Engage Health Group

Tag: Employee benefits strategy

  • How to measure employee wellness in the workplace

    How to measure employee wellness in the workplace

    The success of any organisation lies in the happiness of staff and employee wellness, where companies promoting a culture of health and wellbeing will inevitably attract great employees and lead to productivity levels soaring.

    Employee wellness in the workplace getting more attention

    The importance of employee wellness in the workplace is gradually growing – with 44% of organisations now having a wellbeing strategy, an increase of 4% from 2019 (Health and Wellbeing at Work CIPD Report)! These statistics positively point towards a future where the business world is shifting the traditionally reactive response to employee health and wellbeing, to one which is preventive and addresses the source.

    Many different factors fall under employee wellness – stress management, mental health, fitness, nutrition, work/life balance, and even financial wellbeing – making setting up a successful employee wellness programme difficult! Not only this, each employees’ wellbeing, and ways of dealing with wellness, are individual and personal to that employee. Employee wellness in the workplace must be tailored and made relevant to each employee.

    So, what is employee wellness in the workplace? And how can organisations measure and tailor their employee wellness programmes to be the most effective for their needs?

    What is employee wellness in the workplace? 

    Employee wellness in the workplace should always be rooted in and built around the needs of the employee. The definition of employee wellness is broad and inconclusive, making it incredibly adaptable as health means something different in different contexts and for different people. It can range from focusing on the quality and safety of the physical work environment, to how employees feel about the work they are doing, to the general work climate and emotional connection between employees and their employers.

    A healthy, productive, and happy employee should feel like:

    • Their work is valuable and meaningful
    • They are healthy, happy, satisfied, and having fun
    • They identify with the company they work for
    • They have a strong work/life balance
    • They trust in their employer to support them

     

    Many employers are still approaching employee wellness from a reactive standpoint, only focusing on the health of their staff after medical and mental health concerns have been raised. To successfully integrate employee wellness into a workforce, employers instead must focus on the happiness of their staff – establishing a culture where staff are content and feel protected at work.

    Why does employee wellness need to be a priority? 

    Over recent years, employee wellness has become more and more needed, especially dealing with the fallout from the pandemic and facing possibilities of uncertain futures of lockdowns and isolation. In this climate, it is apparent that organisations need to demonstrate support for their employees, to establish programmes that target everyone in their workforce.

    YouGov research commissioned by Push and Solent Mind (2021) surveyed 1000 UK working adults addressing how much work-life impacted overall wellness. The key contributing factors among those who felt their work-life contributed to their worsened wellbeing:

    • 31% said too much change in the workplace
    • 30% said unclear communication
    • 27% said employees do not feel comfortable talking about mental wellbeing in the workplace/to their employers

     

    The YouGov research highlights just how influential employers can be over supporting the wellness of their staff, and how impactful making the workplace a positive space to be present in can be.

    Benefits of promoting employee wellness in the workplace

    The link between a healthy workforce and the success of an organisation are inherently tied together, producing many positive outcomes for both employer and employee. Listed below are some benefits of supporting employee wellness:

    • Improves morale and productivity
    • Increases employee recruitment and retention
    • Improves engagement
    • Reduces absenteeism and presenteeism
    • Reduces stress
    • Reduces costs

     

    (Top 5 Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programmes).

    For these benefits to come to light, organisations need to internalise employee wellness practices into the workforce, and constantly look for ways to improve and adapt strategies so to help as many employees as possible.

    How can employee wellness be measured in the workplace? 

    The most important part of implementing a successful employee wellness strategy is knowing how to understand what your employees want, how to measure its success, and being able to identify areas that need improvement.

    Establishing a fluid, moving approach to your employee wellness programme will ensure that your organisation is constantly working and adapting to specific employing needs – being preventive rather than reactive.

    Listed below are easy and simple ways employers can measure employee wellness in the workplace:-

    Employee Surveys: 

    • employee feedback/ratings e.g., productivity levels against happiness levels, sick days, overtime, fluctuation rates
    • gives regular updates of how employees are feeling/reacting
    • insights into specific issues e.g., stress, anxiety, bullying behaviour

    HR Data: 

    • number and frequency of absences (however, mental health absence is often reported as a physical illness by employees, so cannot rely solely on data)
    • quantity rates of work
    • staff retention

    Culture of Openness:

    • managers to set up regular one-to-one meetings – personal check-ins
    • Mental Health First Aid training
    • Promote an environment where it is normal to talk about wellness – managers can set the example here by opening to colleagues about themselves

    Management Information: 

    • Demographics on age, gender, cultures – tracking trends
    • Provides an understanding of the challenges different employees may face

    Spotting Risk Areas: 

    • Track changes in feedback
    • Recognise themes in data and employee responses

     Ask “Why Wellness?”:

    • Help establish what it is employers want to achieve
    • Provides a point which employers can measure success against
    • E.g., “Is there an increase in absenteeism?” “Is there a problem with employee stress?”

