Employee wellness falling by the wayside

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Apr 28 2020 by Nicola Hunt Print This Article

Most businesses are failing to look after employee wellness while they work from home during the current lockdown, according to new research.

Research by fit4thefight, an initiative created by fitness professionals to help people working from home to engage in interactive fitness sessions, found that three-quarters (76%) of businesses in the UK are failing to look after employee wellness while working from home.

Over half (52%) of employees said their employers haven’t taken any steps to improve their wellbeing since working from home and with over 57% on UK employees now working from home, this suggests that the wellbeing of some nine million UK workers is being ignored.

While 78% of business have organised weekly progress update calls, only half (52%) have done the same for social catch-ups. Just 11% of businesses have organised remote wellness sessions, leaving more to be desired from employers.

“Businesses have invested in the wellbeing of their employees in recent years, however the current pandemic has highlighted the short falls in believing a gym membership is the ‘silver bullet’ to a healthier workforce,“ said Anthony Franklin, founder and CEO of fit4thefight.

“We urge all businesses, big and small, to check in on their employees on a regular basis. Maintaining good physical and mental health has proven benefits on wellbeing and productivity, and therefore is of the utmost importance for firms.”