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Simplyhealth’s engaging employees through health and wellbeing report

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Page 1: Simplyhealth’s engaging employees through health and ... · engaging employees through health and wellbeing report. Foreword Nick Kemsley is Co Director of the Centre for HR Excellence

Simplyhealth’s engaging employees through health and wellbeing report

Page 2: Simplyhealth’s engaging employees through health and ... · engaging employees through health and wellbeing report. Foreword Nick Kemsley is Co Director of the Centre for HR Excellence

Foreword

Nick Kemsley is Co Director of the Centre for HR Excellence at the Henley Business School.

Nick has had a successful corporate career across six sectors, and has led strategic HR and Organisational Development functions in three global businesses. After working within a number of world renowned organisations including Mars, Prudential and Rolls Royce, Nick joined the Henley Business School to focus on the development of HR capability across the industry. He now helps local, international and global organisations to deal with a variety of people and organisational issues.

Over the years, a lot of research has been conducted on the subject of employee engagement. The cumulative findings are broadly as follows:

1. Undeniable proof that high engagement directly drives superior financial performance in business has yet to be found. Interestingly, it is clear that business success can make it easier to generate higher levels of engagement. However, links between high engagement and improvements in absenteeism, discretionary effort and employee retention do exist, so there is a correlation with productivity

2. Engagement is not a ‘one size fits all’ exercise, and different people have different ‘levers’ which enable or disenable engagement. These include financial, social, product, reputational and work life factors

3. A key factor in engagement is the psychological contract that an employee has with an organisation, and within this the sense of feeling worthwhile and valued is vital

Although health and wellbeing is only one factor in engagement, it is clearly relevant, both in direct terms through reduced absenteeism, and indirectly via supporting enhanced discretionary effort through generating a feeling of being valued. So what does this new research by Simplyhealth say? For me there are three key headline findings:

1. Around a third of employees do not feel at all valued or valued very much. This is worse in the public sector

The high percentage here is a real concern when businesses are increasingly relying on employee discretionary effort and loyalty to help them through hard times. Of course it is a bit of a vicious circle, with the need for often drastic cost management impacting headcount and the money that a business can afford to spend on its employees.

2. Employees feel that there is less focus on health and wellbeing than a year ago, but employers disagree

Volume of work and a change in the way that employers are managing health and wellbeing issues appear to be key factors impacting employees’ views. As structures become ever leaner, and expensive external recruitment is deferred, employees have more work to do. One thing which most of business recognises is that we are good at taking out the people, but not the work. Looking at the results, could a rebalancing by employers from more financial to non financial vehicles for supporting health and wellbeing be behind this difference in views?

3. The impression that an employer gives around the degree to which they care about their health and wellbeing appears significant

The importance that employees place on benefits like private medical insurance, dental plans, healthy eating and cycle to work schemes etc is clear, and the symbolic nature of disinvestment appears to land badly with employees.

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Contents

Introduction 4

The changing face of employment 5

How important is health and wellbeing in the workplace? 6

The public and private sector divide 7

Physical, emotional and financial health and wellbeing engagement tools 8

Going the extra mile 10

Measuring employee engagement 11

Conclusion 12

What we do for our people 13

About Simplyhealth 14

About our research 14

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Introduction

Employee engagement is vital for any organisation. If employees don’t connect with the values of an organisation, appreciate the contribution they can make, or do not feel that their employer cares or values them; they will not feel committed to the organisation or motivated to perform well.

Employee engagement is a vast subject and can take many forms. The Institute of Employment Studies defines it as: “A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values. An engaged employee is aware of the business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two way relationship between employee and employer.”

For the purposes of this research we have focused on the impact that health and wellbeing has on this area. There are three aspects of health and wellbeing that work alongside each other to contribute to employee engagement; physical, emotional and financial. We believe that employers who address all three aspects could improve the engagement levels and ultimately the productivity of their people. This study looks to address this and evaluate the true value that taking care of employee health and wellbeing has on motivation, loyalty and productivity.

The research exposes some stark contrasts between the views of employers and employees. At the same time it provides evidence to show that employees who feel their health and wellbeing is being looked after are more likely to remain loyal, engaged and productive.

