A Norwich wine merchant is looking to further improve the welfare of its staff, as it announces its intention to open an in-house bar.
Naked Wines has submitted a licensing application to Norwich City Council to host a free bar for staff at its premises in Chapelfield Road between the hours of 5pm and 8.30pm on Fridays.
The move comes amid an ongoing focus on the wellbeing of staff, with Naked Wines saying it believes if its staff are happier then their customers will also be.
Kate Keogh from Naked Wines said: 'The idea that our staff are as happy and comfortable at work as they are at home is at the core of what we do.'
The company – which has an annual turnover of around £156.1m – was named this year as number 69 in the Sunday Times' Top 100 best small employers, and came 18th in the East of England.
This is attributed to sessions from yoga and meditation to high intensity training workouts, available to their Norwich workforce of 169.
The company, a former member of the Future50 scheme recognising Norfolk and Suffolk's fastest growing firms, also has a partnership with an occupational psychologist working out of a wellbeing room, which staff can visit during the day.
Ms Keogh said: 'We like to encourage staff not to stay too late on a Friday, and the idea is that people come down to the communal area after clocking off and have a beer or a glass of wine, building social relationships with colleagues.
'A strong company culture is vital in helping productivity and creating a happy workforce.'
She added: 'We hold regular wine tastings when we launch a new product so that the people on the phones to the customers have a comprehensive knowledge, but this will help to expand on that.'
For the firm, the results of this speak for themselves; in a survey carried out by Best Companies, 95% of staff reported that they believed people in their team go out of their way to help others.
Likewise, 82% of staff felt that their work deadlines were realistic, and 95% agreed that the organisation encouraged charitable activities.
Naked Wines would not be the city's first company to invest in an in-house bar. Accountancy firm Farnell Clarke opened its pub, The Tax and Pounds, at its premises on Norwich Airport business park in 2017.
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