Can employers afford to buy their way out of financial stress?

Around 70% of employees at Rolls-Royce Holdings have received a big helping hand in dealing with financial worries caused by high inflation: a bonus and a backdated wage increase that adds up to a 9% rise. Thousands of other staff are to be given a one-off cash lump sum.

The extra staff payments are expected to cost Rolls-Royce more than £40 million.

Bills, bills, bills

The financial intervention comes at a time when all UK employees are facing a challenge to their household budgets, from sky-high energy and petrol bills, higher National Insurance payments and a general increase in prices. As a result, more people are switching jobs for higher pay, taking on more hours and working through periods of sickness.

Research by software firm CIPHR among 1,000 UK workers showed 12% had moved to better paid roles; 31% had worked longer hours or shifts because of financial worries; 12% had taken on a second job. 26% of men and 18% of women had asked for a pay rise to help cope.12% had asked for improved benefits.

How much for advice?

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “In this new crisis for the world, every extra piece of financial support from employers is going to be a relief, particularly for staff on lower incomes. But it’s not the long-term solution. Bigger payouts only fuel inflation and the cycle goes on.

“Few employers are going to be in a position to keep up with inflation this year. And what happens next year, and the year after if levels are still high?

“Retention shouldn’t be reduced to a matter of cash. HR has to find ways to be smarter about helping people with their financial stress, encouraging engagement and loyalty. EAP services don’t involve any new costs for employers. They are an obvious and practical means of supporting people in the right ways, helping them come to terms with changes in finances, appreciate the implications, and be stronger for the long-term.”

For ESG we need the EAP

CIPD President, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, has called for boards to hand over responsibility to HR when it comes to meeting environmental, social and governance goals (ESG).

While ESG was now on all CEO and senior executive’s minds, they needed support and drive to take action from those closest to people issues and concerns. ESG had to be fully embedded into business objectives — or there was the real risk of being exposed in future, with serious implications for the employer brand, recruitment, retention and overall performance.

Virtue-signalling

“The more senior you get in an organisation, the less you know about the day-to-day activities of the organisation,” said Baroness McGregor-Smith at the 2022 Festival of Work. Too often this led to “virtue-signalling” where ESG just became part of the branding and promotional side of activities rather than having real meaning and being part of policies and behaviours.

She emphasised the importance of HR in taking a lead, and basing their work on more data collection on actual employee experiences, what’s behind staff choosing to leave, as well as their promotions, their wellbeing and sense of purpose within the organisation. Employees had to be feeling “empowered” by their organisation.

EAPs for all

EAPA UK chair [https://www.eapa.org.uk/] Eugene Farrell said: “Whether organisations are seen as being successful isn’t enough for either consumers and employees. The reputation of organisations is more and more dependent on their bigger role: are they really a ‘good’ influence on society, a good employer that cares about people and planet?

“More employers are being found out, and are going to be found out as not living up to their branding — making attention to staff experience a must-have for HR, and in turn, for the employer as a whole. The critical heart of this work has to be staff wellbeing and sense of purpose, feeling they can be themselves at work, are cared about as an individual human being, and are part of a community that had a shared mission.

“On a practical level, this is where EAPs and the range of services an EAP can provide — including anonymised data on trends — are an essential.”

Are employers forgetting the frontline ‘deskless’ workers?

A study among 9,000 frontline workers — healthcare staff, couriers, retail staff and chefs etc — has highlighted how 64% felt they couldn’t speak to their manager about workplace stress (let alone stresses caused by situations outside of work).

The 2022 State of the Deskless Worker report carried out by Quinyx looks at levels of engagement among ‘deskless’ staff, and how motivation and satisfaction can be increased.

The study found that 29% of frontline staff in the UK believed that improved communication with management and employees would increase their motivation — but around half felt they weren’t being listened to.

Desk-free contact

The report findings are a reminder of the particular challenges that continue to surround communications and engagement with frontline staff who aren’t part of the same kinds of office and desk-based routines — access to email, one-to-one meetings, and reminders of support services.

Frontline workers are those who have taken on the greatest pressures and risks during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as greater potential for reduced hours or redundancies in some sectors). At the same time they can feel they aren’t given the same kinds of attention and benefits as desk-based colleagues — as if retention and loyalty (and stress levels) isn’t as important an issue.

