Launch of Irelands First Workplace Wellbeing Day
Monday, 17 November 2014
IRELAND’S WORKERS WANT TO GET HEALTHIER
Employers can help
Launch of Ireland’s First National Workplace Wellbeing Day
Dublin, 17th November 2014 Ireland’s workforce wants to get healthier and they believe their employers can play a role in helping them according to new research.¹ Two thirds (65%) of employees recognise they need to consume healthier food and drinks. However, just 15 percent said their employers provide healthy food choices in company canteens or vending machines. Only one third of employees take the recommended weekly level of exercise for a healthy lifestyle while four in ten office bound workers say they are not physically active at all during their working day. One fifth (21%) of inactive workers cite the overall lack of facilities with one in ten (11%) highlighting the lack of shower facilities.
The nationwide survey of employees was undertaken to mark the announcement of Ireland’s first Workplace Wellbeing Day, which will take place on Friday, 27th March 2015. National Workplace Wellbeing Day is supported by Ibec. Healthy workplaces and workforces have also been identified as a priority area under Healthy Ireland, the national framework to improve health and wellbeing across the population. The nationwide campaign aims to help improve employee health through promoting effective wellbeing initiatives targeted at better nutrition and physical activity in workplaces around Ireland. Companies are being asked to put a special focus on wellbeing on the day through promoting existing and new initiatives available in their workplace as well as hosting special events for staff.
Launching Workplace Wellbeing Day 2015, Danny McCoy, CEO, Ibec said “Employee wellbeing is a high priority for companies because of its positive impact on productivity and absenteeism. With 11 million days lost through absenteeism every year at a cost of €1.5bn², improving employee wellbeing is in everyone’s best interest. This campaign is about employers looking at what they are doing in this area already, identifying what they’re doing well, promoting it amongst employees and sharing it with other companies. Equally importantly, is the identification of where improvements can be made, and making them too,” he said.
Welcoming Ireland’s first National Workplace Wellbeing Day, Kate O’Flaherty, Director, Health and Wellbeing Programme, Department of Health said it was important that employers actively supported the initiative. “The achievement of the goals set out in the Healthy Ireland Framework depends on the active participation of many sections of society. Given the significant proportion of time that the majority of people spend in their workplace, it is an obvious and critically important place to promote and encourage healthier living. In taking a partnership approach with different employers, employees and workplaces, we can share best practice and build a culture of workplace wellbeing which can have real benefits for people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.”
On the day companies are being encouraged to host special events and promotions for their staff as well as highlighting existing initiatives available to them in the workplace.