Employers should focus on employee well-being

Posted: February 19, 2013

Posted in: Employer Negligence Workplace Injuries 

Employers who create healthy workplaces can reduce employee absence and boost productivity, according to a new TUC guide.

The report, ‘Work and well-being’, aims to promote healthier working and help union safety reps identify what within their workplaces are making staff ill.

Every year around 170 million working days are lost because people are too poorly to go into work – 23 million of these are down to work-related ill health and four million as a result of injuries suffered at work. The best way of tackling ill health is to stop workers from getting ill in the first place, says the guide.

The report claims that the best method for improving the general well-being of a workforce is to change the way that work is organised and managed.

The report also says that running exercise classes during lunch hours may prove popular with some employees but employers need to ensure that workers have a proper lunch break in order to benefit. Also any lifestyle changes must be made available in a completely non-judgmental manner so that no-one feels any changes are being forced upon them.

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