Executive summary
We are working harder than ever before. Technological
innovations, globalisation, hyper-connectivity and their influence on workplace
culture, coupled with less distinction between work and home life, mean that
people are putting in longer hours and facing ever more intense workplace
demands. As a result, employee mental ill health and lifestyle-related health
conditions are increasingly impacting their productivity and the performance of
the organisations to which they belong. In response to this upswing and to
rapidly changing market forces, consumer demands, investor expectations and new
emerging technology, companies are implementing increasingly sophisticated
risk-management strategies. So, health and wellness benefits and well-being
agendas are now as commonplace as policies for annual holidays and sick leave,
provision for company pensions and on-site health and safety.
Today, the concept of health and wellness is much broader in
scope than just the treatment or management of disease. Well-being encompasses
several dimensions including physical and emotional health, financial security,
social connectedness, purpose and character strength. This view is reflected in
the demands and expectations of well-informed employees, and they’re looking
for health and wellness initiatives that keep pace. While a culture of
well-being has become one of the top differentiators for many companies, others
are struggling to keep up with talent values and market trends.
As a leading global benefits provider, we commissioned a survey
and this subsequent report to examine the level of health and wellness support
businesses are providing their employees, and the impact this is having. We
surveyed more than 1,000 HR Directors and 4,000 employees in large and medium
enterprises across the world, gaining insights from their regional and cultural
perspectives. Our interviews took place in the UK, the US, Singapore and the
UAE.
Through the survey data, we explain how the right approaches to
corporate wellness can have a positive impact on the holistic health and
well-being of employees. We also consider the strategies and resources that
help employers develop and embed a successful corporate wellness plan while
enriching the company’s culture: namely, those that help drive health care
costs down and workforce health, happiness and productivity up. In this way,
companies can help safeguard their future growth and success. Ultimately, when
your workforce thrives, your business thrives.
“While many employers are currently struggling to keep pace with
talent expectations and changing risk profiles, the good news is that there are
a lot of excellent well-being solutions available in the market. The key is to
work with payers and benefits providers that configure these into a single,
affordable, flexible well-being proposition and to pair this with workforce
analysis. In this way, employers can provide engaging, motivating and
empowering well-being solutions that effectively address these concerns.” Simon Miller, Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna
International
Seven key findings
Our research finds that there is a considerable disconnect
between employer-provided benefits and employee expectations, awareness,
understanding and experiences. While employers think they’re doing a good job
of supporting people’s physical and mental health, employees don’t agree.
This report looks at some of the greatest challenges faced by
corporations in maintaining a healthy workforce and improving business
performance. It also details the opportunities available to help organisations
achieve their goals.
We have called out seven key insights below, along with one or
two stats from the full data set, which are covered more fully in the
subsequent chapters:
1. Health and wellness benefits are missing the mark
70% of employers believe they provide good access to health and
wellness benefits and support, but only 23% of employees agree.
2. Lack of mental health support is a pressing
issue
82% of workers across the globe are concerned that mental
health issues could one day impact their ability to work. However, only 25% of
employees believe that their company provides good support for mental health
conditions.
3. Company health
support affects employee job choice
75% of employees stated that they would not join
a company that failed to provide good support for treating physical health
concerns such as back pain.
4. ‘Sick day’
stigma impacting health
72% of businesses don’t think employees at their company take
enough sick days. And 18% of employers think that a culture where people do not
feel they can take sick leave is the biggest cause of an unhealthy working
environment.
5. Poor sleep
cycle caused by and impacting work
56% of employees don’t think they get enough sleep. Of these,
34% say job stress and problems at work are responsible for their sleepless
nights.
6. Stress: the
threat to employee well-being
Across all four of the markets we surveyed, 47% of global
employees feel stressed because of work and 80% of workers rated their
company’s support for stress as adequate or poor.
7. Having local
insight is a must for international organisations
Workers in the UAE rate access to ongoing programmes to support
wellness as the poorest globally, with only 20% ranking them as good. However,
76% of HR Directors in the UAE rate access to wellness programmes as good, the
highest number internationally.
Finding 1: Health and
wellness benefits are missing the mark
Our survey results show that employers are failing to meet
employee needs for health support in the workplace, resulting in a significant
risk to talent attraction, retention and productivity. In addition, they reveal
a significant gap in the perception of mental and physical health benefits
provision between employers and employees.