We collected the responses of 1,005 workers, 504 Managing Directors, Human Resources Directors, Divisional and Company Directors and 204 Finance Directors using an online fieldwork methodology. More details of our methodology can be found at the end of this report.

Financial health

Phys

ical

hea

lth

Emotional health

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The changing face of employment

While the UK officially emerged from recession in the autumn of 2009, rising inflation, higher VAT and Government cuts have all put pressure on companies and employees. Our report has found that workloads have increased for many employees, who often have to work longer and cover more ground. This is having an impact on their perceptions of health and wellbeing.

18% of employees feel the situation at their work has changed for the worse and their employer now cares less about their health and wellbeing than they did a year ago. More than half (51%), say this is because their workloads have increased. 42% cite a change in how absence is managed, saying that employers no longer help workers back to work if they are ill or absent. This shows the effect long term absence can have on colleagues, who have to take on extra duties.

The proportion of workers who feel that there has been a negative change is broadly in keeping with what employers feel. 16% admit that they do now care less. This rises to 24% of Managing Directors and HR Directors, who are often closer to the health and wellbeing strategy, and dips to 13% for Finance Directors.

Employers are open about the pressures their companies currently face:

• 56% say they have less time to focus on caring for the individual

• 34% say they’re less able to help workers if they’re absent or ill

• 26% admit that the amount of work expected from employees has grown without due consideration into the potential impact on their health and wellbeing

• 23% say they’ve removed health benefits in the past year

Despite these pressures, 36% of employers say they actually care more about employee health and wellbeing than they did a year ago. This is far higher than the 11% of employees who believe this to be the case. Employers cite the following reasons for this improvement:

• 51% say they care more about employees as individuals by praising them and giving them recognition

• 49% have given line managers the skills and training they need to improve employee health and wellbeing

• 45% say health and wellbeing is fully considered when allocating, or increasing workloads

• 36% say more focus is put on helping people back to work

This shows that employers do not always have to focus on specific health benefits. Instead taking the time to think about the overall health and wellbeing of employees, and recognising the impact of increased work loads or the need for recognition can have an impact.

It’s clear that employees and employers are aware that the workplace is a very different place than it was before the recession. Issues such as stress, lack of recognition and reduced management visibility can all contribute to employees feeling less motivated and valued. This can have a negative impact on their loyalty towards the organisation and their productivity. However, introducing a recognition scheme or equipping leaders with the skills they need to care for the health and wellbeing for their teams are small, affordable changes that can make a positive difference.

16% of employers say they care less about health and wellbeing, while 36% say they actually care more

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How important is health and wellbeing in the workplace?

Our research paints a mixed picture about how important health and wellbeing is in the workplace. Employers are much more likely to say they care about it, while often employees do not believe this is the case.

Attitude towards health and wellbeing in the workplace

Employee view

Employer view

Employer does not care about it at all

10% 4%

Employer doesn’t care about it very much

25% 5%

Employer cares but not consistently

33% 25%

Employer cares about employee health and wellbeing

22% 36%

Employer cares about employee health and wellbeing a great deal

10% 30%

If, in total, 91% of employers do care about health and wellbeing then they are failing to demonstrate this effectively to employees. This could be having a negative impact as more than a third of employees (36%) say that their emotional and physical health and wellbeing is most important to them at work. That’s more than those who feel career progression opportunities are most important (30%).

Health and wellbeing also has a direct impact on the loyalty employees feel towards their employer. 75% of those who feel that their employer cares a great deal about it describe themselves as very loyal, which is a key indicator of employee engagement. As with most relationships, the employer’s relationship with the employee relies on a sense of mutual respect and trust to be successful. Demonstrating to employees that they care about their wellbeing is a key way for employers to show staff that they are valued.

In contrast just 3% of employees describe themselves as loyal when they feel that their employer doesn’t care about their health and wellbeing. Three out of ten of these employees said they were actively looking for work elsewhere, a number seven times higher than those who do feel their employer cares about it. As well as showing the very clear role health and wellbeing plays in achieving employee engagement, this shows the cost of failing to take health seriously. There’s a real danger of losing talented staff if employers overlook it. 16% of employees also say they would put more effort in at work if they thought their employer took more interest in their wellbeing.

