health & wellbeing at work 2015

Health & Wellbeing at work 2015The need for cultural change

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ContentsWork-life balance: the enemy of wellbeing 5

We need to help employees help themselves 6

Communication is key 7

Time to change the culture 8

We need to ensure wellbeing matters in the boardroom 9

Wellbeing dates for your diary 10


Introduction Employee absence cost UK businesses £31.1bn in 2013*. That is the equivalent to just under 8% of the UK GDP for the same year. So it should come as no surprise that organisations are trying to find ways of tackling this issue and reduce sickness absence costs by focusing on health and wellbeing.

But are we doing enough?

This is what we set out to find out in our annual wellbeing survey, launched in 2012 and now in its third year.

This year when we asked HR professionals to tell us about what was going on in their organisations, whether they feel enough is being done to meet the requirements of employees and where they feel the stumbling blocks are we received 300 responses – our biggest yet.

A first glance at the research it would appear as though health and wellbeing has moved up the agenda, with near unanimity that there is a link between healthy staff and a successful business.

However, a closer look at our results shows it’s clear that much more needs to be done and that recognising the link is not enough.

This report looks at where organisations need to focus in the year ahead and what they need to do in order to ensure the actions they take around health and wellbeing deliver tangible improvements that their employees and organisatons need.

Andy Philpott

Sales and Marketing Director Edenred UK


The research The headline from our 2013 Wellbeing Survey was that HR practitioners need to spend time championing health and wellbeing if investment in these programmes is to materialise and have an impact.

One year on it appears that although organisations are starting to prioritise investment in health and wellbeing, they aren’t necessarily seeing the results they expect.

While HR and senior leadership teams are now champions for health and wellbeing in around three quarters of organsiations, it is clear that cultural resistance and communication are undermining the effectiveness of the measures that are put in place.

So while the argument that investment in health and wellbeing is vital in underpinning business performance, organisations still need to do more to realise the benefits.

The challenge for HR professionals is to drive cultural change within their organisations. This means re-educating management – senior, middle and line managers – so that they understand the importance of health and wellbeing and help drive a cultural change.

In the sections which follow we share the key findings of the research in the shape of five priorities for HR around health and wellbeing.

HR practitioners need to spend time championing health and wellbeing

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Work-life balance:the enemy of wellbeing

This year’s survey found that stress and pressure at work combined with a lack of work-life balance to be the biggest wellbeing concern for organisations.

The Edenred-Ipsos Barometer, published earlier this year, supports these findings suggesting we really do need to focus on finding a solution to reducing stress caused by poor work-life balance. It found over two-thirds (67%) of employees are kept busy by work outside traditional office hours, with over one-quarter (28%) citing time spent working from home as their main concern in their working life, making it the most pressing issue for workers in the UK.

The reality of the situation is we are now working longer and more employees have caring responsibilities. This is likely to increase and this will undoubtedly have an impact on the health and wellbeing of our workforce.

What does this mean for you? Poor health and wellbeing have an impact on productivity and the effectiveness of employees.

The key to solving this is to move from a reactive approach to one which is more proactive.

So rather than relying on Private Medical Insurance or an employee helpline to deal with the problems once they arise, organisations should try to identify the triggers of stress and pressure in the workplace.

This means looking at the challenges facing key employee groups and thinking creatively about how to support them. Workers with caring duties and working parents are two obvious groups where changes to working hours, flexible working and home working can cut the pressure on time and reduce the tension between life and work.

67% of employees are kept busy by work outside

traditional office hours.

1

In your opinion, what is the biggest health and wellbeing related problem among your employees?

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4 P

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We need to help employees help themselves

Whilst over four-fifths of employers (84%) who completed the survey said their organisations see health and wellbeing as important, just 36% of HR professionals said that their organisation recognised

health and wellbeing as an integral part of their people strategy.

What does this mean for you? The truth for many organisations is that their investment in health and wellbeing is already substantial in the form of benefits. The problem is that not enough is done to communicate what is available to employees.

Helping employees help themselves should be a cornerstone of a wellbeing strategy and this means linking specific health and wellbeing objectives to the benefits you offer so there is a clear and immediate action that employees can take when confronted with an issue that relates to them.

Better use of benefits like Luncheon Vouchers, healthy food and drink options at staff canteens, gym memberships and Cycle to Work schemes can all make a significant difference to employee health and wellbeing.

2

Just 36% of HR

professionals said that their organisation

recognised health and wellbeing

as an integral part

of their people strategy.

Which of these issues are organisations failing to tackle proactively?

Presenteeism 65%Supporting employee resilience (ability to handle pressure) 64%Employee morale 56%

Health costs 56%

Work-life balance 55%

Staff motivation 49%

Increasing productivity 48%

Employee retention 44%

Employee performance 41%

Employee engagement 32%

Sickness absence 32%

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Communication is key

Aside from budget limitations, one of the biggest blocks to improving employee health and wellbeing is the effectiveness of the communication around what is on offer. Some 59% of practitioners said poor

communication and take up of wellbeing initiatives prevented them from reaching their goals.

