Experts say stress and depression will be the leading causes of death and disability by 2020. With two-fifths of organisations reporting an increase in stress-related absences over the past year it makes sense good business sense to focus on health and wellbeing.
Why employee health matters at work
Employee sickness is a major cost to UK business. Managing and reducing sickness absence helps ensure teams remain motivated, disruption is minimised and a high level of service to clients continues.
Reducing sickness absence is not the only reason for investing in employee health and wellbeing. Individuals are generally more aware about the importance of their overall health and wellbeing and therefore value a supportive and health focused employer.
Julia Edmonds, Managing Director at Lexington says, “We see this first hand in our restaurants. There has been a real increase in demand for healthy foods over the years and employees genuinely value a varied food offering that includes healthy but tasty options.”
Inject some energy into your workforce
Research from energiseYou of over 5,000 employees has found that the average person scores just 42% on the key drivers of good health and energy.
If the majority of people go about their day-to-day work feeling low in energy it is hardly surprising that pressure can turn into stress, which in turn has a huge impact on employee health. Helping employees improve their health and energy levels clearly makes good business sense.
Give your team a healthy boost
Many organisations we work with offer a range of health and wellbeing initiatives, from access to exercise and mindfulness classes to regular health checks and wellbeing events.
We’ve already held a number of health and wellbeing related events in partnership with our clients this year. We provide a variety of healthy foods, showcasing our nutritious food options – these include out Let’s Energise range, Vitalicious Juice and Free From range.
We’ve recently launched our new vegetarian and vegan hot food range, Grains&Greens, with our great tasting Wellness Bars being the focal point. The meals all contain protein-rich meat alternatives, and are delicious, creative and nourishing.
Grains&Greens has gone down incredibly well. Howard Murray, Head of Global Workspace at This Is Global, said, “Grains&Greens looks great, colourful and fresh. It is a tasty, healthy alternative and I have heard lots of very positive comments from Globalers who keep coming back for more.”
As well as showcasing healthy food options we bring suppliers along to talk about other healthy eating alternatives, giving customers an opportunity to try new foods and find out more about the benefits of eating certain ingredients.
These events also provide an opportunity to inject a bit of fun into the o ce, giving employees ideas about how they can make simple changes in their every day lifestyle and inspire them to make a positive change.
Gloria De La Vega, Phillips66, said, “The health and wellbeing events are a good opportunity to try new foods, without having to spend the money on ingredients you may not like. They also act as a reminder to keep active and remember some of the simple things you can do to improve your wellbeing.”
