48 . Glasgow Business February 2015


GET THE RIGHT M


Taking care of employee wellbeing brings businesses many important benefits Tis approach is supported by


ost business leaders know that happy and healthy employees are the most motivated


and engaged, and therefore productive, but many organisations still see employee wellbeing as an optional add-on rather than being an integral part of how they run their business. However, there is growing


evidence that links employee wellbeing with employee engagement and many organisations are realising the benefits of investing in wellbeing policies to get the best performance out of their people. Lancaster University’s 2010


Work Foundation Report, Te Business Case for Employees’ Health and Wellbeing, highlighted that the UK is facing the economic and social consequences of a ‘wellness’ crisis. At the time of its study it estimated that more than 25 per cent of the UK’s workforce had a work-limiting illness or injury, and this situation will be exacerbated over the next 30 years as the relative age of the working population increases. Many of the UK workforce’s


health problems can be atributed to poor diets, growing obesity, smoking and more sedentary lifestyles which are also being compounded by growing levels of workplace ‘stress’, personal debt and family breakdown and their links to mental health illness. While individuals certainly


need to take more personal responsibility for their lifestyle choices, the report suggests that employers also have a role to play. For organisations, this means going beyond the bare bones of the legal ‘duty of care’, for which they are already accountable under health and safety legislation, and take a more proactive approach to protect and motivate their people.


the CBI and it even atributes some of the recent trend in the reduction of absence rates in the UK to the uptake of wellbeing policies being adopted by UK organisations. In its last Absence and


Workplace Health Survey, the average absence rate was 5.3 days in 2012, down from 6.5 days in 2010 – a new record low in the survey’s 30-year history, but still costs the economy £14 billion a year. Absence rates in both the public and private sector were down to 6.9 (from 8.1) and 4.9 (from 5.9) days respectively. Neil Carberry, CBI Director


of Employment and Skills, said: “Te record low shows employers are geting much beter at tackling the root causes of absence. Tis is down to stronger staff engagement, initiatives to foster employee health and beter reintegration plans aſter longer- term sick leave. “But there is no room for


complacency. Clearly, when staff are sick, they should not be in work, but there’s a lot more employers can do to tackle absence at a time when growth is fragile.” One of the other significant


findings from the survey is that mental health conditions were cited as the single most widespread cause of long-term absence from the workplace. Mental health issues oſten find


their causes in a range of work-related stress, such as high workloads and long working hours, lack of resources, unclear job specifications or ineffective management, inability to cope with change and interpersonal conflict, as well as frustration or fear of redundancy. According to mental health


charity Mind, one in six people is dealing with a mental health problem such as anxiety, depression or stress. Its research


shows that there is still a culture of fear and silence around mental health and this is potentially costly to employers: one in five people take a day off work due to stress, one in 10 people have resigned a job due to stress, and 19 per cent of employees feel they can’t speak to managers about stress at work. Mind encourage organisations


to send a clear signal to their employees that their mental health maters and that they should be open about this situation as this will lead to support, not discrimination. A simple way to communicate this


is to explain that mental health will be treated in the same way as physical health. Organisations can back this


commitment up with a clear mental health strategy and specific policies to ensure employees experiencing mental health problems get the support they need straight away. Te charity provides several guides, such as How to promote wellbeing and tackle the causes of work-related mental health problems, which set out simple, practical and inexpensive steps to help organisations improve mental


RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH NOT PROMOTING EMPLOYEE WELLBEING


» Reduced productivity » Increase in mistakes, errors and reworking


» Potential conflict with colleagues and management


» Increase in grievance and disciplinary incidents


» Low morale


» Increase in sickness and absenteeism


» Poor quality of customer service » Increase in resignations and staff turnover


» Poor reputation among staff, customers, and potential new recruits


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