When you’re considering introducing health and wellbeing benefits for your workforce, how and why do you make your decision? Is your choice ruled by your head or your heart?
We’ve been doing some research, looking into what drives UK employers to introduce health cover for their staff. And it’s clear that the majority fall into two camps – ‘wise heads’ and ‘caring hearts’.
Employers that follow their heads know that they need to keep their employees fit and healthy to keep them motivated and productive at work.
They want their health and wellbeing benefits to help them with key challenges such as attracting and retaining staff and taking the strain out of managing stress related illness, and are therefore driven by return on their healthcare investment.
On the other hand, those that follow their hearts are more concerned with caring for their employees, wanting to reward their staff for their commitment and provide an employee benefit to say thank you for their hard work.
They want their employees to get the care they deserve, so they put a lot of effort into telling staff about their benefits.
We took our research to the Employee Benefits Live exhibition, where it proved to be a real talking point.
Some HR managers told us they were ‘wise heads’ employers, prioritising return on investment from their healthcare budget, while others placed themselves in the ‘caring hearts’ camp, preferring to give something back to their team.
For some, it isn’t so clear cut, particularly when multiple stakeholders are involved in the decision making process. So, unsurprisingly, many people we spoke to said their business healthcare choices were ruled by their heads and their hearts, and combined both caring and ROI – something we closely identify with at Westfield Health.
But regardless of your drivers for introducing health cover for your workforce, it can certainly make a difference to motivation and productivity. Our Employee View survey discovered that 74 per cent of employees said that knowing their employer cares about their health would make them more likely to be satisfied, loyal and motivated at work.
Are you a ‘head’ or a ‘heart’ employer? Join the debate on Twitter and let us know your thoughts @westfieldhealth #WHHeadvHeart