EAPs for all

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Many of the sectors struggling most with recruiting and retaining their staff are those relying on deskless, frontline workers — like airlines, like hospitality. And this can have serious business implications, as the travel industry is finding out.

“Building relationships between staff and line managers in HQ is harder in these situations, without being in a single location and linked together by desk communications. But there may also be lingering cultural issues here: where the benefits and perks are targeted more to higher paid, office-based professionals. Maybe, even, where ‘stress’ is only something that the senior executives have to cope with.

“Organisations should be one team. People have different roles but all should have a shared sense of purpose and be recognised for what they do. Everyone, to one degree or another, is relying on the work of others around them. The EAP is the kind of service that is open and accessible to everyone, anytime, and makes sure that everyone is listened to — whether that’s stress at work or at home.”

Are employers forgetting the frontline ‘deskless’ workers? – EAPA UK

Can the four day week put an end to burnout and poor mental health at work?

A six month project will see more than 3,300 employees at 70 companies work a four day week with no loss of pay.

The pilot runs from this month until the end of the year among a variety of employers, ranging from a seaside fish and chip shop to finance, construction, education and IT businesses. The organiser, 4 Day Week Global, is running the scheme alongside Cambridge and Oxford universities, Boston College, Autonomy and the 4 Day Week Campaign.

New frontiers for quality of life

The UK is leading the way in testing the potential of new ways of working, said 4 Day Week Global’s CEO Joe O’Connor. “As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognising that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge.”

Researchers will be tracking the progress of participants in terms of their wellbeing (stress and burnout), productivity, the changes in environmental footprint (travel and energy use) and issues like gender equality.

“The 20th-century concept of a five-day working week is no longer the best fit for 21st-century business,” said the chief executive of one participant, the Charity Bank. “We firmly believe that a four-day week with no change to salary or benefits will create a happier workforce and will have an equally positive impact on business productivity, customer experience and our social mission.”

Not just productivity

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “The Covid-19 experience in itself was a huge experiment in the impact of home working and more time for friends and family. What was clear from that was how differently people reacted. For some, more free time was a golden opportunity; for others it only heightened their sense of isolation.

“The four day week will certainly improve satisfaction levels for a proportion of the workforce, provide more of a release valve for pressures. But more time off is not going to be the simple answer to the UK’s challenges around stress and mental ill-health.

“It’s very clear in the trial that employers expect to maintain, and believe they can raise, levels of productivity. In other words many staff will find they’re under more pressure to deliver outputs and results in the four days. As we all know, holidays can be a welcome relief, but they don’t mean anything has changed when we’re back to our routines. A healthy balance for employees happens when organisations understand the pressures, are willing to listen to individual concerns and be flexible in everyday ways, when there’s a culture of trust and support.”

How financial stress is changing employee priorities

The 2022 Wellness Barometer Survey by BrightPlan shows that 72% of staff report being stressed about their finances, affecting their mental and physical health — up 11% on 2021. Top causes of worry are rising inflation, retirement planning and market volatility.

In terms of benefits, the survey claims that finance-related benefits are now the most sought after, leaping ahead of mental health and flexible time off since last year. 88% expect their employer to be actively helping them deal with the cost of living crisis.

Package up

UK software firm IRIS is an example of how some employers are stepping up with a new package of support.

The company has ensured a broad range of benefits to meet the diversity of situations. At the core of the offering is an EAP, alongside a team of mental health first aiders and new web pages giving advice on financial awareness. This is backed up with new offers such as one-to-one financial coaching with an external consultant, and workplace individual savings accounts (ISAs). IRIS has also boosted attention to health cash plans and discount schemes on offer.

Financial times

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “A sense of financial insecurity is so often a root cause for mental and physical ill-health, they are all bound up together in ways that can create a vicious circle.

“The first job for employers, and in some ways the most important, is making sure people are paying attention to their finances and not sleepwalking into serious problems with debt. That can mean fundamental changes to lifestyle with implications for partners and families, what happens to expectations of treats and luxuries. And that can affect relationships and sense of self-worth.

“This is why the EAP is important versus any temporary offers or even increases in pay — it’s a way for employees to look at the big picture of money, relationships and their health, how their life might have to change and what’s going to work and how.”

