The 2022 Health Shield Employee Wellbeing Snapshot Survey
Paul Shires
Commercial Director
Welcome to the Health Shield Employee Wellbeing Snapshot Survey 2022. This research was undertaken to get a clearer insight for employers as to the impact the cost of living crisis is actually having on employees across the UK - and the results included some powerful figures.
2022 has been another difficult year for everyone, as economies struggled with soaring inflation. Our Employee Wellbeing survey illustrates how strongly the financial pinch is being felt by employees.
In total, we asked 590 people in full or part-time work across the UK about a range of workplace wellbeing topics, including:
- How worried they are about their financial situation
- Workplace support and benefits available to them (or not)
- The impact of the cost of living crisis on mental health, productivity and more.
Research Summary
- Over a third of employees say that the cost of living crisis has impacted their ability to do their job.
- Employees are viewing the cost of living crisis just as worrying or more worrying than the COVID pandemic.
- Most employees, 86% think that their employers should support them with the increased cost of living.
- Health and wellbeing is something that nearly all employees think that their employees should be supporting them with. 98% say companies should provide employees health benefits.
- 81% of workers would like benefits for the whole family to be offered by their employer.
- With the backdrop of the Great Resignation currently affecting employers, 92% of employees say they would be more likely to stay with an employer that offers health and wellbeing benefits.
Employees, type of work and absence
Physically demanding versus mentally demanding work
💪More than 4 in 10 employees say that they do a physically demanding job. benefits. |
🧠84% of people do a job that is mentally demanding. |
Why and what causes employee absence
😞Mental Health Issues (including stress, anxiety etc.) account for 38% of employee absence. |
🤒Those doing physically demanding jobs take almost twice the number of days off work than those not doing physically demanding jobs (8.6 days compared to 4.4 days). |
👦🏻18-24 year olds take three more days off each year than the average worker taking the most time off for illness and mental health issues. |
👩Workers between the age of 35 and 54 take the least time off with physical issues being most significantly lower than average. |
👴Those aged 55-64 have higher incidences of physical issues taking 5.2 days off compared to an average of 1.1; this age group rarely take time off for mental health issues. |
📉Lower paid workers take more days off on average with physical health issues the main differentiator accounting for twice as many days off compared to the average. |
Workplace support and benefits
Does your company support you with your health and wellbeing?
👍88% of employees think that their employers do support them with health and wellbeing. |
🤷With most saying they're supported a little, and just over 1 in 3 workers saying they’re supported a lot. |
Do you think companies should support staff with their health and wellbeing?
💙98% of employees think that employers should support their staff with their health and wellbeing. |
💚Of those not getting support for health and wellbeing, 93% think that employers should offer support. |
If you didn't have employee benefits, how important do you think each of these would be?
👨⚕️More than 3 in 4 employees would value support with the costs of healthcare as an employee benefit, it was considered almost as important as staff training and development. |
🙏For employees not getting support with their health and wellbeing, 85% would value support with the costs of health care, this need was considered more important than training and development in their roles. |
How has the cost of living crisis impacted employees?
How often employees are worrying about money
🗓️4 in 10 people are worrying about money every day. |
😟82% are worrying about money at least once a week. |
💸Financial concerns are less prevalent in those aged 45 plus though around 7 in 10 still worry about money once a week or more. |
📈The Cost of Living Crisis isn't just impacting those on lower incomes, 77% of those earning between £40k and £100k per year worry about money once a week or more. |
The ability of employees to do their job is being impacted
😓More than 1 in 3 people say that the Cost of Living Crisis has impacted their ability to do their job. |
👷51% of 18-24 year olds agree that the cost of living crisis has harmed their ability to do your job. |
🛡️Less than 20% of those aged 55 and over say their ability to do their job has been impacted. |
💰Earnings have little effect on the impact of the Cost of Living crisis on people's ability to do their job; more than 4 in 10 of those earning more than £60,000 feel that it has. |
🤫64% of people would not tell their employer if they were struggling financially. |
➕Nearly half of workers (48.6%) say that a pay rise of £100 - £200 per month would be needed to make a meaningful difference in supporting them with the cost of living. |
How can employers support employee health during the cost of living crisis?
The cost of living crisis is causing a wave of financial stress for employees. When employees struggle with their financial wellbeing it can start a domino effect of health issues by increasing stress levels.
Mental wellbeing will suffer as a result of people feeling financially stressed. A well-rounded benefits offering can positively impact both employee physical and mental health, and demonstrate that your organisation is there to support the health and wellbeing of your people when they need it most.
Our Health Cash Plans go so much further when it comes to helping with the rising cost of living. Not only do they give employees money back for the costs of everyday health bills such as dental, optical, and physio treatments; they also come with MyWellness, which includes big benefits of additional wellbeing services that can help employees cope with their financial stress.
This is a financial promotion
Health Shield Friendly Society Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
This is a financial promotion.
Health Shield Friendly Society Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
