FEATURE RAISING THE BAR
Against a backdrop of political and economic disquietude, the need for employers to prioritise and safeguard the wellbeing of their workforces has never been greater, says Mike Blake of Willis Towers Watson.
With Brexit uncertainty, a heightened risk aversion following the demise of large organisations such as Carillion, and the complex needs of generational working populations, the management of the modern workplace is becoming more complex.
“In 2017, only 16% of employers offered their workforce access
to apps or new technologies to encourage healthy lifestyles.”
According to the recent CBRE Top Trends in Facilities Management report, the remit of FMs is growing beyond real estate and the physical work environment to incorporate wider employee wellbeing.
A multi-generational workforce The employee landscape is changing. People are choosing to stay in work and are retiring later, while millennials are predicted to make up as much as 75% of the global workforce by 2025. Understanding the behaviours, challenges and habits of workers is increasingly essential as one-size-fits-all solutions no longer meet the requirements of the modern workplace.
Solutions that may have a positive impact on reducing absenteeism and increasing productivity in one organisation may not deliver the same results for another business. Each generational cohort will face different challenges, have different needs and will respond to different motivators.
Businesses with a greater understanding of the needs of their unique employee population will have greater success in delivering health and wellbeing programmes that work - building trust, boosting engagement and empowering employees to better cope with multi-faceted pressures.
Stress poses a real risk The Willis Towers Watson Global Benefits Attitudes Survey (GBAS) identified that more than half of UK workers (52%) suffer with above average or high levels of stress.
This figure will no doubt rise in the coming years as the UK enters the post-Brexit era and businesses, and their people, strive to adapt and evolve.
The effects of stress are far reaching. Our research highlighted that a large proportion (61%) of highly stressed employees were more likely to have poor lifestyle habits
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including smoking, insomnia, poor diets and infrequent exercise - compared with only 34% of those experiencing low stress.
Excess stress, particularly if this continues over a prolonged period, can lead to both more frequent minor ailments and serious conditions including obesity, heart disease, stroke and mental illness.
GBAS insights showed generational disparities and gender differences in relation to the levels of stress experienced, with millennials and women more likely to suffer.
Of the millennials surveyed, 61% stated that they experienced heightened stress compared to half of generation X employees and just over a third (33%) of baby boomers. Nearly two thirds of women (58%) told us that they experienced high stress compared to 48% of men.
The GBAS study identified that highly stressed workers were not only taking two and a half times more sick days off than those experiencing low stress, but that 40% were also disengaged at work – more than double the figure amongst less affected workers (17%).
“The study found a link between
unhealthy levels of stress and low levels of productivity.”
The link between unhealthy levels of stress and low levels of productivity was proved.
Just under half (45%) of UK workers agreed that stressful periods reduced the quality of their work while highly engaged workers were more likely to have a positive reaction to stress. More than half (51%) said that stress motivated them at work compared to 20% of disengaged colleagues.
Actively mitigating stress Mitigating the risks of stress requires a proactive focus on protecting and enhancing health and wellbeing in the workplace.
The research findings revealed that nearly half (49%) of workers believed that their employer should take a proactive approach to encourage healthy lifestyles at work and that 22% were prepared to pay for tools to promote this.
Only half (51%) of employers however, are currently taking proactive steps to reduce workplace stress presenting
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