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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

CORPORATE
WELL-BEING

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1 Warm up
Read the definition then answer the questions.

well-being (n) - a person’s health and happiness

1. What do you do to look after your well-being?

2. What activities improve your well-being?
3. What do you think a company can do to look after the well-being of its employees?

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2 Skimming for gist

Match the titles to paragraphs A - C. There are more titles than paragraphs.

1. What are the costs of a well-being programme?

2. Improving health

3. What effect can a programme have on mental health?

4. Which large companies have a well-being programme?

5. What is a well-being programme?

6. Improving positive feelings

7. Improving diet

Introducing corporate wellbeing

What to do and why you should
A.

Including a programme which focuses on the health of your employees can take a number of forms. Make sure
that there is easy access to healthy food. We’re all tempted to snack on biscuits and chocolate throughout the
work day, so offering alternatives such as fruit and nuts, as well as balanced meals at lunchtime is a good start
that will affect everyone. You can also check chairs, desks and computers for any signs that workers are sitting
and working in a way that will cause them physical problems. Subsidising yoga classes, gym memberships and
massages is another good idea. If you have the room, you can employ an instructor to come to the office and give
classes at lunchtime. Competitions to see who can lose the most weight, walk the most number of steps or run
the most number of miles each week is another good way to both encourage a healthy lifestyle and create a more
social environment.

B.

There are a number of reasons for having a programme like this, both obvious and less obvious. Healthy employees
means that there will be fewer days taken as sick leave. As well as having greater amounts of energy, they will be
more likely to avoid mental health issues too, such as depression, which can negatively affect people for different
periods of time and cause problems with focusing on their job. If someone has poor physical or mental health, there
will be greater risks of long-term illnesses which can lead to people being off work for months. Of course, there
are also costs to a company when someone takes time off sick, particularly if the company pays for healthcare.

C.

There’s also the positive effect well-being programmes can have on morale. A workplace which workers enjoy
coming to each day will make them happier, work harder and also reduce the number of employees who leave.
The costs and time involved in replacing people who leave can really add up, as well as creating problems for the
team they leave behind. Not only this, but it’s a good way to attract new talent to a company. Happy employees
will talk about their experience to family and friends and it won’t take long for your company to gain a reputation
as a great place to work. If you invest in your employees, you will also invest in the company. So if you’ve yet to
create a well-being programme in your company, talk to your employees about what they want to do. You will be
on your way to a happier, healthier workplace.

Sources: Business Magazine, Indeed

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3 Scanning for vocabulary

Find vocabulary in the article on page two which means the same as the following definitions.

1. containing similar amounts of different elements (adj., para. A)

2. give money to make something cheaper for people (v, para. A)

3. the action of rubbing and pressing on someone’s body to improve their health
and reduce pain (n, para. A)
4. a mental illness where someone feels deeply unhappy and not positive about
the future (n, para. B)
5. taking place over an extended period of time (adj., para. B)

6. medical service for people who are physically or mentally sick (n, para. B)

7. the positivity and confidence a person or group of people have in a particular

situation (n, para. C)
8. the idea that people have about a company or person based on their
behaviour in the past (n, para. C)

4 Reading comprehension
Complete the notes with one, two or three words from the article.

1
Provide healthy food so that employees are less to eat poorly during the work day.
2
Check that aren’t being created by computers and desks being at the wrong height.
3
Set up classes during so that employees can get fit or relax. Benefits from wellness
4
programmes include: reduced amount of that employees will take, as well as fewer
5 6 7
. In turn, this can lower to the company. When you
the amount of time and money spent on hiring new staff, it’s much better if employees stay longer.
8
When you look after your staff, you effectively the company meaning it’s positive for
everyone.

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5 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Complete the following vocabulary and definitions with the missing vowels (a,e,i,o,u).

1. _ nx _ _ t _ (n) - a feeling of worry that something very bad is going to happen

2. _ tm _ sph _ r _ (n) - the feelings or mood between a group of people

3. c _ mm_tt _ _ (n) - a select group of people who make decisions for a larger group of people

4. v _ cc _ n _ (n) - a substance which protects people from diseases when added to the blood

5. m _ r _ th _ n (n) - a long race of 26 miles

6. b _ _ st (v) - to make something faster, bigger, or more successful

7. n _ tr _ t _ _ _ s (adj.) - containing healthy elements which are good for you and help you grow

8. _ xh _ _ st _ d (adj.) - feeling very tired

Part B: Now complete the following sentences with vocabulary from Part A. You may have to change
the form of the word.

