© Corporate Research Forum 2014 1

Employee Health and Wellbeing

MAIN PRESENTERS: Gillian Pillans, Research Director, CRF Dorian Dugmore, Chief Executive, Wellness Academy

Matt Freeland, Senior HR Director, PepsiCo

WITH: Vicki Culpin, Dean of Faculty & Director of Research, Ashridge Business School Tara Swart, CEO, The Unlimited Mind

Ben Moss, Managing Director, Robertson Cooper

The meeting reviewed a CRF report by Gillian Pillans, and included an exercise period with Technogym

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Wellbeing has emerged as a ‘hot’ topic in business circles.

A third of companies interviewed by CRF now developing strategies, others are revisiting theirs

Increased focus on prevention, developing resilience and on mental health

Also, dealing more holistically about health and the ‘whole person’, including engaging families.

What’s the business case?

Studies report a range of investment returns, but can be as high as 6:1

Some evidence of productivity gains and absence reduction

It takes 3-5 years for programmes to make a real difference

Benefits for employer brand, including better employee value proposition and engagement.

Core features of a health and wellbeing strategy

Clearly defined objectives, linked to business imperatives – create measures from the start

Base these on workforce demographic analysis and evidence of what works

Systemic approach, not separate one-off interventions or ‘random acts of wellness’

Focus on prevention, not just after-the-event health problem management

Foster lifestyle and behaviour change – but communicate/encourage/facilitate rather than ‘force’

Evaluate outcomes, and communicate about results to employees and other stakeholders.

CRF tips for success? Plan, have clear

objectives, tailor, co-ordinate interventions,

address culture and environment,

communicate effectively, think about

evaluation from the start – and be patient.

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Employee Health and Wellbeing

THE HEALTH EXPERT’S VIEW

Dr Dorian Dugmore shared his experience of 30 years’ work in cardiovascular medicine and the links

between exercise and health, and of working with companies, education and sports organisations.

Some stark realities

Upstream or downstream focus? The major challenge for both companies and governments is to

move towards pro-active prevention. 90% of the current health budget focuses on ‘downstream’.

Significant economic cost. Office for National Statistics (2013) estimates annual loss of 131m

working days, or 4.4 days per worker. PWC quotes a UK rate of 9.1 days and £29bn, much worse

than US, Russia, Europe. The highest rates are in the public sector, the lowest in technology.

Poor health at the top. Typical issues for executives are lack of exercise and sleep, bad eating

and drinking habits, mental and physical stress.

Some positive examples

Project Life Canada

70 Toronto CEOs, average age 49, 18-24 months programme participation

Regular exercise, reduced fat diet, no smoking, lifestyle counselling

Cardiovascular and life-style risk reduced by 30-40% across the group.

Global Sports Brand

Start point – relatively low sickness absence, well below average in private sector

BUT, tests on the first cohort of 200 employees showed poor measures of fat and cholesterol,

and worrying blood pressure and cardiovascular issues, even at an average age of 31

Started wellness programme, took 3-5 years for benefits to come through – now winning prizes

New mantra: “The P&L of your business should be linked with the P&L of your company’s

health”.

Global Building Technology Company

Five step process for year 1 – health and behavioural profile; needs analysis; design/deliver

interventions; analyse results; share data – then build in learning to design Year 2 programme

Over 50% needed more exercise, 89% didn’t know their key ‘health numbers’

Life Wellness Inventory – focus on more sleep and moderate exercise (‘Walk of Life’), diet,

weight loss, blood pressure

Analysing and tackling stress – eg workshops on resilience and optimising performance

Year 2 introduced Wellness champions, awards, longer ‘Walk of Life’, Wellness Advisory Board

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Employee Health and Wellbeing

Other initiatives include lifestyle clinics and sports rehabilitation; flu vaccinations; nutrition

workshops, programmes for ‘couples’ and retirees

Employee engagement benefits – 88% positive about the company’s commitment, and welcome

adoption of employee ideas, including a company recipe book.

Concluding thought? There ARE economic benefits, but it’s also the right thing to do.

THE HR PRACTITIONER’S VIEW

Matt Freeland talked about progress to date at PepsiCo UK in implementing a wellness strategy.

Context

5k UK staff, 60% in manufacturing and distribution, stable but ageing workforce

A number of locations are in areas with below average health records

Mental health (including stress) has overtaken musculoskeletal as top sickness absence issue

“Performance with purpose” – commitment to human, environmental and talent sustainability.

Business case for action

Financial – absence and early retirement costs, replacement costs, productivity, accident

avoidance, retention of skilled employees through better environment and culture

Employee engagement, proactive reputation building

Compliance – being alert to all legal and good practice issues concerning employee health.