·
70% of employers believe they
provide good access to health and wellness benefits and support, but only 23%
of employees agree with them.
·
More than 88% of HR Directors based
in the UK, the US, the UAE and Singapore state that their company could do more
to reduce presenteeism and sickness rates by improving health and well-being
support.
·
37% of employers are unsure about
what employees want from their benefits package and 44% are concerned about the
cost implications of employee health and wellness.
·
69% feel they are increasingly
expected to do more with less time. The vast majority believe that compliance
with new laws and regulations is an ongoing challenge.
·
82% of employees would feel
undervalued if a company did not support their mental and physical health.
·
32% of employees rate the level of
support for mental health in their workplace as poor compared to just 16% of HR
Directors.
We also find significant experience perception gaps in the
region:
Workers in the UAE rate access to ongoing programmes to support
wellness as the poorest globally, only 20% ranking them as good. This contrasts
with the opinions of HR Directors in the same country, of whom more than three
quarters say that access to wellness programmes is good.
“Clearly, the first goal of a workplace wellness programme is to
help employees become healthier, but it’s no longer just about medical cost,
attraction, retention and productivity; people are recognising that these
programmes are improving their stock performance. Ultimately, the goal of every
wellness programme is to inspire individuals to change their wellness habits —
and to give them the tools to be successful.” Cate Darroue, Senior Director, Product & Marketing, EMEA,
Aetna International
“Many employers offer a one-size-fits-all well-being solution.
It may be a very good package of benefits but only relevant to 25% of the
population. Also, many employees are simply not aware of what’s available to
them. As a result, employers’ considerable investments are missing the mark —
not because they aren’t great solutions, but because they haven’t focused
enough on fully understanding and addressing individual needs and company
culture from the top. We find that the most effective well-being engagement
initiatives are often driven by the CEO, improved line manager capability and
support, and employee champions.” Simon
Miller, Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna International
We asked several Aetna International experts from across the
business to comment on the research findings. These videos provide insights
into the health and wellness benefits provision challenges faced by employers
and the solutions available to them:
Q 1.1. What are some of the challenges employers face in
providing health and wellness benefits for their employees? And how can they
tackle them?
Transcript
Q 1.2. What can employers do to overcome the gulf that
exists between the health and wellness benefits employers are offering and what
employees need?
Transcript
Q 1.3. How can Aetna International help employers bridge
the gap between employee health and wellness benefits expectations and employer
provision of benefits?
Transcript
Finding 2: Lack of
mental health support is a pressing issue
Globally, mental health conditions contribute greatly to the
burden of workplace disability, lost days and reduced productivity due to ill
health at work. However, support for mental health conditions at work is
perceived by employees as particularly lacking, which is at odds with the
employers’ perspective. Wellness provision for mental health conditions is improving,
but our survey shows a pressing need for organisations to step up their efforts:
·
According to our data, 43% say
their organisations offer good support for mental health conditions such as
anxiety and depression. However, only 25% of workers believe that their company
provides good support for these conditions.
·
82% of workers across the globe are
concerned that mental health issues could one day impact their ability to work.
While 38% of workers view workplace support for stress as poor, only 11% of
employers think their provision of benefits and support for stress is poor.
·
The gap is particularly noteworthy
in the UAE, where only 20% of employers rate their support for mental health in
the workplace as good (compared to the global average of 25%). Conversely, 38%
of workers in the UAE rate their company’s support for stress in the workplace
as poor (higher than the global average of 32%).
·
67% of workers stated that they
would not join a business that did not have a clear policy on supporting those
with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
“Organisations are increasingly broadening their definition of
wellness to include more than just physical health. Wellness is not just an
absence of illness: effective wellness programmes focus on holistic well-being
and redefine what it means to be healthy.” Cate Darroue, Senior Director, Product & Marketing, EMEA,
Aetna International
Tackling stigma in the
workplace
Our survey found that mental health still carries negative
stigma to a degree. This is particularly true in countries such as the UAE and
Singapore, where half our respondents found it hard to talk about mental health
at work, compared to 40% of employees in the UK and the US.
