Employee engagement needed to raise health awareness

Companies could benefit from improving employee engagement among staff, as many appear to be delusional about their own health and wellbeing

A new study conducted by ORC International has found that just 12 per cent of British workers describe themselves as unhealthy.

However, in reality many of the survey respondents do not complete three hours of exercise per week, while 41 per cent said they drink alcohol on a regular basis and a further 24 per cent smoke.

Representative of the firm Sally Winston believes employers need to introduce staff perks to encourage a healthier lifestyle and she believes there is a "definite link" between engagement and wellbeing.

"Employers can play a role in helping individuals to become healthier, through education, communication and by providing access to a range of healthy workplace initiatives," she commented.

Aviva recently found firms that offer food to their workers at lunch time may be harming productivity, as 38 per cent of the produce was said to be unhealthy.
Meantime another new study shows levels of employee engagement across the UK are nowhere near as high as they should be. Statistics compiled by Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann have shown most workers feel communications between themselves and managers need to be strong in order to boost staff motivation.

However, just one in five said their boss is a good communicator, while just 13 per cent believed them to possess the necessary motivational skills. Many employees also took a dim view on their leaders' moral fibre, as a mere 14 per cent thought their managers had integrity.

Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann managing director Tony Vardy said the research clearly showed a lack of leadership qualities among those running UK firms.

"The best company leaders succeed in proving their leadership characteristics to all stakeholders, shareholders, customers, the media, colleagues and employees alike," he remarked.

Donald Maclean of Business Cost Consultants recently stated that businesses should be looking to boost employee engagement in order to save themselves money, as raising awareness of company policies can help cut down on things like unnecessary wastage.