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

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

ResearchWellbeing and health promotionFlexible workingWellbeingOccupational Health

Three in four firms have an employee wellbeing strategy

by Nic Paton 5 Jul 2017
by Nic Paton 5 Jul 2017 Flexible working is among the most commonly used wellbeing benefits, along with line manager training, carer support, home working and occupational health.
Flexible working is among the most commonly used wellbeing benefits, along with line manager training, carer support, home working and occupational health.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of UK companies say they now either have or are implementing a wellbeing strategy during 2017, research has suggested.

But the study by actuarial firm Barnett Waddingham has concluded that, despite this, 60% of organisations report their employee wellbeing to be either “moderate” or “very low”.

Employers therefore needed to ask themselves if they were providing the benefits and interventions that are most effective for their staff, it suggested.

The top five most widely offered benefits (rated by effectiveness) were: flexible working or home working; carer support; health assessments; line manager training; and cancer screening.

However, those most commonly used by employees were: flexible working; line manager training; carer support; home working; and occupational health.

A good example of this sort of lack of coordination was the fact that only 23% of companies polled offered cancer screening to employees, despite it being rated as a top-five benefit for effectiveness, Barnett Waddingham argued.

By comparison, 73% of employers offered a cycle-to-work scheme, even though it was not considered a top-10 effective benefit.

Laura Matthews, wellbeing consultant at Barnett Waddingham, said: “Wellbeing strategies need to take into account the wants and needs of the employees to be effective for an organisation.

“Implementing a wellbeing strategy does not necessarily need to be a costly exercise.

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.

“It could be as simple as analysing what you currently have, bringing it together holistically and ensuring it is effectively communicated,” she added.

Separately, a poll by employee benefits portal Mybenefitsatwork has argued that nine out of 10 HR leaders believe they face “challenges” when communicating their benefits packages to employees.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Employer insolvency: What lessons can be learned from Jaeger’s woes?
next post
More than half of apprenticeship levy payers make use of funding, says Open University

1 comment

Nick Bloy 6 Jul 2017 - 11:38 am

All of these initiatives are a great start. Giving workers greater flexibility to get their jobs done is a powerful way to give them a sense of control which is crucial for good mental health. Encouraging employees to cycle to work is also fantastic for boosting wellbeing (both physical and mental).

However, as a former HR Business Partner in the City of London and the founder of a leading wellbeing consultancy, far too many companies still aren’t aware of how to optimise employee wellbeing. Whether we are happy, focussed and productive depends on our mental state and that requires people to be taught about why they think and do the things that they do.

Whilst the above survey concludes that 71% of businesses have or will have a wellbeing strategy in place in 2017, I would question their efficacy, given the type of interventions being talked about. Efficient perhaps, but unlikely to be truly effective until they look to tackle the root cause of people’s poor levels of wellbeing.

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

Preparing for a new era of workforce planning...

8 May 2025

Reform UK councils’ staff face WFH ban

6 May 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