Lack of employer support blamed for increased stress and illness
New research has revealed that 60% of UK employees believe their employer is providing minimal or less than the legal requirement of support in the workplace, with almost half claiming that managers only care about their wellbeing if they have to take sick leave.
The research, conducted by Sovereign Health Care and including feedback from over 2,000 workers from around the UK, revealed that the economic climate has resulted in greater workloads and increased pressure. In response, 88% of all employees felt organisations should provide more support for personal health and wellbeing with almost half (45%) confirming they would leave their present employer in return for a better benefits package – even if the salary remained the same.
It was widely accepted that organisations have been significantly stretched by the recession and therefore employees don’t expect company cars or pay rises. However rather than simply do more work without reward, 72% said they would appreciate added value healthcare benefits with counselling and support with stress (68%), gym membership (67%) and holistic therapy /relaxation (58%) leading the way.
Over half of the population (51%) are more stressed than a year ago with a third becoming ill because of work. 67% also highlighted work issues as the main reason for the last time they were unwell.
Russ Piper, Chief Executive of Sovereign Health Care, comments: “In many UK companies, it appears that while pay has remained frozen, employee workloads have increased. This unrewarded extra work can lead to low morale and employee discontent. It would be prudent for businesses to recognise this and consider cost effective ways to counter this and add value to their own workplace. One way of achieving this is through health related employee benefits.
The research supports the launch of Sovereign’s new Asset corporate cash plan. Designed to be mutually beneficial to both employees and employers and costing a fraction of private medical insurance, Asset helps organisations meet their duty of care and enables staff to receive tax free cash back against a wide variety of health care costs including; dental, optical, physiotherapy and hospital consultant fees. Asset also includes a 24/7 employee assistance programme which provides face to face counselling support.
Russ added: “The message from the research is clear; organisations need to review their ‘softer’ benefits and provide more health and wellbeing support – this will help counteract the increased pressure of the workplace and could result in more productive, higher motivated and happier employees.
“Asset is a good example of how the combination of financial and emotional support can help staff feel valued and demonstrates an employer’s commitment to actively supporting their wellbeing. It also gives staff the added peace of mind that they can nip health problems in the bud by seeking treatment early, before they end up having to take time off work, this is beneficial to employers too through lower absenteeism.
In the research a startling 85% of managers admitted they do not fully understand the benefits and support they are able to provide staff – a fact that may be contributing to the perception that they don’t care.
Russ continues: “Most companies recognise that investing in the provision of health, safety and wellbeing support for their employees is important, but if this support isn’t understood or communicated effectively, it is a huge waste of money and could result in them losing their best staff.”
The greatest frustration amongst those with responsibility for staff was the inability to fully reward their team and provide increased support where required, followed by the uncertainty of job security (their own and colleagues).
Whilst the UK’s 18 month recession officially ended in January 2010, one in ten respondents feel that the worst is still to come for their businesses. 31% identified the uncertainty of the future of the business as their key concern with 36% citing the increase in workload without reward.
Regional overview:
Workers in the South West and West Midlands were identified as the most likely to change jobs for a better benefits package, closely followed by those in Northern Ireland, London and the North West.
East Anglia came out on top as the region with the most supportive companies , closely followed by Yorkshire and the South West; with the West Midlands and North East being cited as the least supportive.
Meanwhile, the UK’s five most-stressed regions have been identified as the East Midlands, the South West, Northern Ireland, the North East and the West Midlands. Professionals in Scotland and Yorkshire and Humberside were revealed as the most relaxed.
The survey was conducted as part of Sovereign Health Care’s ‘Duty of Health Care’ research to identify employee perceptions of the well-being support they receive from employers.
For more information about Sovereign Health Care or Asset and its various levels of cover, which start from £6 per month per employee, please visit sovereignhealthcare.co.uk.