Poor health of workers affects productivity but solutions are at hand, forum speakers say
- South China Morning Post and partner Pfizer Hong Kong host business leaders and experts as they discuss how to achieve employee wellness
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Poor health of workers affects productivity but solutions are at hand, forum speakers say
Bustling Hong Kong is well known around the world as a thriving business hub and for its “can do” spirit, but that reputation also comes at a cost: workplace stress. Although a certain level of pressure at work is unavoidable, too much strain can have a negative impact on the physical and mental health of employees.
Up to 49 per cent of Hong Kong’s workers said they have experienced a lot of stress at work, according to the “State of the Global Workplace: 2024” report, published last month by the analytics and management consulting company Gallup.
Its survey of employee mental health, well-being and managers, also showed how staff engagement, including their involvement and enthusiasm in their job and workplace, has had a positive impact on business productivity.
Many employers in the city are now taking note of staff concerns about workplace stress. Last month’s “Do Well: Partnering for workplace wellness and prevention” forum, organised by the South China Morning Post in partnership with Pfizer Hong Kong, featured a day of talks and discussions on the current situation and possible solutions.
Krishnamoorthy Sundaresan, general manager of Pfizer Hong Kong and Macau, said: “‘Do Well’ is about creating a platform, where the numerous stakeholders within the healthcare ecosystem, starting with the employees in the middle and the employer, then their insurance broker, the insurance company, then the pharma[ceutical] and medical devices companies on the periphery, supported all through by the medical groups and clinicians … can create a win-win-win situation.”
The forum saw speakers and panellists, including human resources leaders from business, academia and the health sector, exchange views on the importance of helping workers manage stress and ideas on possible measures that can be put in place to address the issues.
“What are the negative impacts of stress?” Dr Christopher K.M. Hui, a Hong Kong specialist in respiratory medicine, said. “There’s a lot of evidence in the literature that suggests that there’s a negative impact on strokes, heart attacks and so on. The risk of infection goes up when we don’t sleep, when we’re stressed, and when we’re not working well.”
The poor health of workers places a burden on all parties involved, including the healthcare system, employers and also the payors of corporate insurance schemes. But there is another layer to the issue: the state of employees’ mental well-being.
Dr Bonnie Hayden Cheng, associate professor of management and director of the master of business administration programme at the University of Hong Kong Business School, said during one of the forum’s panel discussions: “When we take a look at the data, we’re seeing anything from [about] US$3 to US$11 in terms of [a return on investment] for every dollar that organisations are spending on their people’s health and well-being.”
Another panellist, Elaine Liu, group associate director and chief human resources officer at property developer Sino Group, shared lessons that her company has learned over the years, including one measure to train supervisors to identify mental health issues among colleagues and introduce early interventions.
Liu’s company regards this issue as so important that it has a budget to pay for the mental health treatment of employees when needed.
Although all the speakers at the forum agreed that a happier workplace is also a healthier workplace, physical illnesses among employees cannot be prevented completely.
However, there are many preventive measures that can effectively reduce the chance of contracting diseases, especially respiratory infections. Vaccination is one of the more obvious solutions.
Yet some companies, including Sino, take things one stage further than simply encouraging employees to get inoculated and offer on-site vaccination programmes to make the treatment more accessible and boost acceptance rates.
Liu said that when given the option of having an on-site vaccination, or getting reimbursed for getting it done at a health clinic, most of her company’s staff chose to have it done while at work.
Andrew Wong, CEO of health and beauty at DFI Retail Group, which operates Mannings health and beauty stores, said his company was using its position to allow employees and their families convenient access to free over-the-counter medications as a protective measure. It had reduced the need to see a doctor about minor ailments, he said.
He also said that simple measures could help to reduce the stress of staff, such as enhancing their workplace with a small coffee shop where they could get together and take a break during a busy day.
Ultimately, a healthy workplace also needs to be an environment where colleagues look out for one another. Kristy Cheng, head of human resources in Hong Kong at HSBC, shared an experience where she had noticed a colleague was showing signs of health concerns during a conversation and suggested he go for a medical check-up.
“Two or three days later, he did a full-body check and found that three of his blood vessels were blocked,” she said. The friendly advice may have saved her colleague’s life. “We don’t need to be experts, but some care would be a good starting point,” she said.
Click the video to hear more insights shared during the forum.
PP-UNP-HKG-0218 JUL 2024