1. Next week, nurses will be coming to reception to give a flu to anyone who wants
it to protect you this winter.

2. It’s been really stressful this week so I’m leaving early today as I’m absolutely .

3. The new cafe across the street looks fantastic. They have loads of delicious looking cakes as well
as coffee and salads.

4. The is currently deciding when to have the summer party and where it should be.
I think it will be just as good as last year’s.

5. My husband is raising money for cancer by running three in three days in three
different countries!

6. When the company introduced the wellness programme, it really morale amongst
the staff and it is a much better place to work now.

7. When they bought our company, it created a lot of for the employees as they
were really concerned about their jobs.

8. The yoga class was great fun and the instructor was really funny and created a really positive
. I can’t wait for next week.

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6 Listening for details

Listen to the interview with a manager about a well-being programme. Match the numbers to their
meaning.

15 160 3000 59 73 96

a. → The percentage increase in sick days over two years before the wellness
programme.
b. → The percentage increase in mental health issues among staff before the
wellness programme.
c. → The percentage of food that was nutritious before the wellness
programme.
d. → The percentage of staff who wanted to get a vaccine at work.

e. → The amount of money raised for a charity in British pounds.

f. → The percentage reduction in the number of sick days taken after the
wellness programme was introduced.

7 Listening comprehension

Complete the notes with one, two or three words from the interview.

1. There used to be a lot of problems with people being off sick due to normal illnesses, but also
serious issues, such as .

2. The staff used to generally look extremely tired and .

3. There was mostly fast food, chocolate, biscuits and available in the cafe before.

4. A committee was created to get from employees about the changes they wanted
to see.

5. The company made a flu vaccine available to all employees, and set up a that was
so popular they needed two.

6. There is now available in the vending machine.

7. Sick days have massively , with only one employee taking more than three days
off.

8. Now only people leave each year, whereas it used to be 12 to fifteen.

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8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Is stress a problem in your company? Why/why not?

2. Does your company have any programmes for increasing wellness? What does it do?/why not?
3. What could your company do that it isn’t doing to improve wellness for employees?
4. How would you describe the atmosphere in your company?

9 Extended activity/Homework

Part A: Focus on grammar - First conditional. Find these sentences in the article on page two and fill
in the gaps.

1. If you in your employees, you also invest in the company.

2. If someone has poor physical or mental health, there greater risks of long-term
illnesses

3. greater amounts of energy, they will be more likely to avoid mental health issues
too

4. you have the room, you employ an instructor to come to the

office and give classes at lunchtime.

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Part B: Complete the following rules about the first conditional by underlining the correct option.
There are two clauses: the ‘If’ clause and the main clause.

1. The tense in the ‘If’ clause needs to be a present/past/future tense.

2. The tense in the main clause needs to be the future/past/present simple.

3. It is/isn’t possible to change the modal verb ‘will’ for other modal verbs, such as may, can, should
and might.

4. It is/isn’t possible to change ‘If’ for other phrases such as when, as soon as, as well as.

5. It is/isn’t possible to use ‘will’ in the ‘If’ clause.

6. If you start the ‘if’ clause with As well as, the verb after it should be in the base form/-ing form.

7. The ‘If’ clause and the main clause can/can’t swap places.

Part C: Now complete the following sentences using the words in the box.

isn’t / will go / increasing / do / when / might

1. As well as the amount of healthy food available, we will also offer yoga classes at
lunch.

2. they introduce a wellness programme, the number of sick days will reduce.

3. Can you start a wellness programme if there one available?

4. We go to the gym at lunchtime if there is enough time.

5. As soon as we finish work today, we and eat together at a local restaurant.

6. If you yoga or a sport at lunchtime, you will feel better in the afternoon.

Now write the first conditional sentences with your own ideas.

1. As soon as my manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. When my company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. As well as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Our team might. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. We can. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. I will be. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Transcripts

6. Listening for details

Host: Good morning, today we’re talking to Claudia Kenner about the benefits of a wellness
programme. Claudia, thank you for joining us.

Claudia: Thank you for having me on.

Host: So Claudia, what made you decide to set up a well-being programme?

Claudia: There were several reasons. First, we’ve noticed that the number of sick days people
were taking had increased by 59% over a two-year period. Someone seemed to be off
every single day. Obviously, people had always taken time off for things like colds which
happens to everyone from time to time. But we were seeing more serious illnesses, like
heart problems and there was also a 160% increase in the number of people taking time
off with stress, anxiety, and other problems with mental health. This told us that something
was really wrong. You could also feel it in the atmosphere at the time. No one was really
talking to each other. Walking through the office, you could tell people looked unhappy
and exhausted. I went to get lunch one day and realised that most of the things available
were chocolate, biscuits, fast food like pizza and burgers and soft drinks. When we looked
at the food we were offering, we realised that only about 15% of it was healthy in any way.
So we knew we had to make a change.