“Organisations are seeing a rise in absenteeism and presenteeism
being allocated to mental health conditions relating to stress, anxiety and clinical
depression. This is partly because there’s much better awareness and a
subsequent rise in diagnosis. Also, it’s becoming less taboo to cite mental
health as a reason for absence or illness. That’s a good thing and while it’s
probably always been a factor, we can now better measure and attribute impacts
in order to take more assertive and positive action for the benefit of employee
and employer alike. Companies are increasingly reporting to the market on their
sense of purpose, societal contribution and employee engagement. I suspect and
hope that employee well-being and mental health indicators specifically, will
also soon become a familiar part of annual reporting and shareholder
accountability.” Simon Miller, Senior Director,
Customer Proposition, Aetna International
“A more collaborative management style seems to suit more
people. People need to feel valued, heard and have some control of their
working day too. It’s not just about putting in a gym in a building, it’s about
having flexibility and some awareness of when people are starting to struggle
with stress. If someone doesn’t self-report their stress, anxiety or
depression, it can be challenging to detect.
“Tackling a culture of presenteeism is a big challenge. People
are taking days as leave when they should be taking sick leave — known as
‘leavism’. We’re seeing an erosion of employee protection and less secure work
and roles and this is without a doubt having an impact on stress. People are
often left feeling ‘lucky’ to have a job, which can heighten stress levels as
they fear for their job security. This results in a number of maladaptive
behaviours such as working excessively long hours, checking emails continuously
and using annual leave as a time to catch up on rest and recovery.
“Employers need to change their corporate culture. It’s
important to ensure that if people are experiencing the ill effects of stress,
they don’t blame themselves. Employers need to collaborate on strategies to
deal with high levels of stress and support their employees’ mental and
physical health.” Dr Meg Arroll, specialist health
behaviour change psychologist at 10 Harley Street and author of The
Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille).
Discover what Aetna International’s experts say on the provision
of holistic health and well-being support in the workplace:
Q 2.1. How can employers go about helping to look after
employees holistically — balancing their emotional and physical health?
Transcript
Q 2.2. What can employers do to help deliver and promote
mental health support in the workplace?
Transcript
Finding 3: Company
health and condition management support affects employee job choice
Data reveals that there are certain medical cost drivers that
are common to employers across the globe. These cost drivers include
lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and musculoskeletal
conditions, as well as seasonal illnesses such as the flu. Many employers
recognise that prevention is better than cure, and many organisations have
introduced prevention and early intervention strategies into their health and
wellness benefits offerings as a means of controlling health care costs, while
ensuring positive health outcomes for those affected.
Back pain
We found contrasting attitudes, costs and availability of local
health care for the treatment of back pain across the different global markets.
·
39% of US employees said their
companies provided good support for employees to deal with back pain, whereas
in Singapore, the number of companies who did the same for their workers was
only 23%.
·
However, our survey found that even
in the UK, with universal, government-funded health care available, 19% of UK
HR Directors said back pain posed a considerable challenge to businesses.
·
Globally, only 6% of large
corporations with more than 5,000 employees said that dealing with time off
sick and lost productivity from back pain was their greatest HR challenge,
whereas for smaller enterprises the figure is 18%.
·
75% of employees stated that they
would not join a company that failed to provide good support
for treating physical health concerns such as back pain.
·
39% in Singapore and the UAE, and
30% of employees in the UK and the US, are concerned that lifestyle-related
diseases such as back pain will affect their ability to work in the future.
Flu and viral illness
We find considerable need and demand for preventative health
measures such as flu immunisations as part of corporate wellness provision.
·
23% of employers stated that flu
and other common viral illnesses represented the greatest challenge to their
business in terms of lost productivity and increased sickness rates.
·
40% of employees said that support
for flu and common viral illnesses was good at their company.
·
Concerns were highest in Singapore
and the UAE, with 25% and 28% of HR Directors stating that cold and flu viruses
were their greatest challenge to employee health and wellness.
“Flu vaccines represent a true win-win situation. Smart
organisations make every effort to get their workers vaccinated because they
realise how expensive the alternative is financially — due to lost
productivity, and emotionally — due to low workforce spirit.” Dr Lori Stetz, Senior Medical Director, Aetna International
Learn more about the ways in which an organisation’s approach to
health and wellness impacts talent acquisition and retention, as well as cost
containment efforts.
Q 3.1. How can well-rounded health and wellness benefits
plans help employers contain health care costs?
Transcript
Q 3.2. What does good look like when it comes to
corporate health and wellness benefits for employees?
