Employees in the East of England call for healthier workplaces

New research reveals employers are failing to provide the right support when it comes to health and wellbeing at work

[UKPRwire, Fri Jun 22 2007] New research reveals employers are failing to provide the right support when it comes to health and wellbeing at work

According to The Assessment Network, the Investors In People Centre for the East of England, four in ten employees in the East of England (41%) believe that their employer needs to do more to improve the health and wellbeing of employees at work. According to new Ipsos MORI research commissioned by Investors in People – the organisation that works with companies to improve performance by investing in their people – a further one in five (20%) say their employer currently pays lip service to the issue or has no interest in promoting it.

Underlining the negative impact of this lack of action, a worrying 38% of employees in the East of England are either suffering from or know someone who is suffering from work related stress, potentially undermining productivity and performance.

Despite this, nearly a quarter (22%) of employees also say that their employers think healthy working is either a wasted investment, a waste of time, nothing to do with them or that it doesn’t mean anything.

Yet both employers and employees in the East of England see the benefits that healthy working can deliver. Half of all those questioned (49%) felt that if their organisation took steps which had a positive impact on their personal heath and wellbeing at work, it would increase their job satisfaction, whilst 44% felt that it would boost their motivation and 38% said it would improve their productivity and performance.

Conversely, respondents said that symptoms of an unhealthy workplace include low staff morale (68%), high stress (66%), high turnover of staff (62%) and absenteeism (59%).



Simon Jones, Acting Chief Executive at Investors in People UK, commented:

“Whilst many employers understand the importance of a healthy workplace, a worrying number clearly aren’t committed to the health and wellbeing of employees. It simply isn’t good enough for employers to dismiss this as ‘not their problem’. The bottom line is that an unhealthy, unhappy workforce will also be uncommitted and unproductive. If employers don’t address this, they will see a negative impact both on individuals and the performance of the business.

“There are a number of simple steps that employers in the East of England can take to address this issue – and they shouldn’t be deceived into thinking that fresh fruit and gym membership is the answer. Our research shows that employees actually want better support and development structures to create a healthier environment – and managers should take heed.”

When employers and employees in the region were questioned about what their company or organisation offers to improve the health and wellbeing of staff, the top two responses given were compliance with health and safety regulations (65%) and break or rest areas (58%). In contrast, flexible working and effective day-to-day support from managers were called for as the measures felt to have the most impact on improving health and wellbeing at work.

Investors in People are currently working on a project to encourage organisations to tackle the health and wellbeing of their workforce with a more focused and in-depth approach.

- Ends -

Notes to editors

Ipsos MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 897 working adults (excluding the self employed), face to face across the UK between 8 February - 22 March 2007. 72 interviews were conducted with workers in East Anglia. In order to analyse responses of ‘employees’ in East Anglia, additional interviews were conducted between 25-31 May, increasing the number of ‘employees’ in East Anglia to 89. The full sample has been weighted to the known profile of the GB and Northern Ireland population.

Investors in People:


· This year, Investors in People is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

· The Investors in People Standard provides a framework for improving business performance and competitiveness through good practice in human resource development.

· An organisation that has achieved the Standard has been successful in adopting and maintaining its three fundamental principles: Plan - developing strategies to improve the performance of the organisation, from business goals to leadership strategies; Do - implementing those strategies, taking action to improve the performance of the organisation; Review - evaluating and adjusting those strategies, measuring their impact on the performance of the organisation.

· The Investors in People Standard and Profile are promoted and developed by Investors in People UK – an organisation whose main stakeholder is the Department for Education and Skills.

· The Investors in People Standard is delivered by a partner network:

1. In England, the network of Investors in People Centres.
2. In Scotland, Scottish Enterprise (SE) or Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
3. In Wales, the Business Skills Delivery Team at the Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Welsh Assembly Government.
4. In Northern Ireland, the Department for Employment of Learning.


Contact The Assessment Network Limited at www.tan.org.uk or tel: 01480 479222

For more information on Investors in People please visit www.investorsinpeople.co.uk

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