Eight in 10 (81%) of the HR decision-makers surveyed claimed they invest in a wellbeing initiative, but six in 10 (60%) said they either do not know or have not taken steps to understand which specific health and wellbeing issues are problematic for their organisation.
Edenred sales and marketing director Andy Philpott said there is a substantial gap between the support that HR practitioners believe will make a difference to wellbeing and what their workplaces actually offer.
He said: “It is clear that many organisations are currently paying lip service to the idea of employee health and wellbeing by failing to take steps to understand the issues facing their employees and organisation.”
This approach to wellbeing is despite the fact that most HR professionals believe there is a link between employee wellbeing and organisational performance, with 97% saying that is the case. Almost two-thirds (64%) said that HR policy is critical in improving employee wellbeing.
Philpott added: “Without a strategic approach to wellbeing, backed by investment in the right areas, the majority of organisations will fail to make any real difference to employee health through their current approaches.”
Separate research from AXA found that while 68% of small business owners worry productivity would be negatively affected if a staff member couldn't come to work for more than four weeks, 30% said they had no plans in place for managing employee sickness.
It also found only 14% of SME businesses offered employees private medical insurance and 18% had an occupational health scheme.
AXA PPP Healthcare SME director Glen Parkinson said: "Busy SME owners need to think about developing a system for managing employee absence to help mitigate unexpected costs, such as recruiting temporary cover and potential business losses due to the loss of a skilled worker.”
Building a business case for wellbeing
HR magazine is holding a live HR Lunchtime Debate broadcast on ‘building the business case for wellbeing’ on 24 June 2015, in conjunction with Unum.
The debate will explore why wellbeing often isn't viewed as a boardroom issue and features Matt Freeland, senior HR director (European snacks category supply chain) at PepsiCo, Stephen Bevan, director of the Centre for Workforce Effectiveness at The Work Foundation, Anthony Douglas, CEO of Cafcass and Joanne Abate, assistant VP global health management at Unum.