Transcript
Finding 4: ‘Sick day’
stigma impacting health
Sick leave
As career expectations change, the demand for flexible (and
remote) working, clear policies around employee self-care and sick leave as
part of an employer’s approach to employee well-being is strong, and a
challenge that businesses must overcome if they wish to attract and retain the
right talent.
·
72% of businesses don’t think
employees at their company take enough sick days, and 18% of employers think
that a culture where people do not feel they can take sick leave is the biggest
cause of an unhealthy working environment. From an employee perspective, 40% of
employees in businesses in the UK, the UAE, the US and Singapore take six or
more sick days per year and 47% strongly agree that companies should actively
encourage people to take time off when ill.
·
Only 12% of HR Directors believe
that flexible working policies have a positive impact on employee retention.
However, flexible working hours is the most popular workforce policy requested
by employees to help them lead healthier lives.
·
A comprehensive health and wellness
benefits package is seen as the second-biggest positive impact on the ability
to attract and retain employees by businesses, second only to salary and job
role specifics. This is followed in most markets by annual leave entitlement,
flexible working policies and location. Flexible working hours and a positive
work culture are seen as more important for retaining rather
than attracting talent.
After ‘aggressive managers’ and ‘long hours’, a major factor
cited in unhealthy working environments was a culture where people don’t take
sick leave.
·
96% of HR Directors agreed that
their companies should encourage workers to take proper sick leave during
illness. But nearly nine out of 10 (88%) stated that their company could do
more to ensure that this happens.
·
However, prevention is better than
cure: more than eight out of 10 HR Directors agreed that, by offering better
health and well-being support in the first place, they could reduce absence
rates and presenteeism within their organisation for illnesses that are able to
be prevented, thereby containing absence rate costs through early intervention.
In order to attract and retain the best talent, HR departments
need to improve work flexibility, self-care and sick leave policies, and
company culture to attract talent and keep it healthy. In many countries, more
than half the workforce are millennials or younger, who are more likely to make
self-care and holistic well-being a priority. When they are ill, they expect to
be able to take sick leave until they are well or, in some cases, work from
home. Globally, laws and policies around requests for flexible working hours
vary greatly.
“Organisations can often struggle to strike the right balance
between keeping employees healthy and driving productivity — but these concepts
are delicately intertwined. Prevention of health issues is of course better
than ‘cure’, but every organisation will draw a different line in the sand. For
example: is it when people start to experience symptoms that employers take
note, or is it taking a holistic, integrative and preventative approach to
wellness? Prevention requires a significant investment when they’re looking at
the bottom line. But there is evidence to say that prevention works as far as
productivity is concerned. Companies will get more out of people if they feel
valued, healthier and not overly stressed.” Dr Meg Arroll, specialist health behaviour change psychologist
at 10 Harley Street and author of The Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille)
Discover how attitudes and workplace culture can shape employee
health and well-being.
Q 4.1. How can employers create a culture that empowers
employees to prioritise and look after their health and well-being?
Transcript
Finding 5: Poor sleep
cycle caused by and impacting work
Managers might be forgiven for not having considered the impact
of sleep on an individual’s work life — after all, we don’t sleep at work. But
from a prevention and early intervention perspective, companies have an
opportunity to help improve their employees’ well-being by helping them get
enough quality sleep.
Our sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy habits are reducing the
amount of sleep that we get, which is one of the many reasons Aetna
International takes a holistic approach to health and wellness benefits
provision. People who are overweight or obese, smoke, regularly drink sugary
drinks, sit at their desks all day and are physically inactive are most likely
to suffer from poor sleep.
Sleep-impacted workers are more likely to make mistakes and be
less productive than their well-rested colleagues. If poor sleep continues,
they are also at increased risk of developing mental health disorders such as
anxiety and depression. Additionally, not getting enough sleep can be a symptom
of mental health conditions themselves.
·
56% of employees don’t think they
get enough sleep.
·
On average employees sleep just
over seven hours a night (7.3 hours), which is at the lower end of the
recommended seven to nine hours a night. Much of that sleep is poor quality, as
on average our respondents say they get only 5.3 hours of quality sleep a
night.
·
Job stress lies behind our
sleepless nights, with 34% staying awake due to problems at work.
·
Technology is also to blame for
keeping us awake at night, with one in four saying that using laptops, phones
or tablets in bed prevents them from getting a good night’s sleep.
