Wellness management is a system used to tackle the problem of sickness absence in the workplace. This article relates to wellness at work strategies; the benefits of introducing such a strategy; and also some recommendations as to how an organisation could introduce a wellness strategy as part of its employee management function.
What is a wellness strategy?
Currently, 166 million working days are lost annually due to sickness absence. This costs employers in the UK over £1.6 billion per year, which is equivalent to £588 per employee, with each employee taking just over nine working days off sick. According to the CIPD Employee Absence Survey (2004), 93% of employers considered sickness absence to be a significant cost to their business but only 46% actually monitored that cost.
A wellness strategy is a good business investment and is also a method for engaging and retaining employees. Modern organisations have a duty of care for employees and realise that in the long term a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. Wellness is essentially about managing a healthy workforce so that they do not get sick. If employers can investigate the causes of absence then they will be in a position to tackle it - and once they have tackled it effectively they can begin to reap the benefits.
Benefits of a wellness strategy
A wellness strategy promotes a preventative approach to sickness absence. Some national companies are already seeing the benefits of introducing such a strategy. For example, Unilever ran a vitality programme by employing a fitness trainer to get managers to become more physically active and provided a nutritionist to give one-to-one sessions. After three months almost everyone taking part reported improvements in health, energy, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Another example is Standard Life Healthcare who, in conjunction with professional health management firm vielife, established a health management programme in 2002. Employees have access to a personal online programme which analyses their health and lifestyle. They then receive advice on stress, nutrition, sleep and exercise. Standard Life has also provided staff with free fruit and nutritional bars to promote a healthier way of life. A health fair was held where employees had the opportunity to speak to health experts and have their blood pressure and weight checked. Employees even requested exercise classes to be held in the workplace. Healthy eating is heavily advertised throughout the company and healthy food is offered in the staff restaurant. As a result, staff turnover has decreased dramatically (22.5% in the first year); absence levels have been reduced (by 4.9%); and the overall health and productivity of the company has improved.
Benefits of a wellness strategy
Increased motivation and commitment from staff
Decreased stress levels
Promotion of better work-life balance
Improved recruitment and retention
Better business performance
Better employer image
Increased profits
Creating a wellness initiative
Before such an initiative is in place, an organisation must first of all clarify what it is looking to gain from implementing a wellness strategy, deciding on benefits such as increased profitability or a better work-life balance. Presenting a sound business case for a wellness strategy is crucial to ensure that support is available from the management board, and that they realise it is an issue which will ultimately improve business performance. Staff should also be involved from the outset to help shape and embed the strategy. Any initiative should be based on what has been gained from employee feedback and wellness tools can be piloted to make certain that they are right for the organisation. Measures should be put in place to gauge whether the programme has been effective or not in contributing to organisational goals.
Finally, the programme should be an important part of creating an holistic approach to establishing an organisation as a great place to work.
Possible options to consider
These are just a few examples of wellness initiatives which companies have put in place to tackle sickness absence:
maintain contact with absent employees and hold regular absence review meetings
organise awareness events, e.g. ‘heart week’
provide information and advice on nutrition, fitness, stress - this can be done easily by posting information and advice on noticeboards, in newsletters, emails, the intranet, etc.
provide easy access to gym or other fitness facilities
allow employees to claim cash back for the cost of certain medical treatments
make full medical assessments available in the workplace
provide health education programmes to prevent stress
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