Vitality has called for health and wellbeing requirements to be prioritised at board level as new research indicates increased homeworking is leading to an ‘ergonomic timebomb’ risking increased back and shoulder injuries and pain.
The call follows release of a report, produced in partnership with the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA).
The study showed life became more sedentary at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020 with Vitality members recording a 28% drop in physical activity events.
This was predominantly driven by marked reductions in the number of people achieving their daily step count goals.
Research from Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace survey also showed more than half of the UK workforce suffered from two or more musculoskeletal conditions, such as lower back pain (45%), neck pain (34%) and shoulder pain (34%) pre-pandemic in 2019.
Consequently, Vitality has made 10 recommendations for businesses to improve their wellbeing. These include:
- proposals that health and wellbeing needs to be included in company risk registers and prioritised at board level;
- that organisations should schedule 30 minutes a day for exercise to protect musculoskeletal health;
- that mandatory breaks and ‘right to disconnect’ policies are needed to protect hybrid workers from burnout and physical health issues.
Other key findings of the report include:
- Half of homeworkers are anxious about a return to the office with 85% saying taking employee health and wellbeing seriously will be important when thinking about their future career prospects.
- Just 16% of homeworkers would prefer to be in a physical work location full time but one in three expect this will be their employer’s expectation when lockdown rules allow.
- More than eight in 10 (85%) homeworkers say taking employee health and wellbeing seriously will be important when thinking about their future career prospects.
- Over half of all homeworkers (55%) said working from home meant they found it easier to get more work done.
- On average homeworkers have been working three hours extra per week and 40% of people are replacing the one hour on average gained from their commute with extra time working.
- Most adults believe the switch to working from home has made it easier for them to maintain physical fitness levels (51%) and do regular exercise (57%).
- Four in 10 (44%) remote workers have found it “much” or “somewhat” easier to manage their mental health and wellbeing as a result of remote working.
Commenting, Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Vitality UK said now is the time for businesses to reset their approach to health and wellbeing and set themselves up for a ‘healthy hybrid’ future.
“Our report shows that wellbeing and productivity – health and economic competitiveness – are two sides of the same coin. Corporate Britain needs both in order to recover and flourish.
“This builds on our shared value philosophy of a way of working that delivers for people, society and for the economy. A healthy workforce is so critical for businesses that employee health and wellbeing should be on the company risk register.
“In the same way organisations plan for pandemics, climate change and market fluctuations, the last 12 months have taught us that the health of our people is the most valuable asset to recovery and growth.”