     

    Each of these measures will ensure that employers can tailor to whatever employees want and need, using wellness and incentive programmes to set up a workplace culture that prioritises community and the support of its staff.

    Different approaches to employee wellness

    Determining how to measure employee wellness in the workplace goes together with deciding which approach you will take in your strategy. Every company is different – some will only need a simple approach of setting up one-to-ones, whilst other organisations will go fully in with a vast and comprehensive wellness plan.

    Either way can work! But no matter how many programmes and workshops you include, if they are not centred around prioritising the health of employees, your plan will not be successful.

    Below are a few ideas and products, from the Engage website, and the aspects of wellness they tackle:

    Stress Management: 

    • Meditation
    • Pension Services

    Mental Health: 

    • Educational Workshops including stress, mental resilience, and nutrition
    • Mental Health days off
    • Mental Health First Aid training
    • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 24/7 counselling services under Health Cash Plan/ Employee Assistance Programmes

    Fitness: 

    • Basic Health Screening
    • Full Health Screening
    • Gym flex
    • Fitness classes
    • Step Count benefits

    Work/Life Balance: 

    • Employee Benefits Platform
    • Benefit Promotion – remote and on-site
    • Flexible working options
    • Wellbeing Days
    • One-to-One meetings for regular updates on both work and personal events

    Hosting an Employee Wellness Week: 

    • Instant boost in engagement
    • Use the momentum of the event to distribute key health and wellbeing information
    • Combination of different talks, workshops, activities, skills, and experience sharing

     

    These are just a few ideas that keep employee wellness in the workplace at the forefront of conversation and products that help employees feel comfortable and looked after.

    At Engage Health Group, we recognise that every customer has different needs, and we will work closely to make sure every product, tool, and insurance strategy complement each other and ensure far-reaching and positive results throughout your workforce!

    (6 Reasons Why Businesses Offer Top Employee Health Screening to Top Staff).

    The impact of covid over employee wellness in the workplace

    Employee wellness in the workplace should always be a priority, but the presence of the pandemic still hanging over us has pushed it even more into the foreground. Covid has meant increased importance on providing health and wellbeing support for employees. 54% of people working from home would like their employer to introduce mental wellness days, with another 54% of homeworkers saying their employer should address needing to be present and online (Canada Life Research, January 2021).

    Covid has taught us many things, one being that we are now much clearer on what’s important to us, prioritising wellbeing over other goals such as career advancement that used to dominate work culture. Organisations are becoming much more person-led – valuing their employees and providing support – and these are the companies that will be successful in the aftermath of the pandemic.

    3 pillars of employee wellbeing

    No matter the size or depth of your employee wellness plan in the workplace, if the strategies are centred around employee needs, they can only help your business to succeed. Implementing a full and detailed employee wellness plan will target the 3 Pillars of Wellbeing – physical, mental, and financial – ensuring that employees are getting focused support in any aspect of life they need.

    At Engage, we follow the same procedure of focussing on these 3 Pillars of Wellbeing through a people-centred benefit design, creating a benefits strategy that is adaptable to any type of work culture and employees. Find out what else can be involved in employee wellness here.

    Contact us at Engage, where we give free no-obligation advice and support. Whether you need advice on the health of your employees or simply want to improve general employee wellness to boost the morale of your company, we at Engage will help simplify any employee benefits need.

  • The employee benefits that Generation Z need – and why

    The employee benefits that Generation Z need – and why

    Which Employee Benefits do young people want from your business?

    As Gen Z workers enter the workplace, a new approach to employee benefits may be required. Gen Z bring in a new way of thinking along with different demands. These ‘Zoomers’ are defined as being born between 1997 and the early 2010s, raised on the internet and social media, and highly conscious of issues related to authenticity.

    Who is Generation Z?

    Defining features of Generation Z can be broken down into four parts:

    • Undefined ID – fluidity in how you define yourself
    • Communaholic – a lack of differentiation between circles of friends / inclusive
    • Dialoguer – avoidance of confrontation
    • Realistic – holding a pragmatic approach with all the information

     

    A lot of issues surrounding Gen Z are rooted in identity with emphasis on individual expression, dialogue, and a search for authenticity. An interest in human rights emerges from this (LGBTQ+, race and ethnicity, and feminist issues). Companies must adapt their employee benefits schemes and work communities around causes and interests, rather than previous economic backgrounds.

