Employers have been advised to encourage healthy behaviour among their employees.
According recent research commissioned by Bupa, employers could collectively save nearly £3 billion a year if their workers adopted healthier behaviours.
Dr Peter Mace, assistant medical director of Bupa, explained that there is quite a lot that employers could do.
"They could make changes to the canteen if they have got a canteen at work or, at the very least, educate employees about what the healthy choices to make might be," he suggested.
Alternatively, providing fruit in the work environment or offering groups to help their team to stop smoking could be of benefit, as could the provision of vouchers that would allow people to make healthy choices.
In addition, emphasising the importance of not drinking too much could be particularly helpful "because that is going to have an effect on productivity within the workplace and also on the possibility of promotion".
© Adfero Ltd
Private medical insurance news: 7 June 2011
