CORPORATE NUTRITION
Good health in your business is very good for business.
Strong evidence shows that a reliable, healthy and productive workforce is the key to the success and sustainability of your business, especially in today’s climate of fast socio-economic change.
Yet, according to research, most employees find increasing demands placed upon them unrealistic and therefore very stressful. Long hours, deadlines and lack of personal connection can take their toll on staff resilience, performance and wellbeing. Alongside it, poor dietary and lifestyle choices, plus emotional instability contribute to underperformance and illness. This leads to sickness absenteeism, adding extra burden to company’s profitability.
The bad news:
The latest report from the Office for National Statistics showed that the percentage of working hours lost because of sickness absence rose to 2.6% in 2022, an increase of 0.4% from 2021 and the highest it has been since 2004. An estimated 185.6 million working days were lost in the UK because of sickness in 2022, which was a new record high. All age groups experienced increases in their sickness absence rate in 2022, but particularly the over 45s, as they are more likely to develop chronic diseases. Sick leave for public sector workers has been higher than those in the private sector for every year on record.
The most common reasons for the workforce to take sick holidays were:
- Minor illnesses: coughs, colds and flu
- Headaches and migraines
- Back pain
- Neck and upper limb problems (arthritis in hand joints, stiff neck)
- Eye, ear, nose and mouth/dental; to include sinusitis and toothache
- Heart, blood pressure and circulation problems
- Stress, depression, anxiety
- Respiratory conditions (asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, bronchitis, pneumonia)
- Gastrointestinal problems (IBS, sickness, nausea, diarrhoea, piles, bowel cancer, stomach ulcer, acid reflux)
- Genito-urinary, to include urine infections, menstrual problems, pregnancy problems
- Diabetes
Absenteeism:
Adding more numbers to the equation, sick days (absenteeism) are costing UK employers £29 billion a year, according to accountancy firm PwC. It has been estimated that for a company with 49 employees, sick days would cost a total of £26,972 a year, based on the average hourly rate of £14.38.
Other independent research, including from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has highlighted that poor physical and mental health at the workplace will impact on the organization’s success over time.
Academic literature also provides evidence for the importance of employee health and well-being for individual and organisational performance. For example, a meta-analysis by Ford et al (2011) showed links between employee psychological health and well-being and overall performance, while Donald et al (2005) showed that almost a quarter of the variance in employee productivity is explained by psychological well-being and perceived commitment of the organisation to the employee. Taris and Schreurs (2009) showed links between employee well-being and clients’ satisfaction, whereas research from Kenexa (Wiley 2008) suggests that organisations with high levels of employee engagement outperform their low-engagement counterparts in terms of shareholder returns and annual net income. An Australian study found that the healthiest employees are almost three times more effective than the least healthy, with the healthiest employees working approximately 143 effective hours per month compared to 49 effective hours per month by the least healthy. Also, the Chopman Institute, cited in HAPIA, showed that a wellness programme can successfully save $5.81 for every $1 invested in employee health and wellbeing.
Presenteeism:
Another underestimated aspect to consider is the opposite of absenteeism, which is presenteeism. Under-performing at work due to illness is presenteeism.
Evidence suggests that presenteeism generates significantly higher cost estimates than does absenteeism, which is rarely considered in economic evaluations.
Ill employees are generally less productive and are more likely to make costly mistakes than their well colleagues. They will be less patient and easily irritable, impacting on internal and external relationships. Also, coming into work ill spreads germs around the workplace and can lengthen recovery times. Some research shows that ‘presenteeism’ may account for up to 50% more working time lost than sick leave absenteeism.
“Legal and General” calculated that presenteeism could cost a company with 600 employees up to £2m per year. This is more than £3000 per employee and that poor workforce wellbeing accounts for a quarter reduction in productivity.
