FDs do not link employees’ health and wellbeing to engagement

Finance directors are yet to be convinced of the business case for investing in health and wellbeing benefits as customer engagement tools or in improving productivity according to new research

Less than one in ten (7%) of the 200 plus finance directors surveyed by the insurer have seen direct evidence of a link between investing in health and wellbeing and employee engagement, while 86% do not link employee health and wellbeing with productivity.

The insurer Simplyhealth also surveyed 1,005 employees and 504 managing directors, human resources directors, divisional and company directors for its Engaging employees through health and wellbeing report and identified "stark contrasts" between the views of employers and employees on the value placed on health and wellbeing in the workplace. While 91% of employers say they care about health and wellbeing, just 65% of employees believe this to be the case.

The research suggests that much more could be done to communicate health and wellbeing benefits to employees. Currently, 43% of employees do not feel that their employee does anything to look after their physical health at work, a position that just 14% of employers admit to holding. This is reflected in findings about specific benefits. While 27% of employers say they offer helplines or face to face counselling, just 13% of employees report that these are in place.

The report paints a picture of rising workloads and employers under pressure. Almost two-fifths (18%) of employees feel that their situation at work has changed for the worst in the past year and that their employer now cares less about their health and wellbeing.
Sixteen per cent of employers admit that they do now care less. A third (34%) say they are less able to help workers if they are ill or absent and 23% say they have removed health benefits in the past year. However, a third (36%) of employers say that they care more about employee health and wellbeing than they did a year ago.

Employees who responded to the survey were much more likely to report a willingness to "go the extra mile" for their employer if they felt that their employer cared about their health and wellbeing. However, the report suggests that intermediaries could do more to build the business case for health benefits. In total, 93% of employers do not measure return on investment of employee benefits. Those benefits most likely to be associated with a return on investment are private medical insurance (cited by 37% of employers), health screening (34%) and cash plans, employee assistance programmes and dental plans (each 24%).

Nick Kemsley of Henley Business School said of the report: "Research indicates that there are links between high engagement and improvements in absenteeism, discretionary effort and employee retention, and therefore to productivity. Although health and wellbeing is only one contributing factor to a fully engaged workforce research does show that feeling worthwhile and valued is key to an employee’s psychological contract with an employer. This survey suggests that, as cost management bites, employers are looking for alternatives to the more investment led methods of supporting health and wellbeing.