- Encouraging staff to take responsibility for their health should start with a culture of personal accountability.
- Employers can show they care about employees’ health by providing solutions and services tailored to their needs.
- Facilitating conversations around health can help to reduce stigma and ensure workplaces are more inclusive.
Benenden Health’s August 2024 research revealed that the most appealing healthcare product for employers and employees is diagnostics (57%), followed by digital GPs (46%) and mental health support (43%). This suggests that more staff are interested in taking responsibility for their own health, with the help of proactive tools such as these. But what role can employers play in this?
Empowering employees
While the Covid-19 pandemic made some people think twice about their health, others may find that these thoughts are triggered by reaching a milestone age, expanding their family or experiencing certain conditions.
Employers can encourage employees to take responsibility for their health by offering products and services tailored to unique needs, and ensuring they are aware of what is available. Offering this support, and signposting how small changes can make a difference, shows employers care.
Walking meetings are one example of a small change, says Rebecca Mian, director of people services at Benenden Health. “If it’s accessible for remote employees, they could go on individual walks during a call, which can improve mental wellbeing and include physical exercise into days.”
Employers can help employees to thrive by fostering a culture of personal accountability through health and wellbeing support. Assistance that is inclusive, easily accessible and designed to meet the needs of diverse populations can encourage employers to be proactive with preventative care.
Jane Hulme, HR director at Unum UK, says: “By providing on-demand access to personalised [services] such as helplines, mental health guidance and life management tools, employers can offer tools for employees to understand and manage their own wellbeing and help them feel happier, healthier and empowered. Digital wellbeing [services] allow employees to take charge of their wellbeing and schedule appointments around their work-life commitments.”
Accurate view of health
A way of offering employees an accurate view of their health is through health MOTs and screenings, which are sometimes available through some health cash plans. Not only can they provide insights and data, but they can also improve sickness absence levels, as the information can guide employers on appropriate preventative support to offer.
Dominique Kent, chief executive officer of Bluecrest Wellness, says: “Insights of this kind help employees to take ownership of their health. Access to health MOTs has previously been offered to mainly higher-level staff through private medical insurance (PMI). This is now being offered to more employees across businesses. Health MOTs aren’t always taken up as a benefit unless staff know it exists, so employers should ensure they promote them.”
By providing preventative care through screenings and support at key life points, employers can go beyond just providing assistance with illnesses when they arise. Awareness campaigns can be used to encourage employees to use available services when needed, as well as offering time and support to prioritise preventive care.
Health and wellbeing support
When setting up a health and wellbeing strategy, employers should include a diverse range of proactive support that meets their workforce’s varied needs to ensure it will be useful. This can ensure everyone, regardless of background or location, feels supported and empowered to prioritise their physical, mental and emotional health.
“One way to approach this is to make it fun, such as internal competitions, encouraging teams to enter 10 kilometre runs, bike rides, walking groups, and activities they can do together,” says Mian.
This could also include access to 24/7 remote GPs, mental health support and health and wellbeing coaches, adds Hulme.
“Physiotherapy, annual health checks, employee assistance programmes and round-the-clock telephone helplines could also be helpful,” she says. “Fostering a proactive approach to health and wellbeing in workplace culture through support encourages employees to make healthier lifestyle choices.”
Another way of doing this is facilitating conversations around wellbeing and mental health to reduce the stigma and foster a healthy, inclusive workplace.
Wendy Sherry, chief executive officer, global health benefits, international health at Cigna Healthcare, says: “Employees in leadership positions also need to be trained on how to actively listen to staff, even if it is for five minutes a day. A positive mindset must come from the top down. Introducing exercise to the daily routine can additionally improve employees’ moods, and reasonable targets can generate a feeling of achievement.”
Garnering information from a scheme, such as know-your-numbers, can be a starting point to understand how to improve health outcomes through lifestyle changes. Knowing blood pressure and body mass index details can help employees prevent and proactively address more serious illnesses.
While Sherry believes that a know-your-numbers scheme remains a valuable tool to allow employees to take control of their health, Hulme states that their popularity has waned in recent years, despite their use in some corporate settings.
“This is due to the evolution of more holistic approaches to health and wellbeing," she explains. "Advancements in health technologies and metrics, such as wearables and personalised health data, offer more comprehensive, real-time insights into health.”
In order to empower employees to take responsibility for their own health, employers should ensure they have an inclusive workplace culture where health is openly discussed, as well as supportive benefits that are accessible and frequently communicated.
