Less is more could be what’s needed to support employee wellbeing

A more tailored and personalised approach to employee wellbeing interventions could be what’s needed

‘Less is more’ could be what’s needed to support employees.jpg

From Brexit to the Covid-19 pandemic to the cost-of-living crisis, the UK has undergone constant change over the past few years.

Covid-19 was a watershed moment, leading to a rapid rise in flexible working in many industries, a trend that looks here to stay.

There are also shifting attitudes from a new generation of employees entering the workforce, forcing businesses to give more meaningful consideration to environmental, social and governance, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives.

No longer is it enough to simply approach ethical and cultural issues as a tick-box exercise.

Alongside a war for talent, employers and employees alike have also been buffeted by the economic problems of recent years, while high inflation and the energy crisis have taken their financial toll on employee households.

Rising productivity loses

Alongside this, we’ve seen rising productivity losses, driven in large part by poor employee health.

According to the latest findings from Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace survey, more than one-third of employees are physically inactive, more than half eat an unhealthy diet and around two-thirds are overweight or obese.

With poor mental health in the UK steadily rising in recent years, it might not come as a surprise that 10% of workers are at risk of suffering from depression.

All of this has meant that the average number of lost productive days has more than doubled in the past 10 years, to an average loss of almost 50 days per employee.

The estimated annual cost of lost productive time to the UK economy now stands at £138bn, according to Britain’s Healthiest Workplace.

Less can be more

Of the workplace productivity losses being reported, 90% of it can be attributed to presenteeism (the rest absenteeism), according to the data, suggesting employees are at work but not performing effectively due to a broad range of factors both physical and mental.

Concerningly, more than 80% of employees are suffering from at least one lifestyle risk, such as an unhealthy diet or a lack of physical activity, all of which can negatively affect workplace wellbeing and productivity.

By helping staff improve their lifestyles and provide support to those who may need it, employers are also likely to benefit from a business perspective, too.

As many as 85% of employees who used workplace wellbeing interventions said they found them useful. However only 25% had used them (despite 70% being aware of them).

What this points to is a possible disconnection between workplace wellbeing solutions and their uptake and whether they are being properly communicated and effectively executed.

With organisations on average offering a whopping 46.5 interventions, there is also a sense that a more streamlined ‘less is more’ approach could be what’s needed, providing it’s tailored and accessible enough across an entire workforce.

One-size does not fit all

While clinical and lifestyle risk factors are clearly affecting employees, the picture differs depending on age groups and demographics.

Britain’s Healthiest Workplace findings show, for example, that while older employees are more often in poorer physical health, mental health is a bigger challenge for younger workers.

Under-35s reported higher levels of depression and financial worries compared with older workers. We also saw comparative levels of burnout across workers under the age of 50. These findings reflect wider studies highlighting the mental health plight of younger people in the UK.

Gone are the days when offering employees complementary office yoga, an EAP and healthy snacks were enough to engage all employees. What’s needed is support that’s personalised and tailored to them, and therefore more meaningful.

It’s also true that some employees don’t want to improve their lifestyles. For example, around two-thirds of employees who smoke or drink alcohol are unmotivated to change.

Human nature also presents barriers. Behavioural economists would say people are overly optimistic when it comes to their health and that they need instant gratification through rewards (or loss aversion) to help them make a positive lifestyle choice over a more tempting one.

Happier, healthier, more productive

This is where a data-driven, incentive-based rewards programme offering personalised nudges based on an individual’s risk profile can really make a difference, alongside private medical support for those physical and mental health conditions that cannot be prevented.

Solutions that achieve higher levels of employee engagement, drive meaningful behaviour change and integrate seamlessly into the everyday lives of staff (inside and outside of work) are far more likely to not only get people moving, but also help organisations move with the times.

A version of this article originally appeared on VitalityAdviser Insights Hub.