Getting your business fit for 2022

Employers should take a proactive approach to employee health and wellbeing

2021 has been a year of ups and downs for many businesses as they navigate hurdles including the ongoing pandemic, rising inflation, supply issues, and staff retention and recruitment pressures.

However, despite this challenging backdrop, the business community continues to see much to be optimistic about in terms of growth and opportunity. So how can Yorkshire businesses optimise their potential and ensure peak fitness for the new year?

COVID-19 forced many organisations to adapt to new home-based working policies overnight, with no transition or mitigations in place. While positive for many employees, for others, remote working and the associated solitude has proved difficult in terms of mental health. Employers and managers have had to address this challenge, supporting employees while often seeing their teams only via a screen. The financial impact on businesses is considerable; research by Deloitte found that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion each year, and that this cost is rising.

Businesses are also having to quickly adapt to a new labour market. Job vacancies are on the rise and businesses are struggling to fill roles.

As we look ahead to 2022, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) states the UK is ‘in the midst of a sharp but incomplete recovery’, predicting that access to labour and unlocking growth opportunities will be critical to delivering on this potential and ensuring businesses can build back up.

So how can employers ensure they have a strong foundation for growth in the new year? One important step is to take a proactive approach to employee health and wellbeing, making this a fundamental part of organisational culture. This will not only help to reduce absence, presenteeism and staff turnover, but will also create an important point of difference in the battle for talent, for whom culture is increasingly as important as salary and financial benefits.

Many organisations may be unsure how to do this without distracting from the all-important day job. To help businesses get a head start, Bradford-based Sovereign Health Care has launched a useful new guide outlining quick, easy and affordable steps that employers can take to boost employee health and wellbeing.

This guide covers the core building blocks for a straightforward health and wellbeing plan, along with quick and easy ways to get started. It provides a checklist for immediate, cost-effective actions such as adding health care cash plans to benefits packages. These enable employers to offer their people affordable, usable health and wellbeing cover, including access to an Employee Assistance Programme, to help them take a proactive approach to looking after their everyday health.

For more information on how to get your business fit for 2022 and where to start on employee wellbeing, read the guide at sovereignhealthcare.co.uk/business.