Strategy and action

Vision – to improve employee health through action and thought leadership

Priorities – smoking, diet and hydration, exercise, mental resilience

Targets identified for absence, smoking, BMI, participation in exercise, diet/hydration knowledge

Support pillars – professional help, active engagement, healthy choices, education

Support infrastructure – Health Action Teams, occupational health services, external partnerships

Annual screening – 95% take-up by operational staff, more than half advised to consult a doctor

Some results – overall payback on investment of 5:1; absence reduced by a third, saving £1.6m.

Key learnings

It’s complicated, and everyone has an opinion especially at the start

Tailor strategy to needs – don’t be too generic

You need data, facts and economic justification, but also recognise what is just right to do

Focus on a few priorities and be clear about objectives, course of action

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Employee Health and Wellbeing

Give people choices – treat them like adults

You need to try things, not be afraid to experiment and make mistakes

Find strong partners, service providers and specialist experts.

THE RESEARCHER’S VIEW – THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

Vicki Culpin shared insights from 15 years of research into memory and the effects of reduced sleep –

an under-recognised issue with a variety of wellness implications. While sleep requirements differ by

individual, on average LESS than 6 hours sleep can result in

up to 4 times greater risk of strokes

negatively affecting hormones that shape dietary habits – reduced leptin, increased ghrelin

48% higher risk of developing or dying from heart disease.

Just 1.5 hours less sleep than normal can reduce alertness by around a third. Prolonged wakefulness

induces effects similar to drinking alcohol. People start to say and do things they shouldn’t.

While humans can to a degree perform familiar tasks on ‘autopilot’, higher ‘executive’ functions

impaired by sleep loss include decision-making; flexible, lateral and creative thought; communication;

and the ability to grasp changing situations. Sleep deprivation has contributed to disasters such as the

Exxon Valdez, Challenger space shuttle and Chernobyl.

Organisational culture and policies play their part, particularly if they foster long hours, and pay little

regard to different timezones, and the negative effects of stressful travel and shiftwork patterns.

Studies also show that ‘long hours’ cultures tend to induce LESS productivity. Managers need to be

better educated about the risks to themselves, to people they manage and to the organisation,

including how their own conduct influences the behaviour of others.

Tara Swart, a medical doctor and neuroscience specialist practising as an executive coach, provided

some perspectives on resilience – starting with the physical dimension.

Remarkably few business people appreciate how much their body and brain are connected.

There are many bio-chemical processes that have significant effects on energy and performance.

People generally know little or nothing about these, and even try to disregard what their bodies

are telling them. They can ‘soldier on’, potentially risking themselves and others around them.

Focus on a few priorities and be clear about your objectives, but also unafraid

to experiment and learn from mistakes. And it’s not all about return-on-investment, it’s also about doing

what’s right. Give people choices, treat them like adults.

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Employee Health and Wellbeing

Neuroscience is providing increasingly useful evidence of the effects of bio-chemical changes,

and sleep, nutrition and hydration all have an effect – even if direct causality is unclear.

Hydration – people generally drink well below recommended health limits. Men with prostate

issues – eg many senior executives – are particularly resistant, to their detriment.

Glucose and oxygen have important impacts on brain functions and health, such as mental agility

and diversity of thinking. Simple steps such as deep-breathing can be highly beneficial.

Sleep pods are a good idea – but often macho cultures inhibit catering flexibly for physical needs.

Regular exercise is good, but infrequent and intense exercise – which some executives indulge in

– carries the risk of heart failure and strokes.

Three other dimensions of resilience – mental, emotional and spiritual – are now getting more serious

attention. Well-established restorative techniques such as meditation can benefit all dimensions of

resilience. Technology advances offer new aids, such as health-monitoring apps on mobile phones.

POINTS FROM THE FLOOR

Reduce stress by tackling ‘always-on’ communications overload; respect human needs

Examples include flexible working and holidays (eg Virgin), and First Group’s policies on

distinguishing both work and ‘own’ time

Encourage responsible choices – the individual, not the organisation is the primary carer

Build a culture of exercise and mental resilience (eg these are Macquarie’s first steps)

Vodafone is focusing on physical, social and emotional aspects of work, and making a significant

investment in supporting people to be at their best

You must invest SOME money, but can do a lot with just a few tens of thousand pounds

CEO sponsorship makes a huge difference to whether wellness initiatives happen and succeed.

Meeting notes written by Andrew Lambert.

The European Food Safety Authority recommends a daily water intake

of 2.5 litres for men and 2 litres for women, 70-80% coming from

drinks. Adjust this upwards if drinking diuretics such as tea, coffee and

alcohol. The body acclimatises to increased water intake.

Keep moving! Technogym engaged CRF meeting participants in

simple ways to combat the effects of sedentary, lunch-at-desk

behaviour. To burn calories, standing is better than sitting – and

frequent, moderate exercise is even better.