Towergate Employee Benefits released a study today that shows the main reasons why companies with overseas workers offer health and wellness support to their employees is to prevent absence and get them back to work.
How to monitor and manage absence for companies with employees overseas:
- Tracking employee absence is 89% of the job.
- 86% of employers use health and wellness support to prevent absences
- 60% of employees return to work faster with the help of health and wellness support
Sarah Dennis is the head of international for Towergate Employee Benefits. She says: It’s great to see that so many employers are tracking absence rates and utilizing health and wellness support to prevent absence. It is important that employers monitor absences to ensure they have the correct preventative measures in place and are able to provide the support needed to get employees back to work.
Absence Prevention
It’s great that global employers are aware of the importance of preventing illness, but it’s also important that they take steps even before a new assignment starts and that they understand any potential health risks prior to travel.
You can mitigate the risks of the country you are visiting by ensuring that your health insurance covers repatriation if necessary, or obtaining vaccinations before traveling. Local experts are best placed to provide advice on the availability of specific medicines and medical facilities in a certain area.
Employers should also take into account the risks associated with an individual’s health. Screening before travel is a good way to make sure that the employee can work abroad. It can also identify any health issues that need to treated or medicines needed.
This is especially important for people living overseas. Long working hours and lack of gym access, as well as unhealthy eating habits and drinking can be detrimental. Sarah Dennis, explains how employers can mitigate this. “taking action on management absence related to poor lifestyle could start with something as easy as providing access to fitness or nutrition apps.”
Support for returning to work
The research indicates that while absence prevention is important, employers can do more to help employees return to work after they are on sick leave. Only 65% of employers use health and wellness to assist employees in returning to work.
Health and wellbeing benefits offer a wide range of assistance to help people return to health and get back to work. This includes fast-track diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation for physical and mental health.
Sarah Dennis: “Absence is more difficult for global employers to manage because of the disparate workforce. But there are resources to prevent and manage absenteeism, and an international expert can provide advice on the best support for each country and workforce.”
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