There is a clear correlation between health and wellbeing benefits and productivity levels, new research has revealed.
60 per cent of SMEs and 69 per cent of medium-sized businesses who currently offer health and wellbeing benefits say the provision has boosted productivity levels while 22 per cent say such benefits provision is ‘critical’ for improving productivity.
But the Association of British Insurers (ABI) who carried out the research, also found that just one in five of SMEs are actually aware of the legal requirements around workplace benefits provision: information about workplace benefits must be provided to all new employees from day one, known as the Day One Statement.
Throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic we have seen employers communicate and engage with their employees at unprecedented levels, which included raising awareness of the various benefits, services and support that’s available for their health. With lines of communication open, it not only makes sense to continue on this journey but at the same time think about how we can do it even better – making communications more personalised, de-cluttering and honing in on the issues that really matter to people, and devising creative multi-channels to reach them. Whilst the updated requirements around Day One Statements would have been new to some, clearly outlining all the benefits offered to employees is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate an employer’s total Employee Value Proposition, how these benefit employees, and to ensure people reach out for help and support (such as medical intervention) early on should they need it.
The ABI findings follows the Aon 2021 Global Wellbeing Survey Working Well which looked at how employers across the globe are currently addressing wellbeing as well as the impact wellbeing programmes have on a company’s overall performance.
Employee satisfaction, work-life balance, employee productivity and stress reduction were all cited as some of the key business issues across the globe.
82 per cent of global employers said employee wellbeing is important to them, with 55 per cent already having a wellbeing strategy in place.
The survey also asked employers about the five elements of wellbeing to ascertain which areas they incorporated into their workplace strategy:
- 70 per cent of companies said they include a physical wellbeing element
- 67 per cent said they include emotional wellbeing
- 65 per cent said they include social wellbeing
- 54 per cent said they include financial wellbeing
- 68 per cent include work/life wellbeing.
In addition, 42 per cent of employers also said employee engagement was a challenge when developing or launching wellbeing initiatives.
Last year, Aon’s Rising Resilient report revealed that 37 per cent of employers invest in wellbeing strategies to improve productivity.
The research shows that wellbeing works to enhance company performance – and whilst we often talk about the value of aligning the wellbeing strategy to the business strategy – there is no more direct way to do so than to link people’s health, happiness and wellbeing to the total success of an organisation.
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