Over the past few years, the importance of good health and wellbeing in the workplace has come to the forefront.

The Covid pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated this trend. Tricky workplace conditions and the isolating impact of long-distance working have highlighted the need for keeping everyone in a business safe, involved and engaged.

Now, many business owners recognise the need to provide support for employees’ health. Interestingly, fostering such a supportive culture can also help to boost productivity, and even has a positive impact on your business profits as a result.

Here are five reasons why you should consider putting the wellbeing of your employees at the heart of your business.

1. Having health and wellbeing benefits improves productivity

Providing support to keep your employees healthy isn’t just a perk for them; it’s a perk for your business, too.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 60% of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) found that productivity in operations increased when employees had access to health and wellbeing benefits.

For medium-sized businesses, this rose to 69%, with 22% of all SMEs rating health and wellbeing as a critical element for maintaining productivity.

You could improve the productivity of your business, just by having a wellbeing framework in place that your employees know they could turn to if they ever needed to.

2. It pays to support your employees’ health

As wellbeing improves productivity, it should come as no surprise that it makes financial sense to offer support.

Sick staff can cost the UK economy upwards of £77 billion, a figure calculated by ABL Recruitment using the Britain’s Healthiest Workplace survey.

Similarly, a report by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) found that poor mental health costs the UK £8 billion a year.

This money could be lost profits from your business if workers are unable to come to work through poor health. They could also be at work but be too unwell to be productive – a phenomenon known as “presenteeism”.

The positive impact of paying for health and wellbeing support is tangible, too. The International Social Security Association found that, for every €1 invested in occupational safety and health in the workplace, companies made a return of €2.20.

You can actively reduce the direct cost of poor health and wellbeing on your business, boosting productivity and, potentially, profits.

3. Supporting health and wellbeing helps you to retain your best people

Keeping your best talent is vital for making your business a success, and supporting the health and wellbeing of your employees is a great way to do just that.

A survey of 3,000 UK employees by Simplyhealth found that 66% of employees would want their employer to offer some form of benefits that help them manage their daily health. Yet despite this, just 28% of employers do.

By offering some form of guidance and support for your employees’ general health, you can be more confident in retaining the people who most help you run and grow your business.

4. It could help you create a positive brand image

To take your business to the next level and grow even further, you need to have a reputation of being good at what you do.

Improved productivity has a tangible economic effect, but there’s also social value in showing your customers and clients that you care about your employees. If you care about the people working in your business, your customers and clients can be confident that you’ll care about them too.

Your positive brand image will also extend to attracting even more talented workers to your business. As health and wellbeing perks become more common among businesses, it’s likely that more employees will see them as a standard that their workplace must have.

As a result, you’re more likely to be able to attract the best employees for growing your business.

5. There are plenty of easy ways to boost health and wellbeing

One of the main reasons to keep health and wellbeing as a core principle of your business is that it’s an easy thing to do with the range of benefits you can achieve.

It’s a simple way to prove to your employees that you value them as people, not just workers. And, as the data shows, it could make financial sense.

There are a variety of methods you could use to promote health and wellbeing in your business.

Here are a few you could consider:

1. Offer a health insurance option through the business, or maybe even consider paying for insurance and protection for key personnel.

2. Allow staff to take “personal” days off outside of allotted holiday, or even consider an “unlimited” holiday policy.

3. Arrange or offer sessions for activities that are known to promote good mental and physical health, such as yoga or meditation.

4. Give out discount vouchers for restaurants and activities as a reward for good work, or as a regular prize draw.

5. Pets are known to improve mental wellbeing, so organise a “bring your dog to work day”.

6. Look at team-building exercises you could do in work, or perhaps consider an away day for your employees.

Want to know how to best support your employees?

If you’d like to know more strategies for helping your employees and giving your business a boost along the way, please contact us at Cordiner Wealth.

Email hello@cordinerwealth.co.uk or call 0113 262 1242 to speak to one of our advisers.