    Being brought up surrounded by immediate information and social media, Gen Z has a shifted perspective towards consuming for access rather than possession. Organisations and businesses can also do this by focussing on stability in the workplace rather than immediate gratification of high salary.

    Why offer employee benefits for Generation Z?

    The research from the 2018 Perkbox survey (The Great Perk Search) suggests that Generation Z place more importance on workplace perks than other generations. Over a third (36%) of Gen Zers say employee benefits influence their decision to accept a job.

    The Great Perk Search also reveals that just 38% of Gen Z feel entitled to benefits at all. Generation Z grew up surrounded by economic deficit and will continue to feel financial hardship from huge university debts of £45k. Therefore, it is no surprise that financial stability is a high priority for this generation as they carry out their quest for ethics, identity, and truth.

    Just like every other generation, Gen Z benefit from the more general insurance schemes alongside specific perks. Private Medical Insurance, Group Income Protection, Critical Illness Cover, preventative health screening, all remain an important basis in creating a safe and stable work environment.

    How are Generation Z’s demands different from older generations?

    As the world shifts so does the different components in the Employee Value Proposition (EVP), where salary is now only one aspect that is appealing for employees.

    The 2018 survey of 2315 British adults working in part-time and fulltime employment carried out by Perkbox (The Great Perk Search) provides detailed statistics on the popularity and necessity of different employee benefits that are on offer, creating comparisons between generations.

    Below is a comparison between Generation X (born between mid-1960s and 1980s) and Generation Z’s top 5 most popular employee benefits:

    Generation X – Employee Benefits Generation Z – Employee Benefits
    • 95.68% activities / clubs
    • 88.84% supermarket discounts
    • 86.45% bring child to work
    • 85.81% free coffee & hot drinks
    • 85.72% pool table
    • 85.59% paid holiday on birthday
    • 84.62% free coffee & hot drinks
    • 82.83% flexible hours
    • 81.51% free lunches
    • 80.35% private healthcare

    Gen Z are more focussed on smaller perks that bring stability and benefit everyday life, such as free hot drinks and flexible hours. Whereas the percentages from Gen X prioritise team activities and balancing the work-life relationship, with family being important.

    It is clear from the Gen Z list that saving money where possible is essential, with private healthcare and free lunches, which Gen X also share. However, there is more emphasis on team building areas in the workplace from Gen X. This suggests that jobs were more centred at work compared to the flexible hours that are in demand from the younger generation.

    Other employee benefits that appeal to Generation Z

    Where finance is a leading factor for what Generation Z look for in employee benefits, the added extras that make up the work environment are also important to ensure companies are keeping up with needs.

    Examples of changes that can make a difference:

    • Establishing a communal approach to work where employees feel comfortable and open to raise issues
    • A relaxed dress code – to allow for individual identity and comfort
    • Flexible hours – start & finish times / shift patterns
    • Parking access – free parking
    • Transport aid – e.g., bus passes supplied
    • Fresh fruit – promoting health

     

    The Cycle to Work Scheme, set up in 1999, is a perfect example of companies providing opportunity for health and fitness as well as a cheaper means of travelling to work for employees. With this scheme, employees can save 25-39% on a bike and accessories, promoting an environmental and healthy approach.

    Impact of COVID-19 on Generation Z’s employee requirements

    A high level of furlough, working from home, and a loss of jobs during the covid pandemic has produced feelings of boredom, isolation, decrease in fitness, and general anxiety. 57% young adults say they feel the things they do in life are not worthwhile. Also, more than half of 16–24-year-olds (54%) are anxious about the end of restrictions and returning to work (from Aviva’s research).

    As a result, desired employee benefits have changed for younger people. The focus has shifted to address the issues that have come out of COVID-19. Some examples could be:

    What’s the point?

    Altering employee benefits to change with the times, and the generation, is essential for many reasons but mainly to create a safe and stable environment for employees approaching organisations. Some key reasons are broken down below:

    • To improve employee morale
    • To increase productivity / motivation
    • To create a better work environment and culture
    • To improve employee engagement
    • To reduce absences
    • Lead to employees feeling happier and hard working
    • To increase staff retention and reduce staff turnover

     

    Generation Z’s young and fresh perspective is needed in shifting the face of the workforce and business. With little high demands in comparison to past generations, why shouldn’t they receive great employee benefits?

    Contact Engage Health Group to discuss how your business can support your young employees’ wellbeing. We are happy to give you free, no-obligation advice.

  • Home working: a game-changer for Employee Benefits strategies?

