A new report released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last month has highlighted that there are clear advantages to businesses who engage staff with health and wellbeing initiatives.  

The report, Getting better: workplace health as a business issue shows that improving employee health can to better business performance through lower absence, higher productivity and better employee engagement.

The report’s key actions for employers include:

– Develop joined-up health and wellbeing programmes that factor in emerging public health trends.

– Take a proactive and preventative approach to health and wellbeing to influence employee behaviour.

– Equip managers with the knowledge and support to handle health conditions as swiftly as possible.

– Ensure robust systems are in place to effectively manage absence and the return to work.

The CBI is also urging the government to support employers by,

– Promoting the Health and Work Service and ensuring it is the default option for employees absent from the workplace for four weeks or more.

– Using tax relief and incentives to encourage employer-funded interventions into health conditions at earlier points, taking the burden off the NHS and getting people back to work sooner.

– Promoting the benefits of flexible working as a route to helping absent employees back into the workplace.

– Continuing to raise awareness of key public health issues.