and wellbeing of employees and their families. Help@hand is entirely separate from any Unum insurance policy. Help@hand is not part of the insurance contract, is provided by Unum for no additional cost to its customers, and Unum can withdraw or change the service in the future. Help@hand is available to UK residents only. Unum offers access to the Help@hand services provided by third parties. Square Health Limited, registered in England and Wales Number 07054181. Crown House, William Street, Windsor SL4 1AT.
We’ve recorded this podcast with the experts at Square Health who provide our health and wellbeing app Help@hand* to shine a light on the impact alcohol can have on individuals and wider society.
Alcohol can impact so much of our life. For many people, alcohol might play a key part in how they have fun and socialise — but it can also have detrimental effects the following day (or even the following week!).
This podcast covers the rise of the ‘sober curious’ lifestyle — where people start to question the impact alcohol is having on their lives and the people around them and look with curiosity at what’s fuelling the desire to drink. This may lead to them avoiding alcohol for personal or wellness reasons. This podcast explores how we can make changes to our alcohol habits.
- Help@hand is provided to Unum Group customers by Square Health. It offers access to services designed to manage the health and wellbeing of employees and their families. Help@hand is entirely separate from any Unum insurance policy. Help@hand is not part of the insurance contract, is provided by Unum for no additional cost to its customers, and Unum can withdraw or change the service in the future. Help@hand is available to UK residents only. Unum offers access to the Help@hand services provided by third parties. Square Health Limited, registered in England and Wales Number 07054181. Crown House, William Street, Windsor SL4 1AT.
Our guest for this podcast is lifestyle coach Sam Beckinsale. She’ll discuss the importance of continuous improvement.
We’re launching new and enhanced services for our health and wellbeing app Help@hand,[1] coming April 3rd. One new addition gives employees the opportunity to take four short assessments to get their 360 Wellbeing Score. In turn, this unlocks six sessions of lifestyle coaching per year, all delivered on a 1-2-1 basis via video.
Our bWell podcast host — Unum’s award-winning Wellbeing and Customer Experience Operations Manager Beth Husted — was lucky to get a sneak preview of the lifestyle coaching before the announcement. During this podcast, Beth shares her experience and talks with Sam about the process of accessing the lifestyle support, which also includes personal training and nutrition consultations.[2]
We cover the importance of just getting started and how, although it may never be the ‘perfect’ time to make those 1% changes, they play such a vital role in your health and wellbeing that they’re essentials, not luxuries. Instead of focusing on perfection, the podcast encourages you to focus on your progress.
[1] Help@hand is provided to Unum Group customers by Square Health. It offers access to services designed to manage the health and wellbeing of employees and their families. Help@hand is entirely separate from any Unum insurance policy. Help@hand is not part of the insurance contract, is provided by Unum for no additional cost to its customers, and Unum can withdraw or change the service in the future. Help@hand is available to UK residents only. Unum offers access to the Help@hand services provided by third parties. Square Health Limited, registered in England and Wales Number 07054181. Crown House, William Street, Windsor SL4 1AT.
[2] Personal training and nutrition consultations for employees insured by a Unum Group Income Protection policy only.
This podcast takes a look at race and diversity in the workplace. We examine the importance of ensuring people of colour feel seen, included and equally valued.
The most important place to start is listening — listening to and learning from the lived experience of people who may have experienced not only overt acts of racism but also smaller microaggressions. Microaggressions may not always be intentional, but they often occur more frequently. Their cumulative effect risks creating an environment that’s more challenging for people of colour.
We use this podcast to cover positive actions to take to combat racism in all its forms — both subtle and explicit — to help everyone live and work in a better world.
Menopause is a natural process. It usually happens as people grow older, but also potentially suddenly, as a result of surgery, chemotherapy or other medical treatments. Yet despite it usually being a natural process, some may have a hard time because of how their hormone levels change.
Joining us in this podcast to discuss the impact of menopause are online fitness coach and personal trainer Natasha Evans and nutritional therapist and naturopath Tanya Clarke from Get Me Fit.
We’ll talk about lifestyle management, taking a holistic approach and tangible steps you can implement to help yourself before or during the perimenopause and menopause.