Don’t become the next social media wellbeing lampoon

A new trend has seen more staff using satirical posts to highlight what they see as feeble attempts to support employee wellbeing.

In one viral post on TikTok, ‘HR in 2022’ an English comic pretends to be an HR professional explaining how important mental health is for the company, inter-cut with shots of struggling employees. Staff come up with ideas around reducing workloads and four-day working weeks, but are instead signposted to a take part in a lunchtime webinar.

Another series of viral posts came from a US employee forced to live in their office cubicle because of the cost of living crisis and lack of practical support.

Box ticked

The concerns about box-ticking approaches to mental health have showed themselves in a number of research studies. A survey by Headspace Health showed that while 25% of UK staff had missed at least a week of work due to mental health issues, two-thirds still felt their employer wasn’t taking steps to give them support. Just 25% said the additional focus on mental health brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic had led to anything long-term.

“I am struck by how often managers offer every support possible, with the exception of anything that will actually solve the problem,” said Terence Robson, Deputy Head of the COVID-19 Team at the Ministry of Defence.

Fair focus

“With the combination of the cost of living crisis and more staff having to on extra workloads due to cost-cutting and staff changes, this is no time for letting slip the focus on workplace wellbeing,” says EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell.

“At the same time there’s a need to understand that HR themselves aren’t immune to the difficult context we’re all living through. They’re obviously facing their own issues with workload and levels of change.

“All of this means there’s more need than ever for access to practical support, professionals who provide personalised advice on what to do next, counselling when it’s needed, and take some of the pressure away from HR.”

Don’t become the next social media wellbeing lampoon – EAPA UK

UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association 

NOTICE OF BRANCH MEETING 

Tuesday 14th June 2022 

Online via Teams 

       10.30 – 11.00            Branch meeting 

• Welcome and Apologies 
• Minutes of December 7th meeting 
• Chair’s Report 
• Treasurer’s Report 
• Other Projects Update 
• Any Other Business 
  
   
  11:00 – 12.30     Guest Presenter : Kris Ambler, Workforce Lead, BACP will introduce and lead the discussion 
  
  EAPs and individual counsellors: bridging the understanding gap. 
  
   

As EAPs grow and develop there is an opportunity to maximise the effective working relationship between EAPs and individual counsellors. However, tensions can and do exist between these parties which can undermine the services that EAPs provide to their clients/customers.  EAPA and BACP have sought to educate both parties and this session will explore what has been done and what further progress needs to be made. 

As an example of relevant documents, the UK EAPA wrote guidance called ‘’Counsellors Guide To Working With EAPs” and BACP have recently launched the “Workplace Counselling Competency Framework”.   

Kris Ambler will explore this important area and will ensure that the session will be highly interactive. 

Members are encouraged to bring one colleague as a guest for this part of the meeting 

REGISTRATION: info@eapa.org.uk 

KRIS AMBLER – Presentation 

TUESDAY 14th JUNE 2022 – 11.00 am 

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Organisation........................................................................ 

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Signature……...................................................................................... 

Date....................................................Telephone Number.................... 

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Guest name .......................................................................................... 

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Guests are entitled to attend free of charge.  Branch meetings are for members only so guests can join the meeting during the break just before the start of the presentation at 11.00 am. 

www.eapa.org.uk 

07973 767316 

What’s behind the ‘nice resignation’?

The American Great Resignation goes on, with around 4.5 million employees leaving their job in March 2022, meaning vast numbers of unfilled positions. It’s not people jostling for pay and promotion, or because of grievances, but because they’re looking for a better life — which is why the phenomenon is now being called the ‘nice resignation’.

HR in the US now recognise the role of burnout as a major cause. A study has claimed 50% of workers felt burnt out from work within the past two weeks; 57% were mentally and bodily exhausted; 51% emotionally drained. For 43% of US executives their new job search had been brought about by a need for “higher work-life stability”.

Replacing people means extra bills for employers already facing inflationary pressures. Evidence suggests costs of around a half to twice the annual wage in recruitment costs, management time and coaching, as well as disruption to operations and cover needed from other members of a team.

Flexing offers

In response, US employers have been looking to provide more flexibility as a retention tool: more home-working, more flexible routines, more holidays, more paid sabbaticals.