Furthermore, through working non-traditional hours, commuting
for longer than an hour per day, yielding to unrealistic time pressures and
stress, and experiencing a lack of choice in daily work, our sleep is further
affected.
“Expats may lose even more sleep due to workplace-related
issues, especially when they’re working several time zones away from home.
Emails from headquarters fill their inboxes while they sleep, they have to get
up early or stay up late to participate in conference calls, and frequent
travel throws off their circadian rhythms.” Dr Mitesh Patel, Medical Director, Aetna International
Expat workers are prime targets for sleep-related disorders. Our
survey found that the UAE, with its large short- and long-term expatriate
community and work-hard, play-hard culture, had a higher proportion of workers
suffering from a lack of sleep.
·
Of the four markets we surveyed,
workers in the UAE got the lowest number of hours of quality sleep a night (5.1
hours) and were most likely (58%) to feel that they didn’t get enough sleep.
Preventative health programmes can play a useful role in
encouraging healthy sleep patterns. Smoking cessation programmes, on-site
fitness facilities and wellness programmes that reward workers for maintaining
a healthy weight and keeping fit can help staff to improve not only the quality
of their sleep, but also their overall quality of life and health outcomes.
We asked one Aetna International expert about the ways
organisations can promote self-care in the workplace.
Q 5.1. How people can make health and self-care
habitual? What role can employers play, and how can we influence our friends
and family to adopt healthy behaviours, and vice versa?
Transcript
Q 5.2. Why don’t people invest in their own health? And
what can employers do to help overcome this?
Transcript
Finding 6: Stress: the
threat to employee well-being
There’s nothing new about the issue of workplace stress.
However, our report finds that both the relentless pace of business today, and
the growth of technology, enabling an ‘always-on’ working culture, is making
nearly half the global workforce feel stressed on a regular basis. Long hours,
tight deadlines and unrealistic expectations all contribute to the pressure.
Stress is mainly known as a cause of mental ill health, but it
can take a toll on our physical health, too, leading to headaches, fatigue,
insomnia and muscle tension. In the long term, stress can contribute to health
problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Stress and the
challenge to businesses
·
After viral illness, our survey
found that employee stress was the most challenging occupational health issue
facing corporations worldwide. It is therefore a big concern for global
business. 19% of HR Directors surveyed agreed that stress was their company’s
greatest occupational health challenge.
This comes as no surprise: research such
as the Willis Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitudes Survey reveals a direct
link between stress and workplace disengagement. Highly stressed employees are
more likely to feel resentful at work; they take more sick days and are less
productive.
Despite these concerns, we found that the corporate wellness
provision is bad at tackling stress and supporting those who suffer from it.
Only 25% of the HR Directors we interviewed believe that they offer good
support for those who are stressed at work.
·
Across all four of the markets we
surveyed, 47% of global employees feel stressed because of work.
·
80% of workers rated their
company’s benefits limits for stress as adequate or poor. 38% also rated direct
access to support services for stress as poor compared to 11% of HR directors.
·
Despite their stress, employees
often don’t visit a health care professional, perhaps because of lack of
awareness, or because of shame or stigma attached to their condition.
Smart employers use all sorts of strategies to keep their
workers healthy, safe and productive. These must include the right tools for
stress management. Acknowledging the risks associated with stress, regularly
surveying staff and helping their workers to manage it is the next logical step
in improving health and well-being.
“It’s not usually a sense of laziness or lack of motivation that
prevents people from doing what they know they ‘should’. Everyone has the
ability to make changes, but you need the right support. Employers have the
opportunity to create a culture that supports psychological change, which will
lead to behavioural change.” Dr
Meg Arroll, specialist health behaviour change psychologist at 10 Harley Street
and author of The Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille)
“Regardless of whether workers download an app or attend real-world
meditation classes, it’s clear that they need support in dealing with stress in
the workplace. Workplace stress is an important contributor to issues ranging
from health to productivity to employee turnover. Organisations that figure out
how to reduce or, better yet, prevent debilitating stress benefit themselves
and their employees in significant ways.” Dr
Lori Stetz, Senior Medical Director, Aetna International
“Organisations that conduct stress audits will be able to
uncover what the triggers of stress are. It’s important to collect and analyse
the data in ways you can do something about. Often, anecdotal but anonymised
feedback in one-to-one stress-audit conversations provides the most insight so
organisations can take appropriate action. And often it’s the culmination of
small triggers around one’s core role that cause disproportionate stress that
these conversations can reveal, such as travel to and from work, environment,
working hours and flexibility. And the great thing is, that these are things
that may well be in an employer’s control and can potentially be addressed.” Simon Miller, Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna
International
·
Even if today’s employees aren’t
feeling stressed out on a regular basis, nearly all respondents (87%) worried
that stress could affect their ability to work in the future.
