Two-thirds (65%) of respondents said health and wellbeing will be an increased priority in 2014, according to research by Edenred and EnergiseYou.
The second Annual wellbeing survey, which questioned more than 100 HR professionals, found that the same percentage (65%) are taking a proactive approach to employee health and wellbeing.
The research also found:
- 40% of respondents have a wellbeing strategy, up from 33% in 2012.
- 50% of respondents said their approach to wellbeing is ad-hoc, while 10% said they do the bare legal minimum or nothing at all.
- 47% of respondents rated their approach to helping build resilience in their employees as good.
- 60% of respondents believe employee wellbeing is an HR issue.
Andy Philpott (pictured), director of sales and marketing at Edenred, said: “The fact that employers are placing an increased importance on employee health and wellbeing is good news, but it is clear that organisations of all sizes can do much more to champion the agenda in their business.
“A move from ad-hoc to more cohesive support around health and wellbeing will create solid foundations for better organisational performance.
“HR has to see it as its job to seize and champion this cause.”
Oliver Gray, managing director of EnergiseYou, added: “It is extremely encouraging to see senior management are beginning to recognise the business benefits associated with employee wellbeing. However, there is still much more work to be done.
“The best [employers] are making health and wellbeing part of their culture and it is these organisations that are seeing a real return on investment, in terms of reducing sickness absence levels and improving employee engagement and performance.”