Career Development: The importance of well-being checks

Unum surveyed more than 400 businesses and found that, in addition, more than one-third (34%) do not have any kind of wellbeing strategy in place.

To help businesses understand the quality of their wellbeing provision, Unum has created a free online tool that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. By entering details about their company size and workplace environment, along with the support and strategies currently in place, participants receive an MOT-style analysis of how their wellbeing strategy matches up to the needs of their employees, along with practical advice on the areas they can improve.

Linda Levesque, HR director at Unum, said: "Workplace wellbeing is quickly climbing the agenda as businesses realise the real value it can make both to employee engagement and the bottom line. However, while many businesses have taken proactive steps to improve the support on offer to staff, they need to take a more holistic approach.

"Just one in seven (15%) communicate their wellbeing strategy to staff at least once a month, and even fewer - one in 10 (11%) - provide compulsory training to managers on their company's wellbeing strategy and benefits. So, while they may have brought in a great new scheme to help improve employee health, unless they communicate this to staff and train line managers on how and when to offer it, they are not making the most of the associated benefits."

The research also found that less than a quarter (23%) of senior employees fully embrace employee wellbeing, despite these same individuals being responsible for investment in and improvement to the support and benefits on offer to staff.

To try Unum's Wellbeing MOT tool and see how your company scores, visit www.unum.co.uk/wellbeingmot