Humans break. Working 9-5 has become 24/7, work anywhere has become work everywhere and technology is still accelerating. Work and life pressures make people ill and, even for caring employers, illness isn’t good for business.
Present but unable to perform
Having employees in work who are under the weather is causing more harm to our workplaces than good.
In reality, having sick employees at work slows down their recovery and has a knock on impact on the rest of their team.
This issue – coined ‘presenteeism’ – is a growing problem across UK businesses. In 2016, the CIPD Absence management survey found that nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of respondents observed presenteeism taking place within their organisation.
Wellbeing is a business necessity
Rather than trying to mitigate the consequences of our employees being unwell, we need to be more proactive, preventing poor employee wellbeing and subsequent presenteeism before it has a chance to occur.
Providing employees with access to a health plan repays the costs of their health check-ups, appointments and associated treatments up to the plan’s annual cash back limits. Employees will have 24/7 access to GP services, around the clock support from a counsellor and the opportunity to get their physical aches and pains looked at.
As a result, employees will be encouraged to take better care of themselves amid the increasing burdens of modern-day living.
A prevention over cure approach is most effective at improving your employees’ health and wellbeing in the long term – meaning they remain at the top of their game day in, day out.
Simplyhealth has launched a comprehensive health plan, Optimise, which will enable you to demonstrate a real commitment to the everyday health and wellbeing of your employees.
To find out how Simplyhealth can support your workforce to perform well, visit: Simplyhealth.co.uk/businesses