More companies are turning to employee wellbeing programmes to beat rising levels of staff absence, a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has revealed.
The annual CIPD absence management survey of more than 800 companies revealed that 42% of organisations now have a wellbeing strategy in place, compared to 26% for the previous year.
The most common programmes include access to counselling services, provided by almost half of employers, employee assistance programmes and ’stop smoking‘ support (both 31%). Around quarter of employers also provide health screening, healthy canteen options and subsidised gym membership.
“It is evident that organisations are starting to manage employee health rather than sickness, not as a standalone wellbeing strategy but as an integral part of an overall wellbeing programme,” said Ben Willmott, CIPD employee relations adviser.
“As organisations increasingly face the costs and risks of long-term absence, damaging their productivity, growth, retention and brand, businesses are increasingly under pressure to address the wellbeing agenda.
“But attempts to promote employee wellbeing and manage absence will be fatally undermined unless they are underpinned by good people management and effective work organisation,” he added.
“There is no point providing healthy eating options and on-site gyms if people are dreading going to work because of their bullying line manager or because of their excessive workload.”
The policy seems to be a response to rising levels of staff absence, which rose for the first time in three years from an average of 8.0 days a year to 8.4. There was also a significant increase in stress at work with a positive net balance of 31% of employers reporting a rise in stress-related absence.
The average cost of absence increased to £659 per employee per year from last year‘s figure of £598.
Companies now spend an average of 5.4% of their payroll on wellbeing benefits, the survey added, and 42% expect to increase this still further in 2008.
There are also signs, however, that companies are not getting the benefits of these programmes. Just 13% of those with such a scheme evaluate its effectiveness and just 11% feel employees fully appreciate the benefits. Two-fifths (40%) blame poor internal communications for this lack of understanding.
