As our Health and Wellbeing Week, in association with Health Shield, draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.
Employers’ health and wellbeing strategies have undergone something of an evolution in recent years, in large part due to factors such as changing workforce demographics. The presence of five generations in the workplace means organisations are now likely to see a much broader range of health issues impacting their workforce.
Factors such as the rising state pension age mean this trend is likely to grow in prominence in the coming years, so organisations that begin to take action and plan for this now will undoubtedly reap the rewards. Forward planning will be particularly crucial when it comes to dealing with health-related issues that may previously not have been commonplace in the workplace, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s which may be typically more common among (although are not exclusive to) older workers. Such conditions may require consideration by employers about the physical and emotional health support afflicted employees will benefit from.
On a broader level, this month’s Employee Benefits/Health Shield Healthcare research 2017 found that two of employers’ primary objectives when offering health-related benefits were to engage employees and to boost overall employee wellbeing. Achieving such aims will ultimately result in improved employee retention and productivity, as well as lower sickness absence levels and the costs associated with this – to name but a few of the benefits for employers.
So wherever you are with health and wellbeing in your organisation, Health and Wellbeing Week was designed to help you take this to the next level though exclusive insights and opinions uncovering best practice in this area. These included:
- How paternalistic should employers be around employee health and wellbeing?
- How can employers help with employees’ everyday healthcare needs?
- What does the rise in state pension age mean for employers’ healthcare strategies?
- Infographic: Which health benefits do employers offer to some or all staff?
- Courtney Marsh: A focus on workplace wellbeing
- Office Genie brings employee eye health to the workplace
- Home Instead Senior Care supports the mental and physical wellbeing of its workforce
- University of Sheffield offers health initiatives via online platform
- Olga Tregaskis: Workplace learning provides an opportunity to improve wellbeing
- Judith McNulty-Green: A holistic approach can support staff health at all ages
- Infographic: What do employers believe they have a duty of care to encourage staff to do?
- Health and wellbeing in numbers
- Liz Egan: How to ensure staff and managers feel comfortable discussing cancer in the workplace
Debbie Lovewell-TuckEditorTweet: @DebbieLovewell