36% of employees say that their emotional and physical health and

wellbeing is most important to them

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The public and private sector divide

The public sector is under immense strain as the Government seeks to make major cuts to public services to tackle the budget deficit. Our research has highlighted stark differences between the public and private sector. 26% of public sector workers feel that their employer cares less about health and wellbeing now compared to a year ago (13% more than private sector workers). This view is supported by public sector employers as 27% admit that they care less, suggesting the major cuts in the public purse are impacting on their ability to deliver an effective health and wellbeing strategy.

Private sector workers are twice as likely to say their employer cares a great deal about their health and wellbeing compared to public sector workers (13% to 6%). This appears to be having an impact on levels of employee engagement. Public sector workers are much more likely not to feel valued compared to their private sector counterparts; 40% do not feel valued at all or very much, compared to 26% in the private sector. This is perhaps unsurprising given the pressure on the public sector.

Lower levels of engagement in the public sector have also resulted in fewer employees being willing to go the extra mile for their employer. 12% of public sector workers say they go the extra mile all the time compared to 18% of private sector workers. Public sector workers are also more likely to say they ‘never’ go the extra mile - 5% compared to 3%.

It seems that it is difficult for public sector employers to justify investment in health benefits when such deep cuts are being made. However, an unmotivated and less productive workforce can also have an extremely negative impact on the ability of employers to deliver and meet objectives. Physical, emotional and financial benefits could help staff cope with any additional stress they are under, which can have a direct impact on their engagement levels. Not all benefits have to cost money though, for instance starting a swap shop can help employees financially in a small way and also help them engage and interact with colleagues at work.

Private sector workers are twice as likely to say their employer cares

a great deal about their health and wellbeing compared to public sector

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Physical, emotional and financial health and wellbeing engagement tools

Engaged employees are more likely to act as organisational advocates and can play a powerful role in promoting their organisation as an employer of choice.

CIPD Employee Engagement factsheet, revised July 2010

Physical health and wellbeing

43% of employees do not feel their employer does anything to look after their physical health at work. This rises to more than 55% in the retail and catering, and travel and transport sectors. There’s also a marked difference in the responses of skilled and unskilled workers. 64% of unskilled manual workers say their employer does nothing, compared to just 26% of graduate entry level employees.

14% of employers agree that they do not do anything, and these differences are highlighted when asked about specific benefits.

What is done to aid physical health and wellbeing?

Employee view

Employer view

Encourage staff to eat healthily

12% 30%

Actively discourage ‘over work’

9% 35%

Provide specific health benefits

16% 30%

Encourage exercise or weight management classes

8% 30%

Encourage preventative health initiatives eg flu jabs

14% 15%

Access to subsidised canteen

14% 25%

Health focused benefits eg gym membership, private medical insurance

12% 22%

Provide free fruit 7% 20%

Initiatives such as cycle to work schemes

13% 18%

If employers are providing as much as they say they are, they are failing to communicate tools and tactics effectively to employees. These differences in opinion could mean that employees are not accessing important health and wellbeing benefits, and employers are not getting value from their investment.

Employees who recognise that they have some kind of health related benefits in place are markedly more likely to feel their employer cares about them than those who do not. 74% of workers who say their employer does not care about their health and wellbeing say there are no health related benefits in place.

74% of workers who feel their employer does not care about their

health and wellbeing say there are no health related benefits in place

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Emotional health and wellbeing

The differences in opinion continue when it comes to emotional health and wellbeing. 47% of UK employees do not feel their employer does anything to look after their emotional health, compared to 13% of employers who admit this is the case. However, in many cases the employer also seems to recognise that the minimum is being provided in this area.

What is done to aid emotional health and wellbeing?

Employee view

Employer view

Show compassion in the event of personal issues

33% 55%

Listen to their individual needs

22% 51%

Have an open door policy on personal wellbeing

11% 42%

Encourage or enable good work life balance

15% 31%

Provide helplines or face to face counselling

13% 27%

Pride themselves in coming up with solutions to health or wellbeing problems at work

17% 22%

At a time when work loads are increasing less than a third of employers are encouraging employees to have a good work life balance. This is likely to add to stress levels for staff, yet less than a third of employers provide access to helplines or counselling to help staff if the pressure starts to mount up.