·
By failing to tackle stress at
work, employers leave themselves vulnerable. 66% of the employees stated that
they would not join an employer who did not have a clear policy of dealing with
workplace stress.
·
89% said that good workplace
provision for dealing with stress and other mental health issues would
increase their commitment to their employer and make them stay with the firm
for longer.
·
67% of workers stated that they
would not join a business that did not have clear policy on supporting those
with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Management styles and
their impact on workplace stress
When we asked employers and HR Directors about their greatest
challenges to workplace well-being, their answers were revealing.
·
According to HR Directors across
the globe, leaders with an aggressive management style are the biggest cause of
an unhealthy working environment.
·
While this problem was acknowledged
across all four of the markets we surveyed, the problem was greatest in the UK,
where 42% of HR Directors stated that aggressive managers are the greatest
cause of an unhealthy working environment.
Leaders need help, support and training in recognising and
combatting the signs of stress – not only in the staff they manage, but also in
themselves. When managers micromanage, show disrespect, are rude or uncivil,
or — even worse — bully and harass their staff, corporate spend on
wellness initiatives could be substituted for recruitment costs due to high
attrition.
“If leaders are invested in health, it trickles down and filters
through the organisation. Aggressive managers don’t have the skills or ability
to manage. They are stressed, have performance anxiety themselves or are under
pressure to hit targets and they pass that stress on to their teams. So,
providing support specifically tailored to managers will help prevent this
vicious cycle of stress.” Ker
Tyler, Managing Director, Fit for Leadership
For expat workers, a clash of workplace cultures, personalities
and language issues can sometimes be responsible for breakdown of
communication. Management styles may vary from country to country, as well as
between individuals. Employees who have moved abroad for work may need extra
support to help them assimilate into their new workplace. Some workplace
cultures are known for more formal and distant management styles. This is not
the same as workplace bullying, which must be dealt with swiftly and nipped in
the bud.
Expat stress
The expatriate community is particularly
vulnerable to stress in the workplace. Combine work expectations, culture
clashes, communication issues and isolation from friends and family, and it’s
no surprise that expats can experience very high levels of stress. This can all
be compounded by the emotional disruption that results from relocation.
The best organisations acknowledge their corporate
responsibility to help their workforce cope with stress. For the best results,
wellness programmes should include ways for their employees to get and stay
physically healthy, manage their stress levels as well as help with financial,
social and emotional health. These are essential to improve well-being and
morale, and foster productivity and loyalty to their employer.
“If companies want to remain competitive in the war for talent,
they need to address mental health as a priority in their wellness programmes.
“Mental health is one of the greatest business challenges of our
time. However, helping people manage their well-being proactively is one of the
greatest opportunities we have. It’s imperative that leaders get fully behind
the mental health and well-being agenda, show vulnerability and compassion, and
create cultures that allow people to thrive in the workplace.
“While the statistics from this survey highlight worrying gaps,
there is still cause for optimism. In recent years, we’re seeing stigma broken
down, people feeling more able to disclose the mental health challenges they
are facing, more open cultures and better support in the workplace.” Rob Stephenson, Founder, Inside Out and mental health
influencer
We spoke to several Aetna International experts about employee
health inertia, tackling stress triggers in the workplace and the importance of
adopting a holistic approach to health.
Q 6.1. What can employers do to help support and
motivate employees towards making informed decisions about their mental and
physical health and wellness?
Transcript
Finding 7: Having
local insight is a must for talent loyalty and company culture
Obesity and lifestyle-related diseases (also known as
non-communicable diseases or NCDs) such as heart disease, strokes, metabolic
syndrome and type 2 diabetes were once a well-known problem in the West, but
relatively uncommon in the Middle East and Asia. The prevalence of obesity
among people in the Gulf region is
rising due to changes in food consumption, socio-economic and demographic
factors, physical activity and urbanisation. As a result, diabetes is now
widespread in the Middle East. Within the region, the UAE has one of the
largest populations with type 2 diabetes, with 17% of people
affected. Most of the adult population in the UAE is made up of expats, and a
recent large-scale study of
the expat community has revealed that more than four out of 10 UAE adults are
overweight, and three out of 10 are obese. One of the resulting problems for
individuals and society is that these diseases are impacting people in the
prime of their lives when they should be at the height of their productivity,
investing in their careers, families and economic stability.