There has also been a greater emphasis on staff recognition schemes, encouraging more peer-to-peer rewards, and training for managers awareness of psychological wellbeing and listening.

HR have been under pressure to measure the impact of investing in employee wellbeing and other initiatives, using spreadsheets to track the financial savings from reduced absenteeism and staff turnover.

EAP first

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Introducing blanket offerings around flexible working, holidays etc are a scattergun approach, and won’t necessarily bring the ROI that HR are hoping for. People are all different — and while there is the broad trend of the nice resignation, the causes and thinking behind it are very individual. And again, getting managers involved to spot signs of burnout isn’t an answer in itself. Struggling employees still don’t want to open up or admit to what might be written up as a kind of weakness.

“The best ROI will always come from EAPS — because they provide a confidential way of speaking up and getting to the root causes of problems, the mix of work and home issues, and a track for dealing with them in practical ways.”

What’s behind the ‘nice resignation’? – EAPA UK

Why we’re on course for an epidemic of loneliness

A new report by Buffer (State of Remote Work 2022) has found that more remote and hybrid workers are struggling with loneliness — up to 24% from 20% in 2020. Working conditions aren’t getting any easier, there’s no signs of a ‘settling in’ to new ways of working and a balance between isolation and workplace community.

The report also found that 52% of employees globally feel less connected to their co-workers since they moved to remote working. Work routines in themselves have become more formal ‘transactional’ with no space for ad hoc social contact and gatherings which provided more human ‘breathing spaces’ throughout the day.

Social duty of care

The problem of how to better support staff and create a more sociable and connected hybrid environment is one for employers: a survey by workplace tech firm Silicon Reef claims that 73% of UK remote workers believe their employer should be doing more to deal with the issue of staff loneliness.

The general view is that HR and employers can best help with workplace wellbeing by making the ‘check-ins’ with staff more regular. Managers need to get better at spotting changes in manner and behaviour virtually. Employees should be given even more flexibility in their working day at home, with more opportunities to break up the day — a move away from micro-management towards judging performance purely through outputs. 

Head-on

“When an issue is so difficult to raise in conversation — the ‘L’ word — employers need most of all to make sure their remote and hybrid workers have someone they can speak to in confidence, without making a big deal of it with a manager or colleagues,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell. 

“All the evidence suggests it’s not something people want to do, they’d rather grin and bear it; and that can only happen for so long before loneliness becomes a factor in mental wellbeing. All the efforts by HR to introduce new forms of virtual social contact have their place, but it’s critical that people have a means of talking about the issues openly and in the context of their personal situation.”

Read more about the report here

Why we suffer from sick day stigma

A report from BetterUp Labs claims more than 70% of UK employees have tried to avoid taking time off, despite having mental health concerns, in the past three months.

28% had taken at least one day off during that same period — but more than half of those had claimed their absence was due to a physical illness. At the same time there’s an issue with taking any kind of sick day, as 59% also said they’d worked through a physical form of sickness.

Covering up

Younger employees are more prone to covering up their issues and sticking to their desks. 85% of 18 to 24 year-olds and 78% of 25 to 34 year-olds reported pushing through in spite of mental health worries (compared with under half of the 55 and overs).

Employers need to be doing more to make conversations about mental health more of a normal part of working lives, say the report authors.

“It’s unfortunate that more than half of people who took time off for mental health reasons felt the need to use a different excuse,” says Erin Eatough, Manager of Behavioural Science at BetterUp Labs,  “Mental health is health, and this ‘covering’ behaviour demonstrates that there’s work to be done to normalise both reactive and preventative mental health self-care.”

Opening up

“Just because mental health is now more visible in workplaces and society as a whole, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easier to talk about when it’s you,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell. “Mental illness is still something that we’d like to think only happens to other people.

“That’s why employers have to make it easier to have that initial conversation about individual struggles and situations when it comes to mental wellbeing. Until we admit out loud that we’re not coping it’s still something we can keep locked up, as something to deal with another time.

“EAPs are the most obvious channel for employees to open up: talking in confidence to an independent professional who’s not just a sounding board but someone who can signpost and arrange the most practical next steps.”

Why we suffer from sick day stigma – EAPA UK