Aviva Survey Reveals SMEs Are Looking After Employees

The latest from Aviva, as they research employee wellbeing in SMEs;

Aviva research has highlighted the critical role of employee wellbeing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In a survey conducted with 500 senior professionals from UK SMEs, an overwhelming majority of respondents (99%) indicated that employee wellbeing is either “very important” (77%) or “somewhat important” (22%) to their business, with 92% of SMEs stating they would pay more than their existing insurance premiums to include additional wellbeing services for their staff.

Many SMEs are putting measures in place to support staff with wellbeing, such as training, counselling schemes and helplines. Almost half offer mental health counselling (47%), with 41% providing access to helplines and 37% sharing discounted wellbeing services such as gym memberships with employees. In addition, 44% of SMEs provide regular training for their leaders on managing employee wellbeing and mental health issues.

Companies that invest in employee wellbeing report numerous benefits, including higher employee satisfaction (47%), increased productivity (40%), and improved employee retention rates (39%).

With regard to how much SMEs would pay to invest in wellbeing services for their people,  Aviva research found almost one third of respondents (29%) would pay 11-15% more, with more than half (54%) willing to pay between 6% and 10% more each year.

To support businesses in this area, Aviva has added a range of wellbeing services and benefits to every Group Personal Accident or Business Travel product, at no extra charge. These benefits include:

• The Aviva Line Manager Toolkit: Mental Health, which provides bite-sized training videos to help line managers support the mental health of their team. Developed by mental health professionals, the videos and resources aim to empower line managers to spot the warning signs of poor mental health in the workplace, help them feel more confident in holding supportive conversations with their people and learn more about reasonable adjustments and adaptations to support team members.
• A counselling service, which offers direct access to British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) accredited counsellors 24/7, 365 days a year. This provides support from the first point of contact for a wide range of difficulties, such as bereavement, stress, anxiety or depression, relationships and domestic abuse. The counselling service is available to employees and members of their immediate family – providing they live together and are over the age of 18 (or aged between 16 and 18 and in full-time employment), with each customer entitled to six sessions.
• Get Active, which supports wellbeing and fitness goals with money-saving offers at over 3,000 health and fitness clubs and a range of offers to support a healthy and active lifestyle.
• Cancer Care with Get Active, which provides access to discounted products and services that can help with the daily living adjustments a cancer diagnosis and treatment can bring, as well as offers on services and experiences that may enhance quality time spent with family and close friends. Customers can access the offers for themselves or gift to somebody they know who is living with cancer.
• Wellbeing library**: An online wellbeing library that offers useful content, hints and tips, plus guides and tools on a wide range of wellbeing situations. Employees will find helpful support for family and relationships, money or work, mental or physical health conditions. The library is continually updated, with recent additions including four new child mental health articles under the ‘Family Wellbeing’ category, written by Positive Parenting Coach, Anisa Lewis, and additional cancer support material to the ‘Health Matters’ area.

Luke Powis, Head of Crisis Management at Aviva, said: “The wellbeing of employees is crucial to the success of any business, and it’s positive to see that so many SMEs understand that, too. By providing mental health and wellbeing support as part of our Group Accident and Business Travel products, we aim to support businesses in creating healthier, more productive work environments.”