Putting employee wellbeing in the spotlight

It's undeniable that health is important, but it's easy to put your wellbeing aside when you've got a million things on your plate. That's usually why the modern worker will turn to a cup of coffee instead of a piece of fruit when they arrive in the office on Monday morning.

For businesses, however, it may be important to start thinking about how wellbeing and health tie into employee engagement.

Finding the link

According to Adecco, there's a strong link between health and productivity. The organisation cited research from the Health Enhancement Research Organisation and other bodies, finding that employees who are both eating well and exercising at least three times a week perform better at their jobs. What's more, they also have lower absenteeism rates.

And what about the flip side? Unsurprisingly, poor health can have adverse affects on job performance. Obese workers will have higher rates of absenteeism due to chronic diseases and other weight-related conditions.

So what can businesses do to fix the issue? There's no shortage of available options.

Taking action

Businesses cannot simply throw health initiatives at employees. After all, signing staff up for gym memberships won't change much if they're too busy to actually go.

HIMSS stated that deploying wearable devices and mobile apps were just two of the ways businesses could effectively promote wellness goals. Importantly, the organisation also stated that this could result in improved employee engagement.

On the other hand, Lorna Borenstein explained to Entrepreneur that expanding subsidised options to things like home workout programmes can help time-poor employees reap the benefits of health initiatives.

"Extending benefits to include subsidised at-home workout options will increase participation in your employee wellness program so your company can experience both the cost and productivity benefits from a healthy and happy employee base," she said.

AON found that for every $1 an employer spends on wellness, they can expect anywhere from a $3 to $6 return on investment. It's clear: employee wellbeing is intrinsically linked to productivity.

If you want advice on how to increase the engagement of your employees, get in touch with the team at Flexi Personnel today.