Workplace well-being initiatives for remote workers

You have a legal duty of care to protect the health and well-being of all your staff, whether they're office-based or remote employees. Remote employees face different health and safety challenges from office-based workers, so it's vital that your risk assessments and well-being initiatives adequately address these. Research suggests that 28% of working adults in the UK are hybrid workers, splitting their time between home and the office. In comparison, 13% are fully remote employees, meaning there's significant potential for adverse health outcomes if their needs aren't adequately catered for.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has helpful guidance on carrying out risk assessments for remote employees, including improving their working environment, promoting proper stress management and safe display screen use.

Remote working can have advantages for employee health, but it can also be a double-edged sword. If remote workers adopt positive habits, it can give you healthy employees, but there are potential drawbacks as well. First, let's consider how remote employees can improve their health and well-being.

More time for physical activity

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) time use study 2024 examined remote employees' habits and how they used the time they saved by avoiding the daily commute. The survey found that remote employees saved 56 minutes a day on average and spent 15 minutes more engaged in physical activity than they would when commuting.

It's unclear whether these individuals were already engaged in regular physical activity and increased the amount of time they were able to spend on exercise, or if remote work allowed them to start exercising when they hadn't before. However, the idea that remote employees can find time to exercise and improve their physical health is a positive sign.

Better sleep

The ONS' study found that remote employees used some of the time they saved on commuting to sleep for longer or get more rest, on average, 24 minutes for each day they worked at home. Of course, there's no guarantee that more sleep means better quality sleep. However, combining more time for rest with physical activity and other healthy habits can support better quality sleep.

This is excellent news for employee health, as it can also help your business thrive by having well-rested employees who are typically more focused and productive.

An improved work-life balance

Remote employees requesting hybrid or remote working will often do so to help them create a better work-life balance. A good work-life balance looks different for each employee, and the reasons for their request will also vary. Some may prefer remote working as it helps them manage their mental health or easily adapt their working environment to address physical health challenges or disabilities.

Other remote employees may have children or other caring commitments, which remote work helps them manage. In fact, research suggests that working parents were more likely to be hybrid workers than their colleagues without children. A better work-life balance supports good employee health by helping them reduce stress levels, knowing they can balance their regular commitments. It can also offer them more time to engage in regular exercise.

Remote employees can face physical and mental health challenges, which will likely vary depending on their lifestyle and habits. Here are some of the most common issues remote workers can face. However, it's always wise to maintain regular communication with your team members to understand their needs and identify any support systems that can help prevent or address health issues.

Social isolation

Social isolation can profoundly affect remote workers' mental well-being, resulting in mental health issues or exacerbating existing challenges. It can be particularly troubling to those who live alone and value strong workplace relationships. Hybrid working can help, as it gives team members time in the office to interact with their colleagues and time at home. You might use online platforms such as Zoom or Teams for meetings, but these don't replicate the informal conversations that employees can have during breaks. Still, it's worth considering organising opportunities for informal online chats to replicate those relaxed conversations and help colleagues build strong workplace relationships.

A lack of in-person interaction can also cause difficulties if an employee is struggling with their mental health. It's often more challenging for managers and colleagues to identify the signs of mental health concerns if interactions are limited to online meetings. Talking openly about mental health can encourage employees to seek mental health support when needed.

Blurred boundaries between work and home

A lack of clear boundaries between a remote worker's work and personal life can impair their work-life balance and cause or worsen mental health challenges. Commuting to and from an office can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful, but it helps to create boundaries between home and work. By contrast, an employee working at home can easily use the time they save to do more work, or find themselves working late into the evening instead of taking a break.

Longer hours can lead to eye strain from prolonged screen time, increased stress levels, and burnout caused by chronic stress.

Less exercise

We've mentioned that many remote and hybrid workers use the time they save on skipping the commute to get some exercise. However, there's also a risk that they'll become more sedentary when their desk is only a few steps away. They may walk less and also spend longer hours sitting at a desk.

Reduced movement can cause various physical health issues, such as musculoskeletal conditions and obesity. Sedentary workers are also at increased risk of serious or chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.

Spending time exercising also has proven mental health benefits, particularly if it includes spending time outside. The benefits include improved mood, concentration and productivity, so if you promote physical activity among your workforce, your business will also benefit.

Unsuitable workstations

Your duty of care to provide your employees with a safe and suitable workplace includes your remote staff, but this can be challenging to achieve in practice. Onboarding new team members or making adjustments for employees whose needs have changed should involve a workstation assessment. However, it's likely impractical to visit every employee at home to ensure they've set up their remote work environment correctly.

