Employers are often told that they should implement a health and wellbeing package for their employees. But, what does that mean? And, why is it important?
A health and wellbeing package is a series of measures put into place which help employees to have a better working experience health-wise. This could be advice for stopping smoking, confidential counselling for those who need it, stress management courses, time management advice, access to healthy snacks for free in the canteen, cut priced gym membership, free eye tests, or cut priced private healthcare. The list goes on.
Some employers assume that their responsibilities end when it comes to workplace health and safety with ensuring the office is safe and there are no hazards. Whilst that is key, good management goes beyond that. It means focusing upon morale, ensuring that employees feel supported, and it’s also about recognising the importance of mental health in the workplace.
Stress is a very real issue in most offices and whilst it can be managed in most cases, there are employees who struggle with chronic stress over the long-term. This can easily cause them to go off sick and that is one of the main reasons for long-term sickness within businesses. We all know that businesses lose a huge amount of money every year from sickness absence, so health and wellbeing packages can help to reduce these occurrences in some ways.
Whilst you can never completely cut out the chances of someone going off sick, and you shouldn’t attempt to, supporting employees and their health reduces the chances drastically. It also helps employees to feel valued and to know that they’re working for an employer who cares about those who sit at their office desks day in, day out. As a side note, this can also help to attract new talent whenever a recruitment drive takes place.
A healthy office is a happy office, and a happy office is a productive office. This creates profits for the business and none of that is a negative. Focusing upon employees as your most important asset means doing whatever you can to look after their health during their working hours. This means providing them with office furniture that supports their musculoskeletal system in the right way and encouraging them to take regular breaks. It means providing them with someone comfortable for their breaks, and giving them any other accessories they need to make their life easier, such as wrist rests, foot rests, laptop risers, and stand height desks.
You should be in no doubt that a health and wellbeing package is important on so many different levels.