2023-12-15 16:29:43
Santo Domingo.– Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk consultant and a Marsh McLennan business, in its study “Health on Demand 2023 (HoD)” highlights the challenge that organizations face in terms of well-being and employee health, because these aspects are identified as one of the threats that put business productivity and profitability at risk.
Likewise, according to the Pan American Health Organization, the workforce in the Americas represents close to 50% of the region’s total population, being the main source of production and development of the continent. This is why, to guarantee maximum work performance, it is increasingly necessary to implement safe and healthy working conditions along with an equitable and fair employment environment.
In this scenario, Ariel Almazán, Workforce Health Leader at Mercer Marsh Benefits for Latin America and the Caribbean, warns in his article “Organizational Wellbeing, a key piece of sustainability”, about the risks associated with the lack of decent jobs, which can lead to unsafe and unsatisfactory working conditions, generating accidents, illnesses and, in extreme cases, deaths at work.
Almazán highlights the importance of an anticipatory vision to manage the risks associated with the deterioration of mental health, the cost of living and chronic health conditions. These social, political and economic determinants imply changes in which organizations are led to evaluate and improve working conditions, putting the worker at the center of their priorities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a window of opportunity to transform both health systems and human capital management systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
In this sense, the study (“Health on Demand 2023 (HoD)”) reveals that 61% of employees surveyed in Latin America and the Caribbean say they agree with the level of concern that their employer expresses for their health and well-being. However, 14% say they disagree and 25% say they neither agree nor disagree.
These initiatives highlight the need to close the gap between the employee’s perception of their work experience and the implementation of immediate improvement opportunities, since 49% of workers perceive that their employer designs their work genuinely considering their well-being and 48% you feel stressed in your daily life.
The redesign of work and the new post-pandemic social and labor structure forces companies to adapt their benefit programs and offerings to meet the changing needs of the workforce.
According to the HoD study, 79% of employees who receive ten or more benefits are less likely to change jobs, compared to 50% who receive between one to four health and well-being benefits. An immediate evaluation is suggested for the integration of new benefits for the entire workforce, as well as the updating and strengthening of benefits and wellness programs.
As part of this reassessment, it is essential to address the inequalities observed in the HoD survey, where lower-income employees have less access to medical coverage and mental health counseling services compared to their higher-income colleagues.
With this innovative proposal, Almazán considers that this is the best time for organizations to reinforce their benefit programs and plans, which represents one of the priorities for strategic action in the short and medium term, as demonstrated by another of his recent studies. Global Talent Trends 2023”, in which promoting comprehensive well-being (social, mental, physical and financial) is the third investment priority in Latin America.
Related
1702662237
#key #piece #sustainability