What does this mean for you? Good promotion is at the heart of the success of a wellbeing programme to ensure initiatives get the visibility needed to achieve the greatest return on investment.

The communication channels you use will depend on your organisation and workforce but focusing on educating employees about the health and wellbeing issues they face is as important as reminding them about the support on offer and what they can do. It is this combination which will boost understanding about health and wellbeing.

It’s also important to link your communication to initiatives that may be going on in your business. If you are going through change or a period of pressure to deliver or fulfill contracts then you should promote specific areas of support which are available.

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3

59% of practitioners

said poor communication

and take up of wellbeing

initiatives prevented them from

reaching their goals.

1 Proactive - we educate staff about health and wellbeing -18%

2 Reactive - through measures like employee assistance programmes and private medical cover - 28%

3 A balance of proactive and reactive measures – 49%

4 We are not doing anything – 8%


4

Time to change the culture

Our survey found that in some three quarters of organisations (76%) primary responsibility for health and wellbeing falls either to HR or the senior leadership team.

While this a sign that the issue is being taken seriously, our research found that it is still a challenge to get buy-in and acceptance that wellbeing needs to be a priority elsewhere in the business with 55% of respondents rating culture as a block to progress.

What does this mean for you? Employers who fail to get managers to see the importance of health and wellbeing related initiatives will not reap the business benefits. HR and business leaders must put an emphasis on working with line managers and individuals to commit to promoting a culture of wellbeing. Whilst most HR professionals understand the importance of wellbeing they are only going to be successful in getting buy-in from managers by showing the benefits to them, the business and explaining specifically the measures they can take to effectively promote a health-conscious culture.

Managers are more focused on profit.

Lack of understanding/knowledge of senior leadership.

It’s not considered to directly impact the productivity of the business. It’s also considered an unnecessary cost.

The senior teams in our organisation view all our staff issues in a transactional way. They typically don’t listen well to the arguments.

What hinders the effectiveness of wellbeing programmes in your

55% said culture was a block to progress.


5

We need to ensure wellbeing matters in the boardroom

Our research found that in almost two-fifths of organisations (37%), the main barrier to a healthier workforce was a lack of getting buy-in from the top.

With the senior management team responsible for setting the priorities in a business and backing them with investment, it is clear that even though this is an issue for a minority of businesses, it is an issue which needs to be acknowledged when building the case for a wellbeing programme.

What does this mean for you? There are few, if any, organisations who would not be able to improve productivity and performance through better employee wellbeing. We also have to accept that in some businesses and sectors, talking about health and wellbeing can appear paternalistic and alienate senior managers. The challenge for HR is to work hard to link wellbeing issues to business performance in order to make the case for change and investment.

37% said the main barrier

to a healthier workforce was

a lack of getting buy-in from

the top.

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Wellbeing dates for your diaryThere are plenty of awareness weeks around a number of wellbeing issues through the year. Linking activity in your business into these is a great way of creating momentum around specific issues. Many of the organisers also create toolkits and guides for you to use. Here are some that we think are worth looking at:

No-smoking Day www.nosmokingday.org.uk 11 March 2015

Walk to Work Week www.walktoworkweek.org.uk May 2015

National Eye Health Week www.visionmatters.org.uk 21st – 27th September 2015

National Work-Life Week www.workingfamilies.org.uk September 2015

Alcohol Awareness Week www.alcoholconcern.org.uk November 2015

Wellbeing dates for your diaryThere are plenty of awareness weeks around a number of wellbeing issues through the year. Linking activity in your business into these is a great way of creating momentum around specific issues. Many of the organisers also create toolkits and guides for you to use. Here are some that we think are worth looking at:

No-smoking Day www.nosmokingday.org.uk 11 March 2015

Walk to Work Week www.walktoworkweek.org.uk May 2015

National Eye Health Week www.visionmatters.org.uk 21st – 27th September 2015

National Work-Life Week www.workingfamilies.org.uk September 2015

Alcohol Awareness Week www.alcoholconcern.org.uk November 2015


About EdenredEdenred helps organisations engage and motivate people to achieve enhanced performance.

This is achieved through provision of unique and unrivalled total reward and recognition solutions, including the widest range of incentives, rewards and benefits solutions, individually designed to fit your audience, your goals and your budget.

We do this through vouchers, prepaid cards, online platforms and digital & SMS products to help engage and motivate your employees, customers and business partners.

• Employee Benefits

www.edenred.co.uk/employee-benefits

• Incentives and Rewards

www.edenred.co.uk/incentives-and-rewards

• Expense Management

www.edenred.co.uk/expense-management

• Communication Services

www.edenred.co.uk/communications-services

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To discuss how Edenred can support your health and wellbeing strategy through reward, benefits and communication, call us today on 0844 875 3388 or email [email protected]

All research results subject to rounding up*PwC Research 2013

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health & wellbeing at work 2015

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