Physical wellbeing

It goes without saying that promoting physical health is a good thing.

But is there anything employers can do to make a real difference?

Prevention is key. If an employee has a health check today, it doesn’t mean they won’t be off sick tomorrow. But it could easily identify an issue which may have led to long-term absence in the future.Test and learn…At Aviva, we trialled face-to-face health checks and self-assessment through the use of kiosks where employees could check body mass index, blood pressure etc. We thought our people would prefer the human touch – but we were wrong. The kiosks won out - probably due to a combination of easy accessibility, privacy and a desire to avoid being judged by another person. The lesson we learned was to test what you’re doing, then make use of your data rather than relying on assumptions.

“I used the kiosk in December 2017 as part of the trial. The results said I had high blood pressure and should see my GP within 48 hours (yes, that high). It’s not something we have a family history of, and it’s known as a silent killer as there are no symptoms. I’m now on a programme to reduce it and it’s more or less under control now. I wouldn’t have known if not for using the kiosk.” - Debbie Bullock, Aviva UK Wellbeing Lead

How can occasional free fruit make a difference?

It’s true to say that occasional giveaways of fresh fruit or vegetables wouldn’t in themselves make a significant difference to the health of those receiving them. But the benefits go much further than this…“We put out some boxes of fresh fruit and veg, then encouraged everyone to take home four different items each and cook a meal using all of them. We then held a competition to judge the best recipe. Someone would pick up an aubergine and ask, ‘What do you do with that, then?’ You’d hear someone else say ‘I don’t like cabbage’…and another colleague would answer ‘Have you tried stir-frying it?’ ‘Cauliflower’s boring’…”Not if you put it in a curry” and so on. People were swapping ideas and getting each other to try healthy foods that they didn’t normally eat ” - Debbie Bullock, Aviva Wellbeing Lead

Five ways to promote physical health in the workplace

Hold regular healthy eating initiatives.
Offer free/subsidised health checks.
Include health insurance as part of the benefits package.
Use app-based solutions – providing 24/7 access to medical assistance and advice.
Think up some great ideas that cost nothing – such as 5k running clubs, or internet yoga (play a yoga video on a big screen and invite employees to follow along).