Stress tops list of employer health concerns - People Management Magazine Online

Stress tops list of employer health concerns

But UK employers less likely than others to have wellness strategy

Stress is still the number one concern of UK employers when considering the health of their employees, research has shown.

The global survey of 1200 organisations by Buck Consultants found that 72 per cent of UK respondents said they were very concerned about stress in their workforce as part of their health strategy, beating other health risk factors such as a lack of exercise (60 per cent) and nutrition (58 per cent). It is the second year that stress has topped the poll, as economic difficulties weigh heavily on mental health for workers.

But the survey also showed that UK employers lag behind their international counterparts in tackling health issues. Only 57 per cent of UK respondents have a wellness strategy in place, compared to an international average of 66 per cent. Moreover, only 19 per cent said they had fully implemented such a strategy, with others making only partial progress. The USA was the most health-conscious of the 47 countries studied, with 74 per cent of employers having a wellness programme.

“Workforce stress levels are at the forefront of U.K. employers’ minds. At the same time, we see a rise in employers’ recognition of the benefits of a workplace wellness strategy and their increasing appetite to implement one,” said Mike Tyler, UK MD of health and productivity at Buck Consultants. “We see room for improvement in measuring the effectiveness of a wellness strategy in order to identify the particular challenges each employer will face. Organisations that measure the impact of their workplace wellness strategy are more successful at improving their employees’ health, thereby impacting productivity, absence and engagement. However, we recognise that many employers simply don’t know how to measure their results or they don’t have the resources to do so.”

The most common tools currently used as part of employer health programmes are discounted gym membership (68 per cent), flexible working and parental support (60 per cent), cycle to work programmes (58 per cent), immunisations (54 per cent) and sponsored sports teams (51 per cent). Less frequently used tactics are health food vending machines (21 per cent), on-site physiotherapists (26 per cent) and personal health coaching (18 per cent).

Buck Consultants – which is a Xerox company – conducted its survey with Pfizer, CIGNA, Wolf Kirsten International Health Consulting and WorldatWork

via peoplemanagement.co.uk