Host: What was the first thing you did to start setting up the programme?

Claudia: No one wants to be told, ‘start eating better food, stop sitting around, go to the gym’ - even
if that’s what you want to do. We wanted it to be something that was employee-led. So we
created a well-being committee. We got someone from each department to set up a quick
meeting with their team and ask questions. Then each member of the committee gave us
feedback from their departments.

Host: What did the results show?

Claudia: We got a lot of really good ideas. It showed that our employees wanted to be more healthy
but did not have a way of telling us what they wanted before and some of them were really
easy to set up. For example, 96% of people wanted to be able to get a flu vaccine at work.
They didn’t have time to go and get one in their free time. 34% of people were interested in
starting a running club at lunchtime. We did this and it’s actually become even more popular
since then, so much so that we now have two clubs: one on Mondays and Wednesdays and
one on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’ve had ten employees run in the London Marathon as
a result of that, with about 50 people including myself who went along to cheer for them.
It was a really great day out and really boosted morale in the office. We also raised over
£3000 for charity. Of course, we changed the food too. We made sure that the vending
machines sold fruit and water. There is still some fast food available for those who want it,
but now 60% of the meals available are nutritious and well-balanced.

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Host: So what differences have you seen as a result of the programme?

Claudia: We’ve had it for over three years now. In that time, we’ve seen a 73% decrease in the
number of sick days people are taking. We’ve only had one employee who has needed
time off for longer than three days. Days off from mental health issues have been reduced
by 97%. People are also staying longer. We’ve also had fewer people leaving. On average,
we used to get around ten to fifteen staff leaving each year. During the last three years,
that is down to two to four. It’s just such a great place to work now and you can see it in
the way people work and talk to each other. There’s a lot more laughter now. I love it.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This introduces students to the concept of well-being and gets them to think about their experience of it as well
as look ahead to how a company can improve it which is discussed in the article and listening exercise.

2. Skimming for gist

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit for this task to encourage skimming rather than reading in detail.

A. What is a well-being programme?

B. Improving health
C. Improving positive feelings
Sources:
www.businessmagazine.org/what-is-corporate-wellness-and-why-does-it-matter-20620/
www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/benefits-of-wellness#:~:text=Some%20examples%20of%20wellness%20b
site%20canteen%205%20Health%20and%20wellness%20competitions

3. Scanning for vocabulary

5 mins.
This focuses on useful vocabulary for the topic that students can use to discuss questions later.

1. balanced 2. subsidise 3. massage 4. depression

5. long-term 6. healthcare 7. morale 8. reputation

4. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to read more carefully and complete the notes with one, two or three consecutive words from the
article.

1. tempted 2. physical problems

3. lunchtime 4. sick leave
5. mental health issues 6. costs
7. add up 8. invest in

5. Focus on vocabulary

10 mins.
Part A
Ask the students to complete the vocabulary with the missing vowels, using a reference if needed. Then ask them
to complete the sentences to use the vocabulary in context.

1. anxiety 2. atmosphere

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3. committee 4. vaccine
5. marathon 6. boost
7. nutritious 8. exhausted
Part B

1. vaccine 2. exhausted 3. nutritious 4. committee

5. marathons 6. boosted 7. anxiety 8. atmosphere

6. Listening for details

5 mins.
Ask the students to listen to the interview and match the information to the numbers.

a. 59 b. 160 c. 15 d. 96 e. 3000 f. 73

7. Listening comprehension

10 mins.
Ask the students to complete the notes as best as they can after the first listening and then listen again to check
their answers.

1. heart problems 2. unhappy 3. soft drinks 4. feedback

5. running club 6. fruit and water 7. decreased 8. two to four

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

9. Extended activity/Homework

10 mins+
Part A
Ask students to complete the exercises using the article as a reference. Then ask them to complete the sentences
with their own words. Be sure to give them feedback on their work. You might want to put some example
sentences on the board for students to look at and decide if they are correct or not. Point out that there is a
formula for creating this structure and if they can use the formula, they can express many ideas.

1. invest ≀ will 2. will be

3. As well as having 4. If ≀ can
Part B

1. present 2. future
3. is 4. is
5. isn’t 6. -ing form
7. can
Part C

1. increasing 2. When 3. isn’t

4. might 5. will go 6. do

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