Businesses need to invest now to ensure declining employee health doesn’t impact their firm’s future.
As we move full swing into 2019, we’re recognising that more companies are waking up to the idea they need to implement policies and practices which look at the holistic health of their staff – including their physical, mental and financial health.
But we want to remind business owners the time to act is now…
Our CEO Kevin Rogers said:
“Some may keep putting it at the bottom of their to-do list, or even finding reasons not to consider introducing a health and wellbeing strategy at all. But there are so many benefits of doing so, for both the employees and the company as a whole – and actually there could be trouble brewing for those who choose not to act.”
Increased sickness rates, presenteeism (where an employee turns up to work despite being unwell), absenteeism (taking time off with no good reason) and reduced productivity and team morale are all potential side effects of a lack of support at work.
The knock-on effect to businesses of poor employee health is hugely underestimated. Not only can long-term and consistent absences become more prominent, but the financial impact to employers can stack up from reduced productivity and essentially, profitability.
Our Tackling Poor Health in the Workplace white paper published last month brings together research from public and private sector sources to provide a comprehensive guide for businesses on the compelling reasons to implement better practices such as flexible working, confidential Employee Assistance Programmes and cashback on healthcare services.
Within our research we found that 86 per cent of people had experienced presenteeism within their company, two in five employees calling in sick had said they were physically unwell in order to cover up a mental health issue, and around 415,000 staff were missing from work at least one day each year due to dental problems – all of which could potentially be reduced if their health and wellbeing was more of a focus within their workplace.
“With an ‘always on’ work culture where we are never too far away from email alerts or notifications on our phones (potentially adding to stress or worry), one in four people experiencing a mental health problem in any given year, and musculoskeletal disorders (conditions affecting muscles, bones and joints) accounting for 6.6 million lost working days annually, the time to do something really is now,” he concluded.
You can download our White Paper here: https://www.paycare.org/tackling-poor-health-in-the-workplace 😊