Expat stress
Tackling lifestyle and making behavioural changes to prevent and
manage NCDs requires commitment from governments, businesses and individuals,
all of whom need to work together to pass legislation, and to monitor and make
the commitment to promoting healthier lifestyle choices. In some countries,
governments have passed legislation enabling health care providers and health
benefits partners to monitor and analyse data and to take both preventative and
remedial action against the growth of lifestyle-related health conditions.
Focus on the UAE and
Singapore
Private medical insurance is mandatory in the UAE and
is governed by the government and health authority of each emirate. Although
not mandated in Singapore, private medical insurance is considered essential as
access to public health care only extends to citizens and permanent residents.
We would expect to see corporations in countries such as the UAE and Singapore
back the government and do all they can to tackle this health crisis, yet our
research reveals an even greater mismatch between expectation and reality in
this region. It is therefore even more important to choose a global health and
wellness benefits provider with local expertise — an extensive network and
regional specialists — something that Aetna International prides itself on.
·
Workers in the UAE rate access to
ongoing programmes to support wellness as the poorest globally, with only 20%
ranking them as good.
·
However, 76% of HR Directors in the
UAE rate access to wellness programmes as good, the highest number
internationally.
·
Our survey also found that workers
in Singapore were just as concerned as those in the UAE about lifestyle-related
conditions:
·
Employees in Singapore and the UAE
are more concerned than those in the UK and the US that lifestyle diseases will
affect their ability to work in the future.
·
In Singapore, employees were most
likely to feel that flexible working hours would benefit their health.
·
More than 40% of workers in the UAE
and Singapore said that more awareness from the government about the importance
of health check-ups would make them more likely to go to the doctor — compared
to less than 3% in the UK and US.
In 2017, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP)
launched e etmenan,
a smart app that allows users to assess their health and individual risks of
lifestyle-related diseases by filling in an electronic questionnaire.
Developments like these are a step in the right direction, yet clearly more
needs to be done.
“Some societies are collectivist while others are
individualistic, and it is beneficial for health campaigns to have an awareness
of the social, psychological and structural differences within societies. In
the UK and the US, the message might be ‘make health changes for the good of
yourself and your family’. In the UAE and Singapore, it might be ‘make health
changes for the good of your society’.” Dr
Meg Arroll, specialist health behaviour change psychologist at 10 Harley Street
and author of The Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille)
We asked several Aetna International experts about the
importance of understanding local culture, regulations and health care
landscapes when building health and wellness benefits programs for workforces.
Q 7.1. Why is it important for employers to consider the
local culture as well as the regulatory landscape when it comes to designing
health and wellness programs?
Transcript
Q 7.2. How can connected care, big data, technology and
mindset help put people on the path to better health?
Transcript
Q 7.3. How does Aetna International help employers cater
to workforces around the world?
Transcript
Conclusion: Helping
companies tackle workplace polarisation
The insights revealed in this survey suggest that companies will
see a return on their wellness investments if they ensure healthy habits are
embedded within that organisation’s culture and supported by leadership. It is
only in this way that employers can future-proof their organisations, ensuring
they continue to attract and retain talent, foster loyalty and productivity,
build a culture of mutual respect and, ultimately, thrive.
1. How employers
can meet the health and wellness needs of employees
Analyse the needs of workforces through tailored, confidential
means to make the right choice for that population. Whether an organisation
offers a comprehensive, holistic wellness programme or something smaller, it
must:
·
be positioned as an employee
benefit.
·
be designed to help people on their
own terms.
·
enable individuals to choose from a
menu to personalise the experience.
2. How to tackle
mental health stigma and make provision for emotional well-being and mental
wellness
Raising awareness through communication and encouraging openness
and acceptance can help overcome mental health stigma in the workplace.
Provision should include:
·
confidential employee support
services such as:
·
mindfulness-based stress reduction
services.
·
one-on-one counselling either
virtually or in person.
·
training managers in mental health
first aid.
