Maintaining health critical to business success

Recent studies have highlighted just how important supporting a healthy mind and body is in promoting workforce effectiveness. With that in mind, leaders should look towards developing positive health to drive business outcomes.

It may not immediately spring to mind as an enabler of efficiency, but according to BSI’s Evolving Together: Flourishing in the age-diverse workforce report, health and wellbeing can be some of the most effective ways of promoting career development and overall business success.

In fact, according to the business leaders surveyed, the top enablers of career development are:

• Maintaining health/mental wellbeing (54 per cent)
• Flexibility (54 per cent)
• Remuneration and recognition (49 per cent)
• Skills upkeep (45 per cent)
• Financial incentives to remain in work (45 per cent)

Similarly, the top priorities for business success were surveyed, with the top results being:

• Offering flexibility (53 per cent)
• Health and wellbeing support (46 per cent)
• Retraining provision (45 per cent)
• Ensuring people remain challenged (43 per cent)
• Formal personal leave policies (40 per cent)

Lastly, the top priorities for government and societal action were floated, with respondents noting the most effective strategies as:

• Tax incentives for employee wellbeing (49 per cent)
• Tax incentives for investment in training (45 per cent)
• Subsidies for employing different aged workers (44 per cent)
• Investment in general healthcare delivery (44 per cent)
• Investment in mental health support (44 per cent)

Clearly, as noted by the data, physical and mental health are considered to have a significant impact on both individual and organisational success.

In the current workforce, where the diversity of age is so significant, these considerations are especially important, said BSI.

Susan Taylor Martin, BSI’s chief executive commented: “Our working world is changing. Organisations and policymakers have the opportunity to harness these changes to help more people thrive in a future age-diverse workforce. Business leaders around the world agree that investment in health and wellbeing is vital.”

Further to wellbeing, flexibility continues to be a top priority for employees. Leaders must recognise just how much of a priority flexible working is to candidates if they’re to remain competitive.

“[It’s important to be] agile and creative when it comes to flexibility, skills, training and recruitment. Putting people and their needs at the centre of change offers the potential to unlock long-term productivity gains by empowering experienced people to stay in the workforce,” Taylor Martin said.

Leveraging these themes and utilising them to drive business success is a lucrative opportunity for leaders.

Kate Field, global head of human and social sustainability at BSI, said: “The opportunity for businesses and governments to prioritise their people by supporting improved physical health and psychological and mental wellbeing is unmistakable. So, too, is the desire for greater flexibility, for work to fit into our lives rather than it being the other way round.”

“In response to the pandemic, many organisations introduced flexible policies. Now is the opportunity to build upon them and make them work for the long term. The research paints a picture that change is a critical yet exciting opportunity, making clear the need for collaboration across society to shape a future of work that meets the needs of us all, whatever age or stage we are at.”