{"id":2013,"date":"2019-08-08T20:42:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T20:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lumien.io\/?p=2013"},"modified":"2020-06-22T20:43:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T20:43:21","slug":"engaging-employees-with-your-wellbeing-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lumien.io\/us\/engaging-employees-with-your-wellbeing-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Employees with your wellbeing initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Since the advent of the internet and the popularisation of mobile phones, the way business is done has changed faster than at any point in human history.<\/p>\n

Round the clock communications means working hours are largely a thing of the past, with over 3.4 million people in the UK working more<\/a> than 48 hours per week.<\/p>\n

The long hours culture has dragged mental health to the forefront of the human resources agenda. With sickness absence on an upward trajectory year on year, businesses are slowly catching on to the idea that a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.<\/p>\n

The Thriving at Work Report<\/a> found that mental health issues alone cost the UK economy \u00a399 billion, of which \u00a342 billion is borne directly by businesses themselves.<\/p>\n

The UK government \u2018Work, Health and Disability Green Paper: Improving Lives\u2019 states that an average of 1.8 million employees<\/a>have a long-term sickness absence from work every year.<\/p>\n

The facts are clear \u2013 sickness absence is a huge cost to business.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Financial Case for Employee Wellness<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The lost productivity days from employee sickness absence is a stark reminder that the cost to business is significant and increasing \u2013 the average number of productive days lost<\/a> through an employee with moderate to severe depression is now over 30, up from 23 in 2013.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only a problem, it\u2019s a growing<\/em> problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lost productivity days cost a business in three ways\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lost revenue from the absent employee.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Salary paid to employee whilst they are off work.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Salary paid to employee for cover.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Too many employers see employee wellness as a cost rather than an investment, not understanding the long-term return on the upfront cost.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    This isn\u2019t the case – in a recent review of existing workplace wellness initiatives carried out by Deloitte, the researchers found every \u00a31 invested returned between \u00a31.50 and \u00a39<\/a>. We\u2019ll return to the financial aspects of employee wellness later in the article.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Choosing The Right Workplace Wellbeing Initiative<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Essentially there are two directions you can go in when it comes to employee wellness \u2013 an active or passive approach.<\/p>\n

    An active approach sees you take control of the situation. You bring in professional services, build facilities and make employee wellness a priority. You engage in digital health solutions, encouraging staff members to take advantage of digital health services and incentivising people to do so.<\/p>\n

    Using a digital health platform, there are significant participation incentives, boosting the uptake of the programme\u2026<\/p>\n