Present with health

Good health at a workplace is of paramount importance. Studies show that high levels of sick leave taken by employees, or absentee cases can adversely affect an organisation’s productivity. A survey by Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) stated that worker absenteeism costs businesses €1.5bn a year in their country alone.

Employers affirm this, saying that “operational efficiency” is hindered. Ivy Tan, HR Manager, of Brother International Singapore, states: “As our organisation has a lean structure, optimisation of our workforce efficiency is essential. Employee absenteeism will affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation’s operations.”

Prevention is better than cure

Employers understand that their most important asset is human capital so many are making efforts to ensure that their employees are staying healthy. According to the Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Health Care Survey, 44% of surveyed employers would like to decrease worker health risk while 37% would like to increase awareness of health issues among their employees.

Chin Wei Jia, Group General Manager of Health Management International (HMI), states that many factors besides illness contribute to employee absenteeism. However, she says that “integrating proactive, preventive workplace strategies regarding employee wellbeing into the corporate culture is a critical part of the solution.” This would allow the company to enjoy long-term benefits such as increased productivity, worker morale and reduced healthcare costs.

As such, organisations are using a variety of methods to increase awareness of workplace health, ranging from offering medical benefits to conducting wellness programmes for their employees. “Many companies today provide medical benefits at their chosen panel of clinics. This is proof that HR managers understand the importance of encouraging employees to see a doctor when they are sick or feeling unwell,” says Lam Pin Woon, President and Executive Director of Healthway Medical Corporation.

Brother International is a Singapore Health Award Silver winner, and has been promoting its Work Place Health Programme since 2006. The company offers a variety of health programmes and medical benefits to its employees. “We offer health screening benefits to our employees. They are given an amount of money to pay for any health screening they might choose. We have also arranged for a vendor to come to our office to conduct health screenings,” says Tan.

The organisation actively promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle as well as the means to attain it. Brother International Singapore has three in-house sports clubs – the Running Club, Bowling Club, and Badminton Club – and interested employees can join these clubs. Healthy drinks and fruit are also distributed throughout the company to promote
healthy eating.

The workplace health programmes have been useful for the organisation, says Tan. The average sick leave taken by an employee is 2.7 days. Moreover, Brother International has made it easy for the employees to take up the offered programmes. “Our wellness programmes are conducted during office hours. Our employees can participate in them without having to compromise on their personal time schedule. We have an award system to encourage employee participation whereby they can earn points for gift redemption,” explains Tan.

HR has a major part to play in raising awareness regarding workplace wellness. Tan explains that HR conducts an annual healthy lifestyle survey and formulates programmes based on employee feedback. Also, HR chairs the organisation’s sports and health committee with members from various departments, to promote healthy workplace culture.

Another organisation that has been offering wellness programmes to its employees is DHL Express Singapore. It started the programmes in 2004 and incorporated them into the company’s daily operations. The organisation has a dedicated workplace health promotion (WHP) team that organises health and recreation activities.

DHL Express Singapore actively promotes a healthy lifestyle by disseminating information through e-mail, bulletin boards, and even road shows and even designates one month as a Healthy Lifestyle Month, dedicated to healthy lifestyle activities, annually. Also, the organisation has facilities such as a gym and tennis court located in the main building for employees to utilise. Furthermore, the organisation uses incentives in order to promote wellness among employees; wellness points are rewarded to employees with low number of sick leaves whereas flexi-points are given to employees to be used for gym membership and other recreational activities.

“Employees are a company’s valuable asset and we believe their wellbeing, be it physical or mental, is important to us. A healthy workforce with happy and engaged employees means a more productive workforce,” concludes Tan.