Businesses that care about staff welfare invest a great deal of time and effort in helping their employees stay healthy and educating top management about the need to create a positive work environment. While the concept of wellness is now fairly prevalent in workplaces across the world, including the Middle East, the shape of health and well-being programs is changing to meet the new expectations of the emerging workforce.
Lianne Braganza-D'Sylva, Chief Marketing Officer of Cigna Insurance Middle East, highlighted some of these changes at the International Health Insurance Forum 2018 Middle East and Africa event that ran from September 11 to 13 in Dubai.
Below are a few steps that can help you keep up with the latest trends:
- Make walking meetings the norm. Holding ‘walk and talk’ meetings gets everyone moving – even the most sedentary employees.
- Allow time for exercise. Enabling your staff teams to take an hour a day off for a yoga session or a walk in the park may seem like a waste of productive time. However, seeing them return to work rejuvenated and raring to go will make it all worthwhile.
- Set up an onsite cafeteria. Studies show that companies providing healthy and affordable lunch options benefit from increased employee loyalty.1
- Host health education and coaching sessions. Teach your employees how to take care of their health and watch company sick leave rates drop.
- Introduce health screening programs. Prevention is better than cure, and health screening programs with targeted risk assessments will enable your staff to spot and address any potential health issues before they get too serious.
- Prioritize mental well-being as much as physical well-being. Pay attention to the impact of work on your employees’ mental health and productivity. Break up the routine with fun team-building and social activities.
- Provide more than just health insurance. Volunteering opportunities, financial planning assistance, flexible work arrangements, and personal counselling are all important elements of this mix that can bring big benefits.
References:
[1] Does It Pay to Feed Your Employees? (Infographic) https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240985 Accessed on September 17, 2018