Financial health and wellbeing

Financial wellbeing appears to be at the bottom of employers’ priorities, as almost two thirds of UK workers (62%) say their employer does nothing to help them with their financial health and wellbeing. This is drastically different from the view of employers, with less than 2% saying they do nothing to care for their employees’ financial health.

It could be argued that employees’ wages contribute to their financial health, however when compared to physical and emotional benefits, the number of employers providing other financial benefits is lower.

What is done to aid financial health and wellbeing?

Employee view

Employer view

Introduced or provide childcare vouchers

12% 26%

Operate a staff discount scheme

19% 25%

Initiatives where staff can swap benefits

7% 22%

One day courses on how to save money

2% 18%

Financial education events 3% 18%

Financial workshops to deal with tough economy

4% 16%

Host sessions explaining company share plans or pensions

8% 15%

It could be argued that an employees’ financial health has less to do with an employer than their physical and emotional health. However, taking time to help staff deal with the tough economy, and understand how to get the best value from their employee benefits, is an important part of caring for their overall wellbeing. Financial difficulties can have a major impact their emotional health and wellbeing.

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Going the extra mile

Engaged employees have a sense of personal attachment to their work and organisation; they are motivated and able to give their best to help it succeed - and from that flows a series of tangible benefits for organisation and individual alike.

Engaging for success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement - David MacLeod and Nita Clarke

Being willing to go the extra mile for an employer is a key indicator of how engaged an employee is. If they feel valued and a sense of loyalty to their employer they’re more likely to step up to the plate and deliver more than expected when necessary. The motivation for employees to do that can often come from their level of job satisfaction, whether they feel inspired and whether they believe they can make a worthwhile contribution.

Having a workforce that’s willing to do more than expected can have many positive benefits for employers, most notably higher productivity, reduced staff turnover and reduced sickness rates.

Our research shows that the overriding majority of workers are willing to go the extra mile. 16% say they do it all the time and 58% say they frequently do. Employees believe they demonstrate this by doing the following:

• 66% work beyond their official hours

• 64% take pride in everything they do

• 61% step up if a colleague is away or underperforming

• 40% volunteer to do a difficult task

• 40% give emotional support to colleagues

• 21% defend difficult management decisions

Health and wellbeing directly influences the motivation of employees to go the extra mile. If employees feel their employer doesn’t care about it, they are four times more likely to say they ‘never go the extra mile’. Likewise, employees who do feel their employer cares about their health and wellbeing are more than three times more likely to ‘go the extra mile’ all the time (51% compared to 16%).

Employee goes extra mile

‘My employer cares a great

deal’

‘My employer doesn’t care

at all’

Never 3% 14%

Rarely 6% 24%

Frequently 40% 46%

All the time 51% 16%

However, although the vast majority of employees say they go the extra mile, they feel that this is unreciprocated. Three quarters of UK workers feel their employer never (24%) or rarely (51%) goes the extra mile for them. Only 21% of employees say their employer frequently goes above and beyond what they would expect and just 4% say they always do.

This highlights the need for employers to do more than just provide a salary. Employees want to feel that working extra hours or defending management decisions is recognised, reciprocated and valued. This also shows that there are differences of opinion around what is expected and what is considered as ‘going the extra mile’ – increased communication and managing expectations are key to overcoming this.

Although three quarters of employees believe that their employer never, or rarely, goes the extra mile for them, the view of employers is very different. Only 6% say they never go the extra mile for their employees and 36% say they rarely do. The majority (46%) say they frequently go the extra mile, while 12% say they always do. This rises to 15% of Managing Director and HR Directors, and drops significantly to 5% of Finance Directors. 51% of employers say they take into account personal circumstances when reviewing health and wellbeing policies, while 45% actively try to reduce stress in the workplace, which is above and beyond what is expected.

Employees who feel their employer cares about their health and

wellbeing are three times more likely to ‘go the extra mile’

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Measuring employee engagement

The vast majority of employers (85%) believe there is a link between investing in health and wellbeing as a way to engage with employees, yet only 14% have seen direct evidence of this. This drops to 7% of Finance Directors. This highlights how difficult it can be for employers to measure how effective their health and wellbeing strategy actually is.

Strikingly, 76% of employers do not correlate employee health and wellbeing to productivity, a figure that rises to 86% for Finance Directors. Those that do more than most tend to be in the IT and Telecoms, HR, Finance, Healthcare and Education sectors.

