Are health and wellbeing
solutions worth investing in?
Susan Gee
Manager of Occupational Health
Yorkshire Water
Wellbeing is important
“The wealth of
business
depends on the
health of
workers”
Are health and wellbeing solutions worth
investing in?
Yes because:
•Ethically it is the right thing to do because it demonstrates
corporate social responsibility, supports IR
•Legal requirement - Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 being
the minimum standard - protects business reputation
•Economically research supports that companies who promote
and protect the worker health are more successful and enjoy
better rates of employer retention - protecting your investment
The nature of illness is changing
 The UK workforce of the future will be older and sicker
 CBI estimates that sickness absence costs the UK economy
£14 billon per annum
 Cancer, CHD, stroke and diabetes is set to increase mainly
due to the rise in obesity; lifestyle choice will affect health
 MSD’s will increase by ageing alone, research firmly links
mental health to MSD’s and obesity
 Presenteeism costs 1.5 times more than sickness absence
Healthy Workplaces :A Model for Action, WHO (2010)
Healthy Work Challenges to 2030 , BUPA, (2009)
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health,(2007)
Workplace interventions can be used for …..
• Prevention of illness and promotion of health and wellbeing;
screening, healthy eating, physical activity
• Early intervention for those who develop a health condition;
fast track to diagnostic and support services
• Rehabilitation and support to get employees back into
working following absence such as CBT
Health, Work and Baseline Indicators, Department of Health, 2010
What interventions are effective and evaluation
• Comprehensive programmes combining screening and risk
assessment along with education and environmental change
• Key measures to effectiveness include targeting high risk
employees and encouraging compliance to promote lifestyle
change
• Workplace health promotion should take into account
external influencing factors – consider exploring public
health information for your area
• Evaluation - survey pre/post implementation, participation
rates, examine sickness rates, results from staff survey give it time
PWC case studies
• Absenteeism - 45 out of 55 reported a reduction in sickness absence as
a consequence of wellness interventions
• Staff turnover - 18 cases mentioned a positive reduction in staff turnover
with improved staff retention and/or return to work rates
• Accidents and injuries - 16 cases reported reductions in accidents and
injury rates
• Insurance - 7 cases cited reduced insurance or civil claims and savings
on insurance schemes
• Satisfaction - 14 cases mentioned an improvement in employee
satisfaction
• 8 cases reported an improvement in external reputation and
improvements in productivity performance.
PriceWaterHouse Coopers , Building the case for Wellness, 2008
What enables the success of wellbeing
interventions?
Leadership
•Strong leadership involvement at an early stage is critical to
success.
•Creating a multi-disciplinary team of stakeholders to support
planning and implementation efforts - this would include
employees, TU’s, managers
What enables the success of wellbeing
interventions?
Communication & Branding
•Purpose and intention needs to be communicated to the
workforce to encourage participation
•How information is disseminated needs to be appropriate to
the employee group
What enables the success of wellbeing
interventions?
Health needs assessment/gap analysis
•Understand the employee population and what is already
available to them
•Consider staff surveys
•Consider resources such as budget, time and the use of
external partners to assist - sustainability - one off doesn’t work
What enables the success of wellbeing
interventions?
Health Surveillance
•Is important for detecting ill health effects an early stage so
that controls can be put in place
•Provides data to help employers evaluate health risks
•Enables employees to raise concerns about how work affects
their health
•Provides an opportunity to reinforce training and education
•Is identified via risk assessments taking into account any
exposure to workplace hazards
What action is needed if control mechanisms
fail?
•
•
•
•
•
Investigate control measures and reassess
Referral to occupational health
Workplace adjustments/redeployment
Consider if employee needs further training
Consider external activities that may have contributed
Retaining a stable workforce
• Healthy employees demonstrate higher levels of
commitment and discretionary effort , a study proved that
20% more employee commitment led to a sales increase of
9%
• A wealth of research supports that good health is good
business, employers who ignore this evidence miss an
opportunity to enhance their reputation and profit
• Research demonstrates that employees expect a ‘good’
employer to be interested in their health- so vital in the war
for talent
The Work Foundation: The Business Case for Employee Health and Wellbeing
CIPD, Creating an Engaged Workforce, (2010)
Wellbeing is important
“It is unethical and
short sighted
business practice to
compromise the
health of workers
for the wealth of
enterprises”
Thank you