Press release 3 September 2024.
Mental health support: most helpful
Just under one in ten (9%) employers say their priority in offering health and wellbeing support is on prevention, to stop staff getting ill in the first place. Research* from GRiD, the industry body for the group risk sector, also found that 57% of employers provide health and wellbeing support after a set number of weeks’ absence, and 33% provide it from day one, but GRiD believes prevention should be made a priority by more.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said: “The goal should be to mitigate the number of sick days by prioritising preventative measures, but with rehabilitation readily available too.”
However, although the driving priority may not be prevention, many employers do offer health and wellbeing benefits that do offer preventative support. Prevention can include support for all areas of health and wellbeing, including physical, mental, social and financial.
Mental health support is given precedence by employers
Support for mental health, such as initiatives to help staff manage stress and mental health, including access to EAPs and counselling is given precedence over other types of support, and are offered by 57% of employers as part of preventative care.
Preventative support for physical health, such as helping staff increase physical activity and improve diet is offered by 56% of employers. Support for social health, such as organising social events, or supporting voluntary work is offered by 53% of employers, and support for financial health, such as financial planning and debt consolidation is offered by just under half (49%) of employers.
Mental health support most helpful to staff
GRiD’s research found that employers believe preventative support for mental health to be most helpful to staff (50%), closely followed by support for physical health (49%), support for social health (46%) and financial health at 42%.
In GRiD’s experience, it was not long ago that support for physical health was the holy grail and considered the most critical but it’s encouraging to see that support for all aspects of an employee’s welfare is almost on an equal footing.
Where to find support
There is a myriad of support available for employees within health and wellbeing benefits including PMI, EAPs and group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness). This can include regular health checks, monitoring apps, telephone helplines, discounted gym memberships, rewards for achieving goals such as cinema vouchers and shopping discounts, as well as incentives to join mindfulness, healthy-eating, and at-home workout programmes. Insurers are getting increasingly creative in the way that they encourage employees to take responsibility for making healthy lifestyle choices, and GRiD recommends that employers encourage their workforce to make full use of everything that is available to them and their employees.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said: “Our research shows that preventative care can be overlooked by employers and therefore undersold to staff, but make no mistake, these seemingly straightforward measures can make a dramatic difference in absence rates and in staff performing to their best ability.”
*The research was undertaken by Opinium from 9-16 January 2024 among 500 HR decision-makers at UK businesses.
For further information please contact:
Ali Cort
SMUK Marketing and PR
acort@smuk.org.uk
Mob: 07887 484247
Katharine Moxham
Spokesperson for GRiD
Katharine.moxham@grouprisk.org.uk
Mob: 07887 512508
Notes for editors
About GRiD
Group Risk Development (GRiD) is the industry body for the group risk sector, promoting the value to UK businesses of providing financial protection for their staff, enhancing their well-being and improving employee engagement. Our membership includes insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries and those operating in (or with other interests in) the UK group risk market. Together this forms a collective wealth of experience built over many years. Under the chairmanship of Colin Fitzgerald (Distribution Director – Group Protection, L&G Retail) GRiD aims to promote group risk through a collective voice to Government, policymakers, stakeholders and employers.
GRiD works with government departments and regulators involved in legislation and regulation affecting group risk benefits, and with other organisations involved in the benefits and financial protection arenas. GRiD also seeks to enhance the industry’s standing by encouraging best practice and by participating in industry-wide initiatives such as the professional qualification in group risk managed jointly with the Chartered Insurance Institute.
GRiD’s media activity aims to generate a wider awareness and understanding of group risk products and their benefits for employers and employees.
GRiD’s dedicated spokesperson, Katharine Moxham, provides expert media comment on a full range of group risk issues.
Follow Katharine Moxham on Twitter @KMoxham
