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Employees demanding workplace health programmes: Survey
Free gym memberships are perks people want.
Rewarding employees’ healthy behaviours and C-suite leadership and engagement were identified as the top two critical drivers for an effective workplace health programme, with approximately one in three (36.6% and 34.7% respectively) attendees selecting each option in a live poll during AIA Vitality Summit.
Mark Saunders highlighted that investing in employees’ health is not only the “right thing to do” but that it is also “the smart thing to do” and the responsibility of companies to do so.
To establish a healthy workforce in Singapore, another key takeaway from the event establishes that collaborative efforts from multiple stakeholders is required .
When asked who played the largest role in driving wellness in the workplace, besides employers incentivising staff to stay healthy, government providing financial or regulatory support emerged as the second key player, with 14.7% of the delegates’ votes.
"At the 10% medical inflation rate per year in Singapore, a much faster rate than general inflation, we are already paying for our employees’ deteriorating health without knowing it. Instead of asking ‘How can I afford to pay for a corporate wellness programme?’ we should be asking ‘How can I afford not to invest in my employees’ health?’," emphasised Dr Jeremy Lim.
Furthermore, the ability to effectively measure Returns on Investment (ROIs) on employee wellness programmes is essential for companies to start investing in the health of their workforce.
Approximately two in five (38.9%) delegates expressed that the biggest challenge to implementing a corporate wellness programme in their organisation is because they are unsure about the ROIs from corporate wellness.
Reduced employer healthcare costs, increased employee engagement and consequently productivity levels, as well as improvements in stock prices were cited as examples of benefits companies have derived from making such investments.
AIA Singapore hosted the inaugural AIA Vitality Summit in Singapore themed ‘Wellness in the Workplace makes Business Sense’ at a time when companies are struggling with the impact of a slowing economy, stagnant productivity levels and increasing cost of doing business.
The Summit was attended by more than 100 C-Suite executives and representatives from government agencies of whom approximately two in three (66.3%) believed that the most important driver for wellness in the workplace is for employers to incentivise staff to stay healthy.
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