All businesses seek profitability, so it stands to reason that if employees are well and happy they will contribute to the company’s successful performance. In today’s competitive global business environment, organisations need healthy, happy, motivated and loyal employees. This is paramount for taking good care of your organisation’s present and future performance and profitability.
The good news:
Save money on some direct costs of absence, which may include, but not limited to:
- paying the salary of the absent employee
- overtime incurred by other employees covering for the absent employee
- loss of output incurred by the absent employee.
Save money on the indirect costs of absence. These may include, but not limited to:
- the time taken for a replacement to learn the new role and become productive
- possible diminished services and product quality
- loss of business, continuity and reputation
- training and providing support to other staff
- recruiting temporary or replacement staff
My practical SOLUTIONS to scaling up your business is “Corporate Nutrition”:
- We will start by assessing the main reasons why your employees take sick leave, which is unique to your organisation. I will also need to understand your in-house rules, organization’s dynamics, and facilities. Then I will create a bespoke programme, which will be preferably delivered via a live conference whenever possible, using a flip chart or power-point. Otherwise, an online video conference tool, like Zoom, can be used.
- My talks are very educational, but also inspiring and impactful, entertaining and fun, leaving the audience, motivated, empowered and knowledgeable. The focus will be on how to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing, by making the right dietary and lifestyle choices.
- They will receive healthful, easy to prepare and tasty meal recipes for the three main meals, plus snacks ideas. Also included are exact cooking instructions, to improve all aspect of their wellbeing.
- Digital handouts to refer to, which highlight the key points of the programme.
- Food to avoid and food to have more of.
- Healthy cooking techniques.
- How to bulk cook and have more time for themselves.
- What to eat at work for lunch and afternoon snacks, which will impact on sustaining energy throughout the day. This will avoid those afternoon crashes, elevate brain function, attention and mood.
- Practical tips on how to reduce stress and improve sleep, immunity, digestive health, weight management and emotional wellbeing.
- Lifestyle interventions on exercise, smoking, body massage, toxins exposure, alcohol and quality of drinking water.
- One-to-one health consultations also available, for anyone within your organization with chronic health conditions or those that are willing to invest in their health, happiness and longevity on a personalized level.
- All attendees will be entitled to one year 10% discount on supplements, toiletries and natural beauty products, available from my website to ensure long term results.
- Measures to improve workspace culture and relationships.
- Boosting happiness, by enhancing mood and focus.
Conclusions:
It is undisputed that having healthy staff in your organization lowers absenteeism and presenteeism. A small investment will substantially decrease costs, by also improving productivity, morale and staff retention.
A focus on well-being is particularly important now than ever before. This is true because the economic climate has put UK organisations and their employees under strain.
The high costs of sick leave and presenteeism reinforce the need for a well-thought-out wellbeing approach.
Forward thinking companies will invest in the health and engagement of their staff, so they can reduce absenteeism and the negative effect of presenteeism. Plus boost performance and productivity, thus creating an overall positive impact on business profitability over time.
Business owners need to realise that a minimal investment into their staff’s morale, satisfaction, loyalty and wellbeing will ultimately provide a fantastic return on investment, as research shows!
So, if you believe that workers are an asset and not a liability and you are serious about business, please get in touch, using this contact form. Alternatively, email me directly, so we can schedule a meeting and discuss your needs and how to take your workers’ and company’s performance to the next level.
Good health in your business is very good for business!
Reference:
https://www.peoplehr.com/en-gb/resources/blog/sick-leave-report-how-are-different-industries-faring
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02678373.2011.609035
Medibank Private 2005, The health of Australia’s workforce, 1 July 2011, http://www.trenchhealth.com.au/articles/MEDI_Workplace_Web_Sp.pdf
Chapman, L.S 2007, Proof Positive. An Analysis of the Cost Effectiveness of Worksite Wellness, Seattle: Chapman Institute, cited in HAPIA, Best-Practice Guidelines. Workplace Health in Australia, 15 July 2011, http://www.hapia.com.au/index.html