Almost nine in ten employers (88 percent) offer preventative health and wellbeing support to staff, with mental health initiatives emerging as the most beneficial.
This was the main finding of a survey of 500 HR decision-makers and 1,250 UK employees conducted on behalf of Grid, the industry body for the group risk sector.
Researchers found that 43 percent of employers offering preventative measures said mental health support, such as counselling or employee assistance programmes (EAPs), delivered the greatest benefit to staff. This compares with 39 percent which cited physical health support, and 27 percent which pointed to financial and social wellbeing initiatives as offering the most staff benefit.
Almost all (97 percent) large employers (over 250 staff) provide preventative support. This falls to 76 percent of micro-employers (with fewer than 10 staff). The gap widens further for mental health provision, with 71 percent of large firms offering dedicated mental health support versus just 38 percent of micro-employers.
The research also showed that employees are frustrated by the limited health support from the government. Nearly half (48 percent) said a lack of preventative health and wellbeing support from the government affects them and their colleagues.
Grid said prevention is increasingly becoming the “direction of travel” for employers, government and the NHS alike, driven by the need to address the UK’s long-term sickness absence challenge. This shift is clear in the government’s plan to move towards a greater emphasis on sickness prevention, as set out in its 10 year Health Plan. It’s a theme that was also emphasised in a recent speech by Sir Charlie Mayfield, who is leading the government-backed Keep Britain Working review.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Grid, said: “There’s so much preventative support available for employers and employees via employee benefits and this is increasingly included within group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness).
“Employers who help build mental resilience, champion a healthy lifestyle, and support their staff in health screening and medical assessments will see their absence levels reduced, and minimise presenteeism. Furthermore, they will see reduced costs due to fewer claims.
“When prevention is embedded into the company culture it can have quite astounding results.”
