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Supporting employee health and wellbeing is a must for today’s workplaces. By ensuring it’s employee-centric and meets the needs of a diverse workforce, organisations will reap significant benefits too.
These benefits can be significant. “Investment in wellbeing is a must to retain a productive workforce that is engaged and invested in the business,” says Emma Capper, UK wellbeing leader at Howden Employee Benefits. “A structured wellbeing programme is no longer a nice to have: it’s a must have.”
Healthy workplace
Figures from Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace 2023 show just how much of a drain poor employee health and wellbeing can be on a business. It found that through absence and presenteeism, employees lost 20 per cent of working hours. This represents an average of 49.7 productive days per employee per year.
Where there’s an underlying health and wellbeing issue, these figures shoot up. For example, those at risk of depression, fatigue and burnout lose 151 per cent, 141 per cent and 120 per cent more productive days respectively, compared to those who do not report these health issues. “Poor health at work is responsible for a £138bn loss to the UK economy each year,” says Lara Fascione, retention and adviser operations director at Vitality. “Employees are increasingly looking to their employer for health and wellbeing support too. Nearly half (46 per cent) of dissatisfied employees believe their employer could play a more active role in their health and wellbeing, compared to just 26 per cent of satisfied employees.”
As well as boosting productivity, looking after employee health and wellbeing can also increase engagement and support recruitment and retention. “Just knowing their employer cares about their health and wellbeing can drive loyalty,” says Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits.
Holistic logistics
A holistic approach to employee health and wellbeing can supercharge these benefits. Clark says she recommends that any health and wellbeing programme covers the four pillars of health – emotional, financial, physical and social. “This enables employees to bring their authentic self to work as they will feel seen and able to talk about their own health struggles,” she says.
Alongside covering every health issue, a holistic approach also recognises that all areas of health are interconnected. As an example, a knee injury could make it difficult for an employee to continue going to the gym or meeting up with friends for a kickabout at the weekend. Left untreated, this can affect their mental and social wellbeing and potentially lead to a downward spiral with comfort eating, weight gain and even chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
It also works in reverse, as Sarah Goodwin, head of strategy at Axa Health, explains: “Simple lifestyle changes can make a difference to all areas of an employee’s health. Just moving more will boost physical and mental wellbeing.”
This type of holistic approach means an organisation may want to consider extending health benefits to’ families. “If a loved one is ill or struggling it can really affect an employee’s health and wellbeing,” says Clark. “We’ve seen more employers extending cover to families but also insurers adding in family helplines.”
Life lessons
A holistic approach should also consider different lifestages to reflect the increasingly diverse workforce. Today’s workforces can span from teenagers dealing with emotional turmoil through to parents starting and raising families and older employees dealing with issues such as menopause, caring responsibilities, and physical health problems.
Vitality’s report highlights just how much health needs can vary with age. It found that the under 30s have higher levels of burnout (17 per cent), depression (14.6 per cent) and fatigue (55.6 per cent) than other age groups. Fascione adds: “Younger employees do experience more mental health issues while musculoskeletal problems are much more common among older employees. A well thought-through programme will reflect all the different lifestages that employees could experience.”
As an example, she points to the inclusion of Peppy’s menopause service in Vitality’s medical insurance. Providing this support in the workplace shows employees going through menopause that they are valued, which is particularly important when a report by the Fawcett Society and Channel 4 found that one in 10 women leave work due to symptoms.
Tailor-made
An effective health and wellbeing programme will cover every element of health but it’s also essential that it matches the specific needs of the organisation’s workforce. To achieve this, Capper recommends engaging with employees. “Employee listening is a must to understand what they want,” she says. “Businesses should then balance this against their data, looking at what support employees engage with, what they have good feedback on and what resonates.”
A variety of options are available to tap into employee thinking. As well as surveys and forums to gauge preferences, employee resource groups can be a valuable sounding board. The way this data is used will also shape the success of the strategy. Clark recommends taking a ‘you said, we did’ approach. “Once an employer has the data, it should feed it back to employees as it implements different initiatives. This is a great way to promote new services but also demonstrates the organisation listens and values its employees,” she explains.
Less is more
There are some potential pitfalls to avoid too. Although it can be tempting to add more and more services to meet every employee’s needs, Goodwin says that less is more when it comes to health and wellbeing services.
“It can be overwhelming for employees and difficult to promote if an employer uses lots of services,” she explains. “It also makes it difficult to determine which services really work, whether you’re an employer or an insurer. Fewer services can meet the needs of a diverse workforce but allow you to really understand and invest in them.”
Having a more streamlined range of services can also make it easier to integrate them so that employees receive more holistic support. For example, a virtual physiotherapy service could refer an employee to the EAP or mental health services if they say their bad back has made them feel isolated as they’re unable to socialise with friends and colleagues.
Shout about it
Building a health and wellbeing programme that meets the needs of the workforce is great but its success or failure is dependent on communications.
“To make it work, an organisation needs to tell employees it’s there, again and again and again. The communications campaign should be like a constant drumbeat,” says Goodwin. Insurers can help with this, linking messaging to awareness events or relevant news or celebrity stories. Variety is also important. “People digest information in different ways,” says Clark.
“Employers need to use a range of media, from emails and webinars to face-to-face presentations to reach as many employees as possible but also think about different ways to engage employees. Case studies can be effective, especially where hybrid working has reduced the likelihood of word-of-mouth recommendations.”
This communication exercise is likely to get easier too. Jeff Fox, strategic consulting lead at Lockton, expects artificial intelligence to transform not only the way organisations promote health and wellbeing but also how employees interact with the services.
“Rather than delivering generic information, which the employee often has to go out and find, artificial intelligence will customise everything they receive. It’ll deliver a much more employee-centric service, giving them the right information and support at the right time.”