Member Article

Corporate Health in the UK

Stress, absence from work, illness and low productivity at the workplace are common problems employers from all over the world are facing. These four factors are among the main reasons many employers are relying on corporate health programs in order to keep their staff in line. And while a lot of people believe that employee health is limited only to taking precautions against workplace-related possible injuries, it’s a fact that corporate health in the UK is actually far more evolved than you might think.

VitalityHealth, one of UK’s most innovative companies specializing in private medical insurance, has been running an annual competition focused on finding the healthiest firms in the UK ever since 2012. As the rest of the world is vilifying the UK for not investing enough resources in corporate health, VitalityHealth is aiming to prove that employers in the UK do care about their staff’s health.

Other corporations, including new startups as well as older well-established companies, are embracing various ways to cope with their employees’ health-related loss of productivity. Both small and gigantic corporations are investing in health classes, health scans, health insurance and tons of other important aspects of maintaining the physical and mental workplace health of UK citizens.

Here are the basic three aspects of corporate health, which UK-based employers are investing in right now.

Health tests

Health tests are a necessity for workers in all corporate echelons and they play an essential role for every corporation when it comes to hiring new staff members or appraising already employed workers. Whether it’s a psyche evaluation, a biometrics screening, or some other more simplified health test, it’s a fact that corporate health matters to the company. Illness and sick-leaves are among the main reasons for low productivity and absence from work, and regular health tests are an easy way to signal your employer that he/ she needs to take precautions.

Health insurance

Unfortunately, a handful of companies can afford the luxury of securing extensive health insurance and adequate health plans for their employees. While investing in such resources is definitely a vital necessity, most UK-based employees have to rely on their own finances in order to receive proper health insurance from the UK government. Claiming that employers offering health benefits such as insurance and health plans are a rarity is a far-fetched exaggeration. Nevertheless, unless you are working for a well-developed corporation, which can afford to assist you at least partially, you will be forced to pay the expenses for your personal health insurance.

Health programs

Wellness plans aim at minimizing work-related stress, absence, illness and low productivity in employees. Numerous firms invest in office gyms as part of the health programs they are offering to their staff. However, not all companies can afford expensive gym equipment, yoga and fitness instructors or chiropractors, so they opt for a cheaper, yet effective alternative – gym membership cards. As part of the corporate health programs UK-based employers either issue discounts for various health and wellness classes, or they offer membership cards for recreation. Other types of health programs also include paid vacations to pre-designated spots, which aim at providing a relaxing retreat to resorts, SPAs, wellness centers, and so forth.

Regardless of all these programs, however, corporate health in the UK isn’t as evolved and as thorough as corporate health in other countries, such as some parts of Asia or the US for example. Investing in corporate wellness is of intrinsic importance not only for any given company’s employees, but also for said company’s overall success. Low productivity caused by unhealthy lifestyle equals disastrous results and can lead to a fatal outcome, such as bankruptcy.

Numerous organizations based in the UK are offering workplace wellness plans, occupational health assistance and corporate health coverage. Such healthcare-related services are worth investing in, and as similar organizations are growing more popular among business owners we can only hope that employers at small and big firms alike will start investing more resources in corporate health for the sake of the workers and the corporations. Corporate health benefits are still being perceived as advantages instead of as an indispensable necessity of fundamental importance, which all employers should try to reinforce.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Annabelle Short .