Should perks like free gym membership, and private health insurance be part of an organisations Health and Wellbeing strategy? What do employees say they value most?

There is plenty of research in this area however the findings are inconvenient. The initiatives most often promoted by HR are not the most effective or even the highest rated by employees. The top 3 initiatives employees chose to improve their overall well being at work are flexible working, supportive management and rewards and recognition. So free cinema tickets, vouchers for Nando’s or a day at the Health Spa have there place but they don’t have much impact on the work environment and the culture of the organisation. The same is true of private health insurance, might get your employees seen by a doctor quicker but it impact on absentees and mental well-being will be peripheral because it’s not addressing the root of the problem.

Research by YouGov and Investers in People concluded that if HR focus on stress management workshops without addressing root causes like excessive workloads, poor management or inflexibility will struggle to improve wellbeing. There findings were that supportive management ,open communication and flexible working are far more crucial to job satisfaction than wellness initiatives like gym membership, office health programmes or stress management workshops.