CATERING HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY WORKFORCE
One in four meals is consumed outside the home, according to a recent Report by the BHA, and the biggest area of growth within the Industry, is the trend for healthier options, explains Ed Bevan,
Marketing & Communications Director at Acquire, Foodbuy Limited.
In fact, 100% of foodservice business
surveyed by the BHA disclosed that they are providing healthier alternatives and lower calorie options on their menus where possible: 94% reducing salt: 88% including more fruit and vegetables; 81% reducing sugar; 88% training chefs on cooking healthy options and 69% including calorie labelling.
It’s clear that there is a new trend
for employers investing in and taking responsibility for their workforce’s diets – and it’s about time. Recent reports from the British Heart Foundation claim that more than two fifths of workers in the UK believe that their job is having a negative effect on their lives, with stressful working conditions leading to poor lifestyle choices such as eating unhealthily, drinking and smoking excessively and avoiding exercise. Worryingly, a third of workers surveyed said that they have put on weight directly because of their work and it’s no wonder with 60% of employees regularly doing unpaid overtime – meaning that they are not taking their full lunch-breaks, spending less time at home in the evenings preparing homemade meals and are either too tired or time- deprived to exercise.
Diseases linked to an unhealthy lifestyle include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disease – not to mention high-cholesterol, high- blood pressure, obesity and even some cancers – which serves as a stark warning for business owners.
40 | TOMORROW’S FM
Health & Wellness may be having a bit of a moment in the media spotlight, but for good reason, as 82% of companies with wellness programmes see reduced sickness absence and a 15% increase in output.
Work-related ill health accounts for 30 million working days lost a year in Britain, and by far the biggest cause is stress and related mental health issues and estimates suggest that it is costing the British economy £3.7 billion per year . Not only does sickness affect business’s bottom line, but it also affects individuals who may feel the strain of the extra workload they have to pick up in the absence of another team member, which can create a negative and stressful working atmosphere. Sickness absence can be a big business issue and it is a key indicator of how well an organisation is managed. Especially as reports show that only 5% of those off sick with stress, admit to their employer that they were too stressed to work. The remaining 95% cited another reason for their absence, such as an upset stomach or a headache.
Approximately 13.8 million working days were lost in 2006-7 due to work-related stress, and employees suffering from stress are also more likely to report depression and other psychosomatic complaints. This is an area where prevention is definitely better than cure; it’s essential that businesses ensure they are doing all they can to firstly promote and encourage their staff taking a lunch- break, and secondly, by making healthier alternatives available and providing calorie information that allows them to make well-informed meal decisions. It not only makes health sense, but business sense too.
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