Why should small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) bother with a health and wellbeing strategy?

In February 2008, PriceWaterhouseCooper[1] released their report which was commissioned by the Health and Wellbeing Executive, which undertook to investigate the business case for workplace wellness programmes in the UK including economic factors, and to provide a framework for implementing and managing such a programme.

There are several clear demographic, societal and economic factors that would suggest it to be advantageous to implement a workplace wellness programme, including

• An increase in the workforce age and a change in its composition, leading to the expectation of employees of wellness programmes and work-life balance initiatives
• The rising cost and incidence of chronic disease and ill-health
• External pressures such as corporate social responsibility and competition

It makes commercial sense

PriceWaterhouseCooper analysed the literature and found support for the idea that corporate wellness programmes have a positive effect on intermediate and bottom line benefits.*

The report also suggests that programme costs translate quickly into financial benefits, through cost savings or additional revenue generation, as a direct result of corporate wellness programme implementation.

Benefits were not, however, only financial.  Reduction in staff turnover, improved employee satisfaction, reduced sickness absence and an improvement in company profile and productivity were all cited as benefits from introducing a corporate wellbeing programme

Consideration of seven case studies, which reported on benefit-cost ratios associated with a corporate wellness programmes, led to the finding that while the cost-benefit ratio varies depending on the industry and the quality of the programme management, the average return on investment was found to be £3 for every £1 invested in a corporate wellness programme.

SME’s feel the pain more

You probably plan for financial difficulties, even back up your IT data in case of system failures, but what is your plan for dealing with a member of staff who requires a significant period of time as sickness absence?  It is inevitable that most people, at some point in their lives, will be unwell for more than two weeks and require time off from work.

If a member of staff is on long-term sickness absence in a large company, it is usually possible to re-shuffle job roles or hire in temporary staff to cover their work, hence minimising the impact of their absence.  This is often not the case in small and medium sized businesses; where there may not be sufficient funds or staff available to manage long-term sickness absence – indeed, in some cases, it can have very grave consequences to the viability of a company.  Implementing a proactive health and wellbeing strategy can ensure that all your managers and staff are trained to recognise problems early, before they develop, and have the means to address these through referral to the appropriate services or in-house provision, such as massage, counselling or relaxation classes.  It also allows you to consider how you may be able to offer flexible working arrangements to facilitate staff returning to work from a period of absence, or managing their health issues while the staff member is able to work flexibly within the business.

Planning ahead can ease difficulties and encourage early recognition

Ensuring that you have the right policies and procedures in place can mean the difference between helping and hindering your business.  Having clearly laid out procedures as to your company’s response if a member of staff develops stress-related health problems, for example, may mean that your staff can feel comfortable in discussing problems openly with you, and ensure that they feel fully supported if they should develop any health and wellbeing difficulties in the future.  Research shows that it does not generally matter what a company does in responding to a health or wellbeing issue, as long as it happens quickly and sensitively.

Your staff want to work for you!

Implementing a health and wellbeing strategy and encouraging your staff to participate in activities can have the effect of building morale, developing team dynamics, and of course a bit of friendly competition!  Providing services such as free yoga classes and tai-chi can be a means of reducing the stress in your workplace, as well as meeting other people and getting active.  Some of the events we run for our clients include:

• On-site services including massage, tai-chi, yoga, pilates and nutrition courses
• Pedometer challenges – walk up everest, around the world in 80 days, to the moon and back
• Swim challenges – swim the channel, swim around the UK, swim the world
• Health and Wellbeing Days
• Awareness campaigns – Bike Week, Men’s Health Week, Walk to Work Week, Fruity Friday

UK Healthzone works with companies across the UK, helping them to develop effective and sustainable health and wellbeing strategies.  We provide strategic support in developing health and wellbeing policies, and supporting Human Resources and Occupational Health departments with embedding these across the organisation.  We also managing the provision of on-site services such as massage, Pilates, yoga, and nutrition courses

We can manage your health and wellbeing events throughout the year, ranging from pedometer challenges and health and wellbeing days through to training for managers in stress management and identification, formal courses (such as mental health first aid training) and a range of one-off events. We can also assist organisations in gaining national recognition for their efforts in valuing their staff’s health and wellbeing.

[1] Building the case for wellness, PriceWaterhouseCooper (2008) http://tinyurl.com/DWPWellnessReport2008