Wellbeing at Work

Wellbeing is most definitely the new buzzword in the world of business and especially the corporate world. In the ever increasing competitive market of recruitment, potential employees are consistently looking for benefits as well as good pay and with the some of the leading corporates such as Google and Microsoft that are really pushing the boat out in term of employee benefits and wellbeing. 

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Wellbeing is most definitely the new buzzword in the world of business and especially the corporate world. In the ever increasing competitive market of recruitment, potential employees are consistently looking for benefits as well as good pay and with the some of the leading corporates such as Google and Microsoft that are really pushing the boat out in term of employee benefits and wellbeing, other corporates and expanding businesses are feeling the need to illustrate the value they place on their workers in terms of looking after them both physically and mentally.
It comes as no surprise that companies that put effort into looking after their employees and helping them stay healthy means they themselves reap the benefits in less absenteeism and more productivity.
The general workplace has changed hugely over the last 20 years and we are now seeing employees put under increasing pressure from deadlines and workload, due to the much faster pace of life brought largely brought about by advancements in communication and technology. Companies now need to advance in the wellbeing of their staff in order to manage common health issues such as stress, musculoskeletal problems (back & neck), depression and anxiety not to mention general immune system problems that lead to the usual rounds of bugs and viruses.
I personally believe that every company with a workforce of 20 upwards should have a facility to assist any employees who have a health issue and also allow education within the workplace to encourage a pro-active approach to health from their employees. I particularly believe that employers should be able to offer assistance and practical support to those individuals that are diagnosed with a serious condition such as cancer, coronary disease, stroke and liver disease as well as many auto-immune diseases that are becoming all too common.
In the Office For National Statistics 2014 Report for Sickness in the Labour Market, it was found that workers in a workplace employing between 50-499 workers were 31% more likely to be off work due to sickness than a worker in workplace with fewer than 25 workers. In 2013, a total of 131 million days were lost due to sickness absences in the UK. Minor illnesses were the most common reason given for sickness absence but more days were lost to back, neck and muscle pain than any other cause. Largest workforces report highest sickness levels. 31 million days were down to musculoskeletal, 27 million were down to minor illnesses (coughs & colds) and 15 million were down to stress, anxiety and depression.

There is growing evidence of a strong link between the culture of a company and its productivity. Indeed what is more important is the employees’ perception of the company culture and not just what the employer says it is doing. Evidence and studies have found that companies with the most supportive cultures had the lowest productivity losses. In fact those with the strongest health & well-being cultures had a 45 per cent lower cost of lost productivity compared with those that had the worst cultures.
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I already help many employers with their company wellbeing requirements and believe that embracing health and wellness from a pro-active standpoint is essential in today’s ever increasing stressful environment. I certainly know that if I was employed and could get access to the relevant programmes through my employer then I for one, would be a very happy employee!
Health & Happiness!

Debbie Goodridge