Presenteeism and the associated loss of productivity are just two of the downsides of not addressing employees’ health, that was the clear message emanating from a recent Shannon Chamber seminar focused on the importance of health and well-being in the workplace.
Organised in conjunction with Laya Healthcare and hosted in Axa Partners the seminar drew attention to the importance of focusing on total worker health for the good of employees and the overall business.
Leading occupational medical practitioner, Dr Susan Hill a specialist in workplace mental health and stress, gave a presentation on the benefits of adopting a ‘connected health’ approach, centred on looking at people as a whole and giving them the tools to stay well for life.
“Employers need to be aware of the link between healthy people and productivity. Today’s working environment is more sedentary and pressurised and can lead to presenteeism, as well as absenteeism, often caused by stress, back and neck pain. Companies should also realise that it’s as important to ensure employees realise that health is not just physical but mental also,” she said.
Dr Hill encouraged companies to set up a Wellness programme focused on total worker health. “It’s so important to keep people healthy, physically and mentally. The payback can be rewarding in terms of reducing absence and improving the attraction and retention of talent.”
With 11 million days lost in work per annum, 60% of which is caused by stress and psychological social issues, Laya Healthcare’s occupational health advisor, Trudi Mc Hugh, recommended that companies set up a system to encourage their employees to ‘think well; live well; and be well’.
Hill added “Sedentary lifestyles and poor diet typify many lifestyle behaviours, all of which are easily changed. It’s a matter of giving people the tools to make changes, personalising them and measuring the outcomes.”
Axa Partners’ IT operations manager, Paul Ryan, added: “Wellness can mean so many different things at an individual level. It’s hard to meet the needs of 300 employees but it’s important to get a wellness process underway. Setting easy targets, such a running 100 miles over 3 months is a good place to start. Adding in incentives and prizes for achieving milestones also helps to spread and reinforce the message,” he added.
Thanking all speakers for their contributions, Shannon Chamber’s chief executive Helen Downes said that the Chamber would now look at novel ways of encouraging a greater take-up of the employee wellness concept among member companies. “The benefits are just so obvious, particularly around presenteeism. A healthy workforce is totally engaged at work; not physically present while mentally absent,” she stated.