How to create a proactive, preventative physical wellbeing strategy in the workplace
The need for UK employers to support physical wellbeing is perhaps greater than it has ever been.
NHS waiting lists remain stubbornly high, GP services are difficult to access, health risk factors such as obesity are increasingly common, and sickness absence rates are on the rise.
The health of those in work has declined, with over 3.7m people in work with a medical condition that limits the type or amount of work they can do, while the number of people out of work due to poor health is at a record high, reaching 2.8m in 2024.
Unless employers step into this healthcare gap and implement strategies for improving the health of their workforce, they will be at the mercy of these worsening trends and pay the high price of poor productivity and high absenteeism.
Employers who make the positive choice to actively address this agenda will not only benefit from a healthier workforce, they will also improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, increase employee engagement, and position themselves as employers of choice in today’s competitive recruitment market.
Here are some strategies employers can deploy to help improve the physical wellbeing of their employees.
Measure data, identify priorities
Implementing health and wellness programs can be expensive, and with a proliferation of new providers in the market it can be easy to spend money without knowing whether you are having a positive impact.
So before committing to solutions, identify the metrics you want to target. Gather available data, such as claims data on health and protection benefits, sickness absences or staff surveys. Ask yourself what more data you need to make informed decisions about your priorities.
A small investment at the outset to provide greater insight into your workforce health risks, such as an employee health check programme, can focus valuable time and limited budgets on the primary health risks facing your business.
Engage your teams from the start
Involving employees in the development of wellbeing initiatives can lead to more effective programmes.
Engaging staff representative bodies at an early stage and keeping them informed can play a crucial role in helping employees understand what you’re doing, why you decided on your chosen strategy and how it benefits them.
If your community understand why your programme was chosen, and how it will benefit them, they are far more likely to engage with it.
Educate and support employees
Effective programmes are built on positive health education.
Employers should not lecture employees on how to live their lives.
It’s far better to focus on helping them to understand personal health risks and ways in which small lifestyle changes can have a large impact over time.
The best way to understand this is through our own health data. Health checks, or ‘know your numbers’ programmes, offer the most direct route to an engaged workforce.
Online health risk assessments, targeted webinars or bite-sized video or infographic content can also help employees access relevant information about their personal health risks.
Once people understand their health risks, help them to take steps to reduce these. Offering healthy eating options in the workplace is a great place to start, while caffeine-free options for office hot drinks can help those with high blood pressure. Nudging the workplace culture away from cake days and Pizza Friday’s can help those struggling to break unhealthy habits.
Leverage your employee benefits to the full
Physical wellbeing is closely linked to mental health as well as financial wellbeing.
Employees who are anxious about their finances are more likely to suffer from poor sleep and stress. Tired and stressed employees are more likely to become physically ill.
You have to adopt a holistic wellbeing strategy.
Today’s benefits can include a wealth of wellbeing support resources, such as online information portals, discounted gym memberships, digital physiotherapy and GP services, mental health apps and counselling helplines.
Make sure your HR team and your line managers understand all the support services available, and actively promote them.
Your workplace pension provider will likely have a range of financial education and support tools that can be made available to employees to improve their relationship with finances. These can include online tools, webinars or even onsite information sessions, all of which can help improve financial wellbeing in the workplace.
Ergonomic workspaces, including home workers
The working environment can still be a driving cause of poor physical health in businesses with a home or hybrid workforce, as many employers are witnessing the rise of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in the years since the pandemic. Employers are used to conducting workstation assessments for factory or office-based workers, but when it comes to workstation assessments for home and hybrid workers, out of sight can too often mean out of mind.
Creating ergonomic workspaces plays a crucial role in preventing avoidable MSK conditions, and employers can choose from a range of remote or digital solutions to assess and improve home workstations.
Conclusion
Taking a proactive approach to the physical wellbeing of employees can ultimately improve the health of the whole organisation.
By implementing proactive strategies, employers can create a healthier, more productive and engaged workforce, with positive impacts on sickness absence rates, staff turnover, employee benefit costs and, ultimately, the bottom line.
In partnership with Broadstone
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