Five a day is not enough
Published August 13, 2007 at 2:49 pm · Filed under Features
Investors in People is warning businesses that there is more to workplace health than gym membership, fresh fruit and breakout areas, following a survey showing that almost one third of employers (31%) equate ‘healthy working’ with eating healthily at work.
According to Ipsos MORI research commissioned by Investors in People, the two most popular initiatives implemented by businesses to improve the health and well-being of staff were break or rest areas (41%) and compliance with health and safety regulations (39%).
These are very different from the measures that respondents felt would have the greatest impact on well-being, which included effective day-to-day support from managers; flexible working; support with workload management; and appropriate channels for raising concerns.
Commenting on the findings, Simon Jones, acting chief executive at Investors in People UK, said: “Despite recognition of the benefits that a healthy workplace can deliver, some employers simply don’t seem to understand that it is about more than just gym membership and fresh fruit. Our research shows that employees actually want better support and development structures to create a healthier environment - and managers should take heed. The bottom line is that an unhealthy, unhappy workforce will also be uncommitted and unproductive.”
Almost one third of workers felt that their employer considered healthy working to be either a wasted investment, a waste of time or nothing to do with them, even though 30% of employees were either suffering from or knew someone suffering from work-related stress.
One in five (20%) said that their employer either had no interest in promoting the health and well-being of employees or simply paid lip service to it.
These concerns were reflected in the responses of employers, with one quarter (24%) stating that they did not take action because they didn’t understand how best to help, and a further 17% saying that it would be too expensive.
Despite these reservations, large numbers of those surveyed (employees and employers) recognised the benefits that healthy working can deliver. Nearly half (45%) felt that initiatives to improve personal heath and well-being at work would improve their job satisfaction; 37% felt that it would boost their motivation; and 31% said it would up their productivity and performance.
Abel and Cole’s Brain Food office deliver service is a good start, but employers must offer more than fresh fruit if they are to create a healthy workplace
Making a difference
Symptoms of unhealthy workplaces cited by respondents to Investors in People’s survey (see above) include low staff morale (52%), high turnover of staff (51%), absenteeism (49%) and high stress (44%). Many of these are likely to be found in public sector organisations. A survey of 490 managers by Roffey Park found that 40% of managers in the public sector believe morale is low compared to 16% of managers in the private sector and 6% in the not-for-profit sector.
The not-for-profit sector also had the highest number of respondents citing high morale (30%), perhaps because ‘making a difference’ was identified as the main work motivator (cited by 86%), followed by personal achievement (75%), enjoyment of the job (75%), challenges (69%) and recognition by others (69%). The main de-motivators were bureaucracy, poor management, lack of recognition and lack of time to complete the workload.
For more info visit www.investorsinpeople.co.uk