    Home working: a game-changer for Employee Benefits strategies?

    Let’s face it, 2020 has been extremely challenging for HR decision makers. Employee safety and wellbeing have become the number one topic in organisations and senior management teams have had to move mountains to adapt working processes to cope.

    One of the most prominent changes has been in the number of employees who are working from home. And people seem to like this new arrangement. According to a March 2020 survey by Glassdoor, 67% of UK employees felt that they could be just as productive and benefit from the work-life balance and flexibility that comes with working from home. So if people’s attitudes are changing, what does this mean for an organisation’s employee benefits strategy?

    Of course, not all employees can or should work from home. But the pandemic has certainly erased assumptions that companies had about the necessity of all of their staff to be in their place of work to get the job done. Information gathered by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggests that 61% of employees who were not furloughed in April were working from home on a full-time basis. That’s an increase from 24% before the pandemic hit. If there’s anything certain in all of this uncertainty, HR departments can expect a future increase in the number of flexible working requests that they receive on the issue of working from home.

    Radical shifts in thinking are not just the preserve of employees who are wondering if working from home could be the ‘new normal’ for them. With dangers of financial losses from reduced trading in all kinds of sectors, senior managers are looking at empty offices and asking themselves if they’re all really needed when technology can carry the communications load.

    Is your employee benefits strategy still fit for purpose?

    Going beneath people’s desire to work from home reveals all sorts of emerging attitudes about wanting to feel safe and wanting to protect their families and others. But it has also resulted in people valuing some extra time with their loved ones or getting more work done and rejecting the prospect of returning to the dreaded commute. It’s not unreasonable for employees to ask for their changes in attitudes to be supported by their employers.

    From the company point of view, the debate revolves around the advantages and disadvantages of working from home versus the costs of paying for office space. Increasing home working options removes understandable concerns associated with social distancing, wearing face masks and using communal areas. And if people do go back to work in the same numbers, companies may also need to consider improved ventilation and additional cleaning, which only adds to the costs of what may already be an expensive line item.    

    The other aspect of a review of employee benefits revolves around employee costs. Sickness absence costs have probably risen and there may well have been an increase in demand by employees for wellbeing services such as counselling, occupational health consultations and health screenings. The pandemic has increased levels of anxiety and prevented people from getting their usual access to NHS medical and dental services, leading to further health problems. If your benefits strategy has no provision for these types of services, it may be time to ask for advice on what is available.

    Return on investment on employee benefits

    Achieving the best value for your employee benefits package doesn’t have to mean that values are compromised. For example, the trend for open plan spaces and smaller working spaces has compromised people’s privacy. A hard edged business proposal to reduce office space and redirect that savings into a revised benefits strategy may be pushing on an open door as far as employees are concerned.

    There’s no doubt that flexible working, including home working, is a benefit in itself. A successful review, though, should take account of the kinds of benefits that home and other workers are likely to value these days. Some examples are:

    • Dental plans – The pandemic has reduced access to dental services so funded dental plans will help employees to be treated more quickly when dentists open up fully.
    • Business Health Insurance – There are all sorts of packages for all sorts of budgets but the most successful option will focus on the explicit health needs of the workforce.
    • Group Income Protection – The media has covered the real worries that employees have had about being off sick without sufficient sick pay. Income protection can help workers to feel more secure and less stressed.
    • Group Health Cash Plans – These are low cost and can provide a range of benefits to help employees cover the cost of eyes tests, dental work and initial consultations or tests to help get staff diagnosed and back to work quickly. They also often come with an Employee Assistance Programme included, which provides mental health support and, where needed, face to face counselling for employee struggling with their mental health, financial worries and a range of other issues.

    To argue successfully for a change in your company’s employee benefits strategy, it’s crucial to bring some number crunching to the table. A thorough analysis may include the following:

    • The impact of employee benefits on engagement, motivation and productivity
    • Costs that can be saved or expenditure that can be moved into employee benefits – for example, reduced sickness absence levels or reduced office space
    • The key reasons why the proposal is required to allow the company to adapt for the better
    • Acknowledgement of any potential disadvantages or risks, with proposed actions ready to remove or reduce them.

    One route that can assist is an independent review of your current benefits package and what changes you would like to make. Our consultations are designed to analyse at a critical level the employee benefits options that would fit your company’s organisational needs and your employee’s changing desires.

    At Engage Health Group, we work across the health and wellbeing marketplace to ensure you find the right policies at the right price, and ensure your whole benefits package provides prices from across the market.

    Contact our expert team at enquiries@engagehealthgroup.co.uk or call 01273 974419 for FREE no-obligation advice and support.