S’pore employers consider physical wellness of employees

SINGAPORE: Recently a Facebook friend shared a snapshot of an interesting 2008 news item from Reuters saying “lovelorn staff at a Japanese marketing company can take paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner, with more ‘heartache leave’ on offer as they get older.”

Tokyo-based Hime & Company, that also gives staff paid time off to shop during sales season was reported saying heartache leave would allow staff to cry themselves out and return to work refreshed.

“Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick,” its Chief Executive Officer Miki Hiradate, whose company of six women marketing cosmetics and other goods targeted for women, was quoted as saying.

Staff aged 24 years or younger can take one day off per year, while those between 25 and 29 can take two days off and those older can take three days off, the company said.

Staff can also take two mornings off twice a year as “sales shopping leave”, so they can race to stores to hunt for bargains.

This is what Hime & Company started doing nine years ago and it is heartening to know that in the current dynamic challenging working environment of today other companies too have such programmes or planning to implement such programmes.

In Singapore, 72 percent of employers feel stress and mental health are affecting productivity and not heartaches alone.

That is the latest findings from APAC Benefits Strategy Study 2017 by Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions.

The study also showed that 62 per cent of organisations in Singapore have plans to implement physical wellness programmes in the future.

The United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) has defined stress as a ‘global epidemic’ and dubbed it the ‘silent killer’.

It is a growing phenomenon in many Asian countries, especially those with advanced economies and where Western consumerism and lifestyles are prevalent such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

In its early stages, the physical manifestations of stress include chronic issues such as back pain, fatigue, and headaches.

There is also clear scientific evidence linking stress with depression, cardiovascular disease, and various cancers - resulting in economic impact related to absenteeism, lost productivity, staff turnover, workers’ compensation, medical insurance, and related expenses.

Encouragingly, APAC Benefits Strategy Study 2017 found that 74 per cent of Singapore employers have physical wellness programmes in place to help prevent the onset of these chronic issues.

“Through our analysis of client medical plan data, we are able to identify patterns. For instance, a high proportion of visits to General Practitioner clinics for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI) and various gastrointestinal illnesses are related to suppression of general resistance process, which can be attributed to mental health issues such as stress, depression, and anxiety.

“By identifying this root cause, we can help employers develop risk management programmes that address employee health holistically and create positive impact,” Aon senior clinician, Dr Menandro Sandoval, said. Bernama