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Small and medium-sized business can reap the benefits of promoting healthy lifestyles and working practices for their employees, just as larger companies do, according to new industry research.
According to Business in the Community, company directors of SMEs should engage in efforts to increase health and safety awareness in the workplace among their staff. Small gestures such as providing incentives to bike or walk to work, or access to healthy food in the workplace, can all have a positive impact on employee health
The Wealth from Health report, published by Business in the Community, states that 175 million working days were lost in the UK during 2006 due to sickness absence.
It also cites figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which indicate that sickness absence accounts for 3.7 per cent of working time – equivalent to 8.4 working days for each employee each year. The average cost of sickness absence is £659 per employee, per year.
Stephen Howard, managing director of Business in the Community said: "Educating small businesses on how to build a business case for wellbeing programmes and helping them measure their return on investment will be key.
"The campaign has produced a step by step guide from Towers Perrin to help businesses put initiatives into action."
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