Aviva launches wellbeing seminars to build employer capability

Aviva has launched a workplace wellbeing seminar programme aimed at helping employers build greater knowledge and confidence around supporting employee health and financial wellbeing.

Available free to Aviva workplace pension clients, the programme gives employers access to specialist wellbeing experts through bespoke online webinars covering areas including mental health, neurodiversity and physical wellbeing.

The launch reflects a growing focus within workplace wellbeing on equipping employers and managers with the knowledge to make better decisions about workforce health, rather than relying solely on providing employees with access to individual benefits and services.

Aviva said the seminars are designed to build employers’ knowledge, capability and confidence so they can provide more informed and effective wellbeing support.

A separate programme is available directly to employees, with webinars covering stress and resilience, work-life balance and physical wellbeing, including musculoskeletal health.

The combination creates a dual approach, with employers receiving guidance on how to create supportive working environments while employees have access to information that can help them manage their own health and wellbeing.

The programme draws on expertise from across Aviva’s Health and Protection businesses and also connects workplace health with financial wellbeing and longer-term financial planning.

Laura Stewart-Smith, head of pension engagement at Aviva, said: “Employers increasingly recognise the link between wellbeing, engagement and long-term performance, but many might not feel fully equipped to support their people in a meaningful way. This programme is about building confidence and capability – giving employers practical, expert insight, while also empowering employees to better understand and manage their own wellbeing. By taking a more joined-up approach, we want to help employers create environments where people feel supported and thrive over the long term. That support plays an important role in helping people feel more confident about planning ahead and engaging with long-term decisions such as pension saving.”

The launch follows Aviva’s introduction of a financial wellbeing tool for workplace pension members in March.

Initially made available to members of the Aviva Master Trust through the Aviva app and online pension portal, the tool is designed to help individuals understand and manage their financial health.

It also gives employers and trustees insight into employee engagement, which Aviva said can be used to tailor support to workforce needs.

The latest programme broadens that approach beyond financial health and highlights the increasing overlap between pensions, financial wellbeing, physical health and mental wellbeing within employer strategies.