As the clocks go back and the nights draw in, it’s understandable that many of us start thinking about how we can improve our wellbeing during the cold winter months.
Although you may already offer various employee benefits to support the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of your employees, there may be additional measures you can introduce to breathe new life into your benefits package for autumn and winter, thereby ensuring you continue to deliver value while addressing the challenges brought on by the changing season.
In this four-part series, ‘Benefit Reset’, we’ll explore the different elements of employee wellbeing, how they can be impacted in the year’s later months, and what you can do to ensure you provide evergreen benefits coverage. First on the agenda – physical wellbeing.
The Impact of Winter on Physical Wellbeing
When we picture the modern workplace, we often imagine open-plan spaces comprising an assortment of desks, chairs, and computers.
Because of this setup, some of us can spend around 9 hours a day sitting. And when sunlight hours are in short supply during the winter months, hitting the gym, going for a run, or joining a fitness class after work can seem like the last thing your employees want to be doing.
Combine this with growing waiting lists for medical treatment at a time when colds, flus, bugs, and a variety of lurgies are at an all-year high, and you have the recipe for a silent internal health crisis. However, with the right combination of employee benefits in your arsenal, you can help your team feel valued, cared for, and healthy throughout the cold winter months.
Private Healthcare
Providing private healthcare options for your team has long been viewed as a “nice-to-have” gold standard benefit. However, the results speak for themselves in terms of the benefit this investment could bring to your business. At the end of 2023, 51% of the UK workforce stated their desire for employer-sponsored medical insurance.
Therefore, incorporating it into your package could help you attract and retain top talent. Plus, it could end up saving you significant costs, with 2021 research finding that access to workplace healthcare prevented up to 14 million sick days from being taken.
The perceived cost vs benefit of providing this benefit may make some employers wary, but private healthcare does not operate on an all-or-nothing basis. Instead, you can increase or reduce your cover depending on your specific workforce’s needs, and, of course, your available budget.
Health Cash Plans
If private healthcare insurance doesn’t feel like it’s within your reach, you can still help your staff to cover their everyday health expenses. Health cash plans (HCP) start from as little as £5 per month and can provide peace of mind for your employees when they’re looking to fund physiotherapy, osteopathy, dental care, optical care, or prescription costs.
Gym Memberships
In the UK, 17% of the population are gym members. However, 30% of people cancel their membership due to it being too expensive. To help employees ease the financial load and keep going with their commitment to physical fitness, you can consider wholly or partly subsidising gym memberships, adding gym membership to a health cash plan as a value-added benefit, or even offer onsite facilities and classes for those staff members who want to get their workout out of the way before the sun goes down!
Cycle to Work
Government-backed Cycle to Work schemes are a great way for employees to save money on travel and national insurance while also doing their bit to help the environment. However, did you know that you can extend the scheme to help recipients winterise their bikes? The equipment they can purchase in line with the scheme includes winter tyres, protective covers, and lights to keep them safe on the commute and protected from the elements.
For more tips on how to reset your benefits package, download our free guide.
Acumen Employee Benefits Ltd, FRN 916905, is an appointed representative of Acumen Financial Planning Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA, FRN 218745. The content within this article is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as advice.
sources: PureGym; YouGov