Building Healthy Workplaces Through Smarter Benefits

This article explores the area of employee health and wellbeing by reviewing how the right health benefit can work for your business.

The Business Case for Employee Health and Wellbeing

In 2024, absence due to short-term illness and long-term illness were the main challenges facing members of the Small Firms Association. Employee health challenges have led increased concerns amongst our members around sick leave, sporadic absence, long-term illness, GP visits, and occupational health assessments.

Our members have reported the following costs of absenteeism;

• Costly company sick pay schemes
• Operational Disruption
• Occupational Health Referrals
• Decline in Productivity
• Reduced Morale
• Cost of Replacement
• Time lost due to GP Visits

A proactive approach to managing employee health and wellbeing is needed to tackle health and wellbeing concerns that are impacting employees and business owners.

National Workplace Wellbeing Day

National Workplace Wellbeing Day offers a moment to rebalance and refocus on supports that will benefit employees' social, mental, and physical wellbeing. It also offers companies a unique opportunity to spotlight the activities they are putting in place for their employees throughout the year.

The benefits of a successful workplace wellbeing programme have been well documented and begin with improved employee health, which can aid in higher levels of both engagement and productivity.

As employers are under increased scrutiny to demonstrate how they are positively contributing to their communities and the lives of their employees, wellbeing can be an excellent focus area as improved wellbeing has a far-reaching impact, not only for your employees, but for their families and communities too.

You can explore a few ideas of how to incentivise wellbeing in your company here.

Employees Health Benefits

Ibec research from 2023 shows Irish employees lose an average of 4.2 working days a year just waiting for a GP appointment. Delayed care often extends sick leave by another 1 to 3 days, compounding lost productivity. For employers, this adds up fast, estimated over €130 per day, per employee in lost output.

It is a cost for employees too; visiting a GP privately can mean between €540 to €1,200 per year.

Offering a health-related benefit can also make the difference when hiring talent.

However, less than 1% of employees engage with generic wellbeing programs and most providers fail to include small businesses in their offers. That’s why the SFA has brought forth its exclusive advantage for members, delivered by Gewardz Health, takes a radically different approach by putting access to GPs at its core for a small monthly fee for employers.

Further Resources

• The SFA exclusive employee benefits offer is available here in the Membership Advantage Area of our website.
• Explore the Health & Wellbeing Section of Better Business Magazine. In the Winter Edition, this section explores trends expected to improve employee wellness in 2025.
• Enhancing Employee Wellbeing and Performance through Talent Support and Development
• Explore the 2025 Workplace Wellbeing Calendar, designed to inspire and support your organisation's commitment to health, inclusion, and employee engagement – here.