Clinical psychologist and UWA lecturer Neil McLean says it’s easy for employers to pay lip service to what they dub ‘soft concerns’, but looking after workforce health is no longer an optional extra.
He says the health of the workforce can significantly influence a business’s bottom line.
McLean, who has consulted for a range of companies as well as for elite athletes across many sports and at various Commonwealth and Olympic games, will address the psychology of coaching at the CCI-HBF Wellness conference on June 7.
“What is good for the individual employee is invariably also good for the company or organisation,” Mr McLean says.
“Ensuring that a work place provides an environment where a healthy life balance is possible and not just notional is an investment that is repaid in terms of morale, productivity and stability.”
Some of the ideas to benefit staff wellness include companies offering free fruit, flu injections, lunch-time yoga classes or standing desks.
Modern research brands sitting as the new smoking, in terms of health outcomes, with those who sit for longer more than twice as likely to face an earlier risk of death.
For some time now, businesses have realised that allowing workers flexible working hours enables workers to be less sedentary, while allowing employees to be engage in better work-life balance can eliminate burnout and help to increase productivity.
Whether it be managing drugs and alcohol abuse, ensuring that staff are eating well or just keeping physically fit, there are a number of tools that managers can use to help with overall staff health.
The conference will bring together a range of experts in health and wellbeing to provide innovative, practical strategies for businesses to oversee and manage the health of their staff, ensuring ongoing best service delivery.
The conference, to be held at Perth Arena on June 7th, will showcase a range of topics including:
- Mental health
- Nutrition & physical health
- The low-down on health insurance
- Employer responsibility for health and wellbeing.