Employee wellbeing

Employee wellbeing and health promotion initiatives are essential components of any successful organisation, helping to ensure a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Enlightened employers understand the link between healthier, energised staff and their bottom line; and employees prefer to work in an environment in which their physical and emotional wellbeing needs are recognised and met.

Benefits

While bosses have a legal duty of care to their employees, implementing proactive wellbeing programmes to help prevent injury or illness may offer significant business benefits. For example:

• a decrease in employee absence will allow the organisation to operate at a higher – and more profitable - capacity
• getting employees back to work after illness helps reduce the risk of losing experienced employees and reducing the time and expense of recruiting new staff or relying on temporary staff
• the organisation will gain (or protect) a reputation for caring about its employees which can enhance the brand, and help attract quality staff and customers
• employees who feel ‘cared for’ by their employers are often more happy with their lot and perform better, which can help reduce staff turnover and increase productivity
• creating a healthier working environment can lead to fewer compensation claims

Wellbeing initiatives

Employee wellbeing initiatives do not have to incur big budgets or affect productivity to be effective.

For example, they could include:

• holding a series of health promotion events during work breaks to provide staff with information on lifestyle issues such as quitting smoking or drugs, nutrition, relaxation techniques or drinking responsibly  
• access to physiotherapy or counselling services for musculoskeletal or mental health disorders (two of the main reasons for employee absence)
• providing discounted corporate membership to local gyms or slimming clubs
• switching vending machine contents from sugary or fatty snacks to more healthier ones such as dried fruit and nut mixes or flapjacks
• ensuring healthy options are available in the staff canteen

And even if such initiatives involve a financial outlay at the start, they could offer greater savings in the long term.

Case study 

A local council recently introduced a pilot physiotherapy service for employees who reported in sick with muscular or joint pain.

They found that although the scheme cost £20,000 to implement over three months, the initiative was estimated to have saved £60,000 by drastically cutting the number of sick days affected employees were off work during that period.

At MOHS, we are finding an increasing number of our clients are asking for our expertise and guidance when implementing wellbeing or health promotion activities for their workforce.

And, judging from the feedback to these initiatives, it seems employees are equally keen to do as much as possible to protect their health, particularly as so many now need to work for longer and retire later.

For more information about our employee wellbeing services, please call 0121 601 4041 or email info@mohs.co.uk