GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will be piloting an employer-paid nutritional advice service to help its employees manage long-term medical conditions.
The pharmaceutical company plans to roll out the electronic advice programme, provided by Harmony Cuisine, to between 100 and 200 staff this autumn. If successful, the company will consider extending it to the rest of its 18,000 employees in the UK.
Employees will be able to run searches on a range of health conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease. They will then be provided with advice on how to manage their condition through the aid of nutrition. Information will be given on the best and worst foods to eat. Recipes will also be provided.
Nicola Riley, health planning manager at GSK, said: "The [focus] specifically is around positive psychology. If you're suffering with symptoms and you're focusing on them, obviously you're going to feel really awful and it's going to distract you from what you're doing. It's important to give people the skills and give them the tools to equip themselves to alleviate those symptoms."