Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Financial wellbeingLatest NewsMental healthWellbeingEmployee Assistance Programmes

Businesses focus on emotional and financial wellbeing

by Adam McCulloch 16 Jan 2020
by Adam McCulloch 16 Jan 2020

Emotional and financial wellbeing programmes are gaining impetus in terms of companies’ strategic focus, while less attention was being paid to physical wellbeing programmes.

Aon’s UK Benefits & Trends 2020 Survey found that 51% of employers now have financial wellbeing strategies in place, up from 21% three years ago, while 68% had emotional wellbeing strategies, up from 41%. These were the least developed aspects of employee wellbeing when Aon asked organisations in its 2017 UK Health Survey.

Wellbeing

One in four would risk health for their job

April 2020 statutory maternity, paternity and sick pay rates published

Better coping strategies needed to manage business travel ill-effects

This year’s survey also revealed that 71% of employers believe they have a responsibility to influence employee health and change behaviour. They also reported having specific strategies to address particular health conditions, with 57% having a strategy for mental health, 19% for cancer and 13% for heart and cardio, while 24% had a strategy for musculoskeletal conditions.

A significant 62% of respondents also saw employee financial wellbeing as their responsibility, with 48% of companies planning to implement initiatives in the next year, predominantly focusing on seminars (78%) and communications (77%). Fewer companies were planning to implement products (38%).

Employers’ decisions to support staff wellbeing were being influenced by several health, social and economic factors, said Mark Witte, principal at Aon, but mental health was the single biggest area of attention. “By some margin, employers’ strategies are principally focusing on mental health, which is most likely testament to the surge of interest in the issue as well as an increased understanding of the impact on business performance.”

However, Witte said, the low number of employers with defined strategies for other health conditions appeared at odds given their prevalence and impact. “If we acknowledge the impact of musculoskeletal conditions on private medical insurance spend or working days lost, or the considerable impact that cancer and heart-related conditions can have both financially and emotionally for a firm, then a business case can surely be built to put in place strong strategies which focus on education, prevention and behavioural change.”

It was “incredibly encouraging”, he said, that employers were focusing on emotional and financial wellbeing, but it was clear they were focusing mainly on what their specific company data was telling them.

The survey found that the most common datasets used by organisations focused on employees who were already in a state of poor health and needed access to treatment or support. Employers should use a wide range of company-specific data to drive meaningful corporate health and wellbeing strategies to get the best chance of improvements and value, said Witte.

Companies’ health and wellbeing strategies did not generally utilise data sources which focused on behaviours, such as health screening data (11%) or flexible benefit choices (24%). Instead, employee assistance programmes and data/management information were used by 54% of companies to inform and drive their health and wellbeing strategies, while 53% used absence data – which had been a consistent cornerstone of health and wellbeing analytics.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

On the use of data Mark Witte said: “Datasets reflecting the full end to-end health and wellbeing cycle, from prevention and education through to long-term support, will allow for further segmentation to help refine a company’s benefits and engagement strategy.”

OH job opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more OH jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
‘Toxic, bullying culture’ and lack of diversity in fire services
next post
‘Lack of leadership talent holding back large businesses’

You may also like

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Preparing for a new era of workforce planning...

8 May 2025

Employers urged to do more to tackle loneliness

1 May 2025

Why employers must do more to support all...

24 Apr 2025

Nearly half did not take even one full...

14 Apr 2025

Gen X storing up health problems by failing...

28 Mar 2025

Employee Benefits Awards 2025 shortlist revealed

24 Mar 2025

What do welfare reforms mean for employers?

19 Mar 2025

One in four young people considering leaving work...

17 Mar 2025

Fifth of bereaved employees would have liked more...

10 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today