·
addressing the root causes of
stress in the workplace, such as aggressive management styles, through
training.
3. Design health
and wellness benefits packages to help employers contain health-related costs
Exploit the experience of benefits providers with a history of
local and international experience to help benchmark risk profiles. Use them to
find a range of options to address the key cost drivers and meet employee
expectations as well as local market and cross-border regulations.
4. Workplace
policies need attention to keep pace with talent expectations
Employers need to build tailored health and wellness benefits
programmes while addressing workplace policies to create a corporate culture
that addresses the holistic needs of its talent pool. Employers need to show
commitment to communication and social activities that foster an open,
supportive, accepting culture. Companies need to build a culture that empowers
individuals to seek help and take time when needed to help prevent
long-term/chronic illness.
5. Breaking the
stress-poor sleep cycle
Companies need to support healthy sleep. They need to tackle the
root causes of stress in the workplace, as well as making provision for
services that can help people address non-work-related stressors — for
—example, economic and financial stresses. This needs to be delivered as part
of a menu of options that are confidential, i.e.: not tied to the workplace, to
remove the feeling of it being ‘the company checking up on you’. One way to do
this is by positioning the service as a ‘life’ assistance programme.
6. Address both the
root cause and the symptoms of stress
Organisations need to be conscious of the stress triggers in the
workplace, for example: aggressive management styles, an ‘always-on’ culture,
employees moving internationally and coping with a change in culture and
workplace expectations. Leaders and managers need help, support and training in
recognising and combatting the signs of stress — not only in the staff they
manage, but also in themselves. For the best results, wellness programmes
should include ways for their employees to get and stay physically healthy,
manage their stress levels as well as help with financial, social and emotional
health.
7. Seek out
expert advice on understanding geographical challenges and solutions
Understanding the influences of local culture, corporate
culture, local health care regulations and compliance requirements, local
talent expectations will all help employers build appropriate health and
wellness programmes and workplace policies.
With support from a world-class health and wellness benefits
provider that understands the challenges facing business leaders today,
organisations can see their workforces thrive — happy, healthy staff that have
the care and guidance they need, when they need it. And, as a result, they will
see key performance indicators like productivity and employee retention
increase, further reinforcing the investment in medical insurance provision.
And finally, our experts sum up Aetna International’s mission to
meeting people where they are, and to help put them on the path to better
health.
Q8. What does Aetna International do to help employers
tailor health and wellness packages to suit the needs of their workforces? And
what does the company offer its own employees in terms of support?
Transcript
“Employers may tend to view health and wellness benefits through
a duty of care or an obligatory lens, whereas employees will have culturally
influenced expectations. Whether an organisation offers a comprehensive,
holistic wellness programme or something much more limited in scope, it’s
critical that it is viewed as an employee benefit designed to help people on
their own terms, not a self-serving employer initiative.”
Simon Miller, Senior Director, Customer Proposition, Aetna
International
Appendix
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the following contributors:
·
Dr Lori Stetz, Senior Medical
Director, Aetna International
·
Dr Mitesh Patel, Medical Director,
Aetna International
·
Simon Miller, Senior Director,
Customer Proposition, Aetna International
·
Ker Tyler, Managing Director, Fit
for Leadership
·
Dr Meg Arroll, specialist health
behaviour change psychologist at 10 Harley Street and author of The
Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille)
·
Rob Stephenson, Founder, Inside Out
and mental health influencer
·
Cate Darroue, Senior Director,
Product & Marketing, EMEA, Aetna International
·
Damian Lenihan, Executive Director,
Distribution, UK, Aetna International
·
Dr Anushka Patchava, Global
Proposition & Strategy Lead, vHealth, Aetna International
Future-proof your
organisation for 2020 and beyond
Leading companies — large and small — recognise that their
future growth and success depend on their people. A culture of well-being is
the foundation for a flourishing, high performing workforce and is now a key
differentiator in the market.
The insights in this report provide an invaluable opportunity
for organisations to keep pace with evolving value-based employee and investor
expectations, market forces and technologies around the world.
At Aetna International, we believe in the power of partnerships
and putting people on the path to better health. Our consultants and experts
are here to help you build healthy, happy, productive workforces. Ultimately,
when your workforce thrives, your business thrives.
For more information on the data sets and experience that inform
our insights, visit us or contact us. Whether you’re an employer,
health care broker or intermediary, we’re here to help.
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