STRESS remains the Number One health risk for
companies in Singapore.
So says
the Willis Towers Watson's 2015/2016 Global Staying@Work survey, which captures
details on organisations' health and wellbeing strategies and programmes in
their respective local markets.
The
survey found that 56 per cent of Singaporean employers call workforce stress as
the top health concern, but continue to miss the mark with their health and
productivity (H&P) approach.
Forty-four
per cent of employers in Singapore offer a variety of tactical health
programmes such as worksite diet/exercise activities, biometric screenings, and
onsite health clinics.
However,
Willis Towers Watson found that the current programmes provide only a limited
boost to employee engagement and effectiveness, because the impact of such
programmes is not being measured.
"For
companies to increase their chances of success, they must view health and
productivity holistically, and offer customised and interconnected programmes
that have the same overall goal," said Rajeshree Parekh, director of
health and corporate wellness for Asia and Australasia at Willis Towers Watson.
"Implementing
programmes that don't align with an overarching strategy will have limited
results in changing long-term employee behaviour," added Dr Parekh.
On the
positive side, local companies realise and recognise the need for a more
strategic approach, with 67 per cent of organisations in Singapore planning to
differentiate their programmes for specific segments through the use of data
and analytics in the next three years - significantly higher than their
regional counterparts (at 35 per cent).
Besides
stress, other health issues facing Singapore companies include lack of physical
activity, lack of sleep, and obesity.
The
survey noted that, to counter these issues, employers are increasingly using
technology to help employees pursue healthier lifestyles; promoting a healthy
workplace culture through dedicated portals to deliver health information;
providing online tools that are available at work and at home; as well as
implementing formal technology strategies to support health and wellbeing
goals.
In
addition to offering more health programmes, employers in Singapore are also
looking at providing employees greater choice and flexibility in terms of
voluntary benefits and services, work plan design, and employee contributions.
Details
of the survey can be found at willistowerswatson.com
No comments:
Post a Comment