Health and wellbeing ‘becoming increasingly important’

The health and wellbeing of staff is becoming an increasingly important consideration for many employers, new research shows.

According to a survey by Business Action on Health, 81 per cent of FTSE 100 companies are making a commitment to boost the health and wellbeing of their workers.

Furthermore, 40 per cent of the UK’s biggest firms provide information about staff health and wellbeing in their annual report.

The study also shows that 83 per cent of job seekers take a prospective employer’s attitude towards health and wellbeing into account when applying for vacancies.

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Louise Aston, campaign director of Business Action on Health, said: "Significant milestones have been reached over the past year and the issue of health and wellbeing in the workplace has, it seems, finally reached its tipping point."

However, despite the progress, a recent survey by HSA revealed that many companies are putting pressure on staff to work when they are ill, with 35 per cent expecting sick workers to continue carrying out basic tasks such as picking up emails.