The overwhelming majority of employers (93%) also admit they do not measure return on investment of employee benefits. However, when asked which health related benefits they believe would have the greatest return on investment in terms of productivity, private medical insurance was the most popular.

Health related benefit %

Private medical insurance 37%

Health screening 34%

Health cash plans 24%

Employee Assistance Programmes 24%

Dental plans 24%

Gym membership 23%

Vaccinations 17%

Cycle to work schemes 16%

Only 27% of employers say they routinely ask the workforce about their health and wellbeing. Finance Directors seem to be markedly detached from this as only 16% agree that this is a case. 14% of employers state they ask about it occasionally. A number of different measurement tools are used:

Health and wellbeing measurement tools

%

Absence rates 59%

Staff surveys 46%

Staff retention and turnover rates 36%

Overall business performance 30%

Productivity benchmarking 20%

Benchmarking using engagement data 11%

30% of employers definitely have an accurate idea of how their employees feel, while 47% say they probably do. One in five admits they do not really know how their employees feel, while 3% confess they definitely do not know if their employees are engaged or not.

Again, Managing Directors and HR Directors tend to be closer to their employees. Only 3% say they definitely don’t have an accurate idea of how their employees feel, compared to 6% of Finance Directors.

Employees are far less likely to believe that their employers asks about their health and wellbeing, as only 7% say they are routinely asked, and almost half claim they are never asked about it.

The lack of measurement in terms of productivity and return on investment can make it hard for employers to see the true value of health and wellbeing benefits. However, the fact that employees regard them so highly shows how important they are to engagement

93% of employers do not measure return on investment of employee

benefits

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Conclusion

As we have seen, employees who believe their employer cares about their health and wellbeing are more likely to be loyal, go the extra mile and stay in their jobs for longer. This can bring huge gains for employers who deliver more effectively through increased productivity and performance and can reduce staff turnover, sickness absence and recruitment costs.

However, it’s important for employers to cater for the physical, emotional and financial health of employees. Taking the time to treat employees as individuals, whether that’s by showing compassion in the event of personal issues, or providing health benefits tailored to their needs can show that they are valued.

It’s clear there’s a huge difference between the benefits employees believe they are provided, and those that employers say they provide. Regular communication should be an integral part of any health and wellbeing strategy, (including targeted communication at potential time of need) so employees are aware of the support that’s available. There’s no point having benefits in place if employees do not appreciate or value them, as this will do nothing to increase their engagement.

The fact that so few employers measure the impact health and wellbeing benefits can have on productivity, or return on investment may be short sighted. Companies need loyal, talented and productive staff to remain with them, not just in difficult times, but also when the economy starts to recover. Employees who feel they are treated well and are being taken care of are more likely to stay with the organisation in the long term. Those who don’t may move on at the first opportunity, and that’s a risk that many companies cannot afford to take.

Importantly, Finance Directors, who are often the ultimate decision maker on spend on benefits and health and wellbeing appear to be distanced from levels of employee engagement. Unless they fully understand what is valued by employees they cannot truly know the impact certain benefits can have.

A final word from Nick Kemsley

If we look for a common theme in this research we could perhaps make the following observation. As cost management has bitten into organisations in the last 12 to 18 months, employers seem to have put more focus on supporting employee health and wellbeing through more indirect and non financial means.

This has perhaps led employers to believe that they’re still caring about health and wellbeing, but their employees have mixed views. This is possibly because they’re seeing a change in some of the symbols such as health benefits and approaches to absence management.

It is clear that softer approaches to driving engagement through health and wellbeing do pay dividends for employers and employees alike. Given that there’s unlikely to be a sudden relaxation in the financial constraints around employee health and wellbeing, employers would perhaps be wise to consider the most cost effective means to maintain tangible key benefits, whilst at the same time focus on finding ways of enhancing engagement which are less reliant on money.

The survey clearly shows that small gestures count, and this certainly supports what I see as a trend in business to increase non financial recognition through employee and senior team led recognition schemes. Many of these are simply mechanistic ways of saying ‘thank you’, or involve small but symbolic remuneration.

