Investing In Your Employees

August 9, 2015 by Andy @ Chorus

Given that staff wages and salaries are commonly among the highest cost components within any business, the time and money invested in the health and wellbeing of employees is shockingly low.

Employers in general tend to wait until someone is sick before realising how inconvenient and costly it is for them. Why do we not place more value in workforce health and wellbeing? The evidence is astonishing. Billions of pounds lost to the UK economy every year through staff sickness.

Successful management of staff sickness absence is a vital issue that many companies are not prepared for, particularly the small and medium size companies where employees do not have access to occupational health services.

There is simply insufficient capacity within the NHS to deal with staff sickness in a timely fashion. This is particularly the case with stress related illness, where the modern life and work issues facing employees are so large that they are often overwhelming. The delay in receiving the necessary professional treatment, sometimes delivered over a long period of time, can represent an enormous cost to the individual, and to their employer, in downtime and reorganisation.

Business owners and managers must do more to recognise the importance of managing sickness absence levels while at the same time proactively improving the health and wellbeing of the individual and the business benefits that can bring. Investing in better health at work and in better support back to work for those who need it has to be a national priority for all businesses.

Chorus Business Advisers can help businesses in designing employee support programs and also provide assistance with staff health insurance services.

For a free consultation, call us on 0845 8671263 or email info@chorusadvisers.co.uk.