Men’s Health Week isn’t just about physical health. Men have mental health too, and it not being ‘macho’ to admit they are struggling is a big problem.
Men accounted for 75% of people who sadly took their own lives in England in 2020.1 In 2018, men aged 20-34 were more than 3 times as likely to lose their lives to suicide than in vehicle accidents.2
We must do more than say it’s time for men to talk; we need to make it so men feel they can talk. This podcast looks at toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes and the considerable impact this is having on men’s health.
We’re joined by two qualified fitness instructors, who explain that you don’t suddenly need to start running marathons to get fit. Small, incremental changes can make a big difference.
We’re so pleased to partner with GetMeFit for this podcast. They’ve kindly let us borrow the wisdom of their fitness gurus Cat Benger, a personal trainer and APPI-qualified Pilates Instructor, and personal trainer and podcast host Natasha Evans.1
Cat and Natasha discuss how getting fit shouldn’t feel inaccessible or scary, talking through how small incremental changes to lifestyle and habits can have huge impact on your physical and mental health and wellbeing
Burnout, stress and fatigue are very real risks when you fail to prioritise your wellbeing. This podcast offers tips to combat these issues.
Too often we deprioritise our wellbeing because of external pressures, whether that’s work, family or other commitments. Failing to look after and nourish our wellbeing puts you at a higher risk of burnout. Prioritising our wellbeing is important, so pop on the Unum podcast to discover the importance of taking time to put you first.
For International Women’s Day, check out this podcast packed full of successful working women who join us to share their experiences, successes and challenges and give some welcome inspirational advice.
In this podcast, registered nurse Emma Squire joins us to discuss how making small, healthy changes to your life today can improve your health and wellbeing over the long-term. We also cover how simple changes can improve health risk management.
SHUSH is an acronym used by the Samaritans, designed to provide active listening tips. Our ‘SHUSH, it’s time to talk ‘podcast focuses on what we can all do to try and boost our mood, look after each other’s mental health, the ‘Ask Twice’ initiative and how employers can break down the taboo of talking about suicide. Remember, reaching out really could save a life.
To mark National Grief Awareness Day on August 30th, we’re partnering with Child Bereavement UK to deliver our podcast on dealing with bereavement.
Designed for those who are experiencing bereavement and colleagues who are working with a bereaved person, we’ll look at the general implications of bereavement – including mental health – on individuals and their colleagues. We’ll also cover the importance of respecting diversity in bereavement, and how all of us can help support bereaved employees.
One of the ‘5 ways to wellbeing’ is 'take notice'. But in our busy home and working lives, how many of us really take the time to ‘stop and smell the roses’? Mindfulness is proven to benefit our mental and physical wellbeing. And it’s for everyone, helping conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, addictive behaviours, and problems like hypertension, heart disease and chronic pain*. So it’s no surprise that employers across the globe are introducing mindfulness to the workplace.
In our ‘Mid-year mindfulness’ podcast, we’re joined by our in-house mindfulness practitioner, Hayley, who will explore simple ways that allow people to really be in the moment.
This month, we’re recognising Carer’s Week. As the workforce ages, many employees are finding themselves with extra caring responsibilities, The so-called ‘squeezed middle’ are juggling looking after elderly relatives with childcare, while more working parents are trying to balance working responsibilities with their children’s needs. Our ‘We care’ podcast highlights this often missed and silent group, and explores the resources and support available to ease the pressures of caring. In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society.
In this episode we learn about our relationship with technology and discuss ways of identifying how we can enrich those bad habits and turn them into something productive
This month we are talking all things sleep and how to maximise not only the amount of hours we can get each night, but the quality of those hours.
As part of LGBT History Month, we’re joined by members of Unum’s LGBTQ+ community to chat about workplace diversity…
On today's episode, we are joined by Ian from Drinkaware to tell us all the things we should know when it comes to drink.
Join Hayley Strahorn Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant and Mindfulness Practitioner as she talks about getting started with mindfulness and also demonstrates a body scan you can follow
Nicola Riley (Health and Wellbeing Consultant) and Claire Hallmey (Health & Wellbeing Manager) will talk about implementing a mental health at work plan and share some successes in relation to participation, engagement and ROI.
It's something half of the population will deal with in their working lives and yet no one seems to ever talk about it.