However, I don’t think that these measures will necessarily ever replace the need for more tangible and symbolic investment in employee health and wellbeing, but in the short term the aim should be to at least compensate for the impact of cost management measures. Over time, it may be that employers offer a balance of cost optimised benefits provision and a suite of non financial, manager led activities.

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What we do for our people

Jo Boxer, Head of Culture and Engagement

Our health and wellbeing strategy considers the ‘whole life’ needs of our employees and includes emotional, physical and financial wellbeing.

At Simplyhealth, we know that our people’s health and wellbeing makes a big difference to how they feel at work, and that this comes across in their interaction with customers. We ensure they have a healthy work life balance, so they’re able to focus on our customers and deliver excellent service. We also provide wellbeing support that includes free fruit, desk side massages, healthy eating days, flu vaccinations, financial guidance, occupational health support, an employee assistance programme and much more.

Our new employee health plan combines a cash plan and private medical insurance. This means our people can access treatment promptly, and look after their everyday healthcare needs. The plan is provided to every member of staff, regardless of their job role, level in the organisation or the number of hours they work.

We take the time to understand the needs of our employees and the wellbeing interventions they value. We conduct an annual employee survey called Express Yourself, which is completed by around 80% of our people every year. In 2010, 90% said they were willing to work beyond what is required in their job to help Simplyhealth succeed. Following the survey we develop local and group action plans to drive change in key areas.

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About Simplyhealth

We currently help more than 11,000 businesses provide access to health and wellbeing benefits for their staff. Our corporate paid, employee paid and flexible benefits include private medical insurance, health cash plans, dental plans and self funded health plans. We also provide employee paid cash plans and dental plans to major companies.

Simply Cash Plan

Employees can claim back money towards the cost of visiting the dentist, optician and complementary therapists such as chiropractors and physiotherapists, up to annual limits. Up to four children are covered for free, and the employee can add their partner if they’re not already included.

Simply Dental Plan

Check-ups, treatment and emergencies are all covered by the Simply Dental Plan, up to an annual limit. It also includes a cash sum if the employee is diagnosed with mouth cancer.

Private health insurance

Our broad range of private medical insurance provides cover for acute medical conditions and helps people get the treatment they need when they need it. Our plans are flexible and can meet the needs of businesses whatever their size or budget.

Simply Self Funded

With a self funded health plan companies invest in their plan to meet the cost of claims, rather than paying premiums to an insurer. It means they only pay for claims incurred, not an annual premium. Through efficient management by Simplyhealth, a self funded plan can maintain cost savings year after year and there’s no need to pay Insurance Premium Tax. For larger employers with more than 500 employees, self funded health plans are a good option. We’ve specialised in self funded health plans for 25 years, and we’re proud to say that every private hospital network in the UK currently uses Simplyhealth to administer their self funded health plans.

We became Simplyhealth after bringing together BCWA, HealthSure, HSA, LHF and Totally Active. We’re committed to doing the right thing, not just the easy thing, and going the extra mile to deliver a personal service to our customers. In fact, we’ve been helping people access affordable healthcare for almost 140 years and that’s because we think health is the most important thing of all.

We care about our communities and last year donated £1.6m to health related charities and good causes. In a world where so many people can’t be bothered, we’re proud to be the ones that can.

About our research

We collected the responses of 1,005 workers, 504 Managing Directors, Human Resources Directors, Divisional and Company Directors and 204 Finance Directors using an online fieldwork methodology. The research was carried out between 27 April and 3 May 2011.

It abides by the Market Research Society (MRS) code of conduct. Based around principles of data protection legislation and research ethics, the MRS code has the confidence of the business community, Government and regulators.

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Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, registered and incorporated in England and Wales, No.183035. Registered office: Hambleden House, Waterloo Court, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1LQ. Authorised and regulated by

the Financial Services Authority. Your calls may be recorded and monitored for training and quality assurance purposes.

Simplyhealth contacts

If you’re a business call:

0845 075 0063

If you’re an intermediary call:

0800 294 7303

If you’re a journalist call:

0844 579 2266

Email:

[email protected]

Online:

www.simplyhealth.co.uk/forbusiness

Follow us on Twitter:

@simplyhealthUK

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/simplyhealth

Postal address:

Simplyhealth Hambleden House

Waterloo Court Andover

Hampshire SP10 1LQ

1105

053