What employees want from a company employee wellbeing plan

As a result of COVID-19, the way we work changed a lot and by the looks of things, some of those changes are here to stay. With the number of people working from home more than doubled, and 74% of UK firms choosing to maintain home working post-lockdown, we can’t ignore the fact that what employees want from their company employee wellbeing plan may have also changed.

Use the following quick links to find your answers quicker:

• Access to healthcare services
• Mental health support
• Benefits offering financial help
• Supporting a better work-life balance
• Benefits to support physical health

Offering free fruit and a table tennis table just won’t cut it anymore, especially since remote working and social distancing measures have been in place. Even before the pandemic hit, it was reported that 86% of UK adults who work in an office environment said ‘fun features’ had no specific value. So, with this in mind, we explore what employees actually want from a company employee wellbeing plan that really will help both their mental and physical wellbeing.

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Access to healthcare services

For the last year, access to healthcare services such as doctors, physios and counsellors hasn’t been readily available, and treatments for serious conditions have seen huge delays, making this period a scary time for many. As employers think about their employee wellbeing strategy, it’s important to factor this in, with employees recognising the value of easy access to healthcare services.

Mental health support

With 1 in 4 people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year, it’s vital that your employee wellbeing plan includes benefits designed to support employees’ mental health. Especially since the pandemic, reported mental health problems increased with 52% of employees saying that their mental health was being impacted by isolation at home. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that 24% of employees wanted more mental health support during the UK lockdowns. Including access to mental health support in your employee wellbeing offering is proving to be crucial for the UK workforce, implementing a digital solution that includes on and offline access to support lines, wellbeing apps and counsellors is a great place to start.

Benefits offering financial help

With finances being a key cause of stress and mental health issues, it’s not shocking to see that 39% of UK employees want bigger benefits and discounts offered to them, including discounts on grocery shops and retail stores.

Supporting a better work-life balance

Achieving a good work-life balance is something most employees have likely struggled with in the past. But with the pandemic introducing remote working for many, some employees have found it’s actually helped them juggle other life responsibilities, for example, the school run. This is supported in an article by Microsoft that has revealed that two-thirds of staff want flexible working to stay. 

Benefits to support physical health

As a result of the pandemic, everyone in the UK was urged to stay at home and work from home if possible. For those with underlying health conditions, ‘shielding’ became the norm, ensuring those more at risk from the virus stayed safe. Throughout these tough times, it became clear that those struggling with obesity were more likely to have underlying health conditions that are independent risk factors for severe COVID-19. In an attempt to support this, the Government is set to unveil a £10m campaign to tackle obesity. This simply highlights the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and looking after employees’ physical health. 

To take this a step further, you can include a digital solution in your wellbeing strategy that can provide support to each employee based on their needs. By simply asking a few lifestyle questions, you can provide tailored content to give a more personal experience. Whether this is by online surveys or an app for employees to log into, this solution will ensure your staff have access to all the benefits available to them as well as personalised content to offer professional advice. The digital approach will give you a full overview of your workforce wellbeing.

When ironing out your employee wellbeing plan, it’s worth thinking about incorporating benefits that take more of a preventative approach. Healthcare benefits such as health screening are designed to help identify health risks early, enabling employees to seek help quickly and prevent the problem from worsening. Breeze, Health Shield’s digital solution to employee wellbeing includes benefits such as access to doctors, physiotherapists and counsellors to encourage employees to get expert advice sooner. Having these services readily available means employees won’t have to worry about waiting to get an appointment or the cost.

To find out more about how employee health and wellbeing can support SMEs, download our report Wellbeing: the way forward for SMEs.