Record sick days expose need to shake up employee benefits

Benefits have a vital role to play in boosting wellbeing and mental health in a national workforce that often feels it is on the ropes

As workers continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, the number of working days lost to sickness have jumped to a record high, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS found that around 185.6 million working days were lost to sickness or injury in 2022, almost 25% more than in 2021 and the highest since records began back in 1995. The organisation said that women and older workers were among those to report the highest rates of sickness absence.

People are tired. They have come through a world-changing pandemic and walked into rapidly spiralling prices that are playing havoc with their finances.

Against this backdrop, it’s never been more crucial for employers to consider how they can best help their employees through benefits, including tailored healthcare offerings and employee assistance programmes (EAP) that can boost their wellbeing and mental health.

Reimagining benefits with flexibility in mind

After all the upheaval of recent years, employees have had a rethink about what’s really important to them in their working life. Thanks largely to the fallout from Covid-19, the boundaries between work and home life have become blurred, and the ability to work more flexibly is now the new normal.

This has created new challenges that are eroding that much sought-after connection between colleagues.

Less time together can prevent people from feeling part of a team, hitting morale and wellbeing. It also increases pressure on employers to meet the differing demands of different demographics, and their differing attitudes and expectations towards their job – especially amid tough economic conditions.

So, for the modern employer – regardless of sector – understanding the specific needs of their employees has never been more important. But with more people working remotely and multiple generations occupying the workforce, it’s much harder to know if these needs are being appropriately met.

Benefits can provide the right solution at the right time, and play a big role in meeting these evolving employee demands, as well as attracting and retaining talent. But far too often they are locked behind a dated, slow and unintuitive user experience.

In much the same way that the world of work has become more flexible, so must the way in which forward-thinking employers provide both their benefits package and the platform that delivers it. The good news is that there are new, innovative, and modular solutions in today’s market.

By incorporating a smarter benefits platform that is flexible and intuitive, employers can greatly enhance engagement, foster loyalty and retain talent. The right platform can make employees feel valued and foster a feeling of belonging in a digital-first hybrid world.

Adopting a more data-driven approach

Data is one area where employers should pay particularly close attention.

It’s critical for businesses to properly make use of the abundance of data and analytical tools available to better understand their employees and how they are making use of their benefits package. But far too often, this data is patchy or incomplete, with standard benefits platforms unable to track take-up or provide breakdowns by team, age, gender and other factors.

Best-in-class data tools, however, do have that ability to segment by group, meaning that employers are more informed, and can better communicate with their employees based on their specific requirements. This can promote the take-up of relevant benefits and ensure that well-meaning employers are actually servicing the individual needs of their employees.

Whether it’s someone looking for the right EAP to support their mental health, a new employee looking for a cycle-to-work scheme, or a worker approaching retirement and considering how they will draw on their pension, being able to tailor communications and gain real insight into their use of benefits is vital to ensuring an inclusive working environment in the digital age.

At Zest, we are providing the UK’s businesses with a customisable online platform that drives employee engagement and take-up, working seamlessly with existing and new benefits packages, with no need to change benefits providers, or compromise on the user experience. We’re helping them to implement a more suitable benefits service at pace.

We believe that a bespoke benefits offering - easily accessible digitally through consumer-grade technology - boosts employee engagement, promotes loyalty, and will help to bring those sick day numbers down.