An unsuitable workstation can cause poor posture and lead to musculoskeletal issues or eye strain resulting from screen glare.

You can conduct virtual assessments via video call, for instance, to determine if a remote employee has a suitable workspace or if they require funds to purchase furniture or supplies that support good posture. However, it's a good idea to offer employees access to training so they can carry out a self-assessment. Suitable training can help them consider all the potential health issues arising from their office set-up and help employees feel confident to make changes and request equipment when needed. The HSE's guidance on health and safety for remote work includes some useful resources.

Poor eating habits

Office-based workers often struggle to maintain a healthy diet due to a lack of nutritious food options near the office or the absence of food storage facilities that encourage employees to bring in healthy snacks and meals from home. When employees work at home, the same problem can arise for different reasons. At home, an employee's fridge and cupboards are only a short distance away. This creates a risk that they will snack frequently instead of taking regular breaks to eat well.

Regular snacks can maintain energy levels and support mood and concentration. They can also play their part in a balanced diet, but they can cause physical health issues if employees choose high-fat or high-sugar options rather than healthy snacks.

Organising a well-being initiative for your team involves investing some time and effort, but the rewards are well worth it. The benefits of well-being initiatives and programmes apply to both office-based and remote workers. They can help to make remote employees feel connected to their colleagues, thereby combating the mental health issues associated with social isolation.

In a broader sense, well-being initiatives can lead to greater productivity and performance, reduced sick leave, improved employee retention and job satisfaction. Demonstrating your willingness to invest in employees' health and well-being can also enhance your company's reputation, helping you attract investment, new customers and talented employees.

If you decide to invest in employee health insurance, the health of your workforce can also influence the premium you pay. Healthy employees are less likely to make claims for treatment, and insurers will examine your company's claims history when sending a renewal quote. Some insurers, such as Vitality, also offer discounts as a reward for healthy living. Participating in health initiatives can help reduce your premiums, and your employees can also earn rewards and discounts for themselves, giving them an incentive to take part.

If the benefits of organising a well-being initiative sound appealing, the next step is to start organising one of your own. It's a good idea to start by considering how to make your initiative accessible to everyone. If your workforce is fully remote, you can design an initiative that reflects their needs. However, you may have a mixture of office-based and remote workers, as well as some on a hybrid schedule, who combine working at home with time in the office. You can create separate initiatives for office-based and remote employees, but this will increase the administration time involved. It could also be impractical for hybrid employees.

As we've mentioned, employees can experience the same health challenges wherever they work. However, they'll likely need different practical support systems to support their well-being, and you should consider these when designing your initiative.

Here are a few ideas to help you start the process.

Choose your focus

Your employee well-being initiative can focus on any health metric you choose, so it's vital you consider what will have the most significant impact. You may have identified particular health risks that are common within your industry, or that are influenced by staff demographics. Gathering and reviewing employee well-being data lets you see which health issues most affect your team so that you can act accordingly. Sickness absence data is a good starting point, as it can help you act to help employees take fewer sick days. However, it may not tell you the underlying causes of illness. For example, mental health issues such as workplace stress can cause physical symptoms. Creating a workplace culture that encourages employees to talk about mental health can give you a clearer picture of the pressures your employees face and what support you can provide.

If you already provide employees with health insurance, most providers offer health assessments and support to help employees achieve their well-being goals. While individual results remain confidential, your insurers can provide you with anonymised data showing health trends and identifying areas for improvement, which can help you choose the focus of your initiative.

Getting more active

Sedentary work has many associated risk factors and can impact your whole team regardless of their work location. Remote workers are at a higher risk of reduced movement due to the absence of a commute, but they can use the time saved to engage in physical activity. Remote employees may also find themselves working longer hours, which can impact their ability to exercise regularly. Suppose you aim to promote increased physical activity as part of your initiative. In that case, it's also a good idea to normalise starting and finishing work on time and taking regular breaks to give staff time to exercise or move around during working hours.

There are several practical ways to encourage movement. Health insurance often offers discounted gym memberships to members, so you can promote these to ensure employees know about the benefits available. You could also fund memberships to online fitness programmes that staff can access from home. Your initiative could offer rewards to staff who set a goal for the number of classes or gym sessions they complete in a week and achieve their target. This approach enables employees to set goals that reflect their specific needs, rather than a general target that may not suit everyone. You could also include active commuting for those travelling into the office to broaden the range of activities available.

Online exercise classes or activity trackers combined with a sharing platform can encourage employees to build networks and encourage each other, particularly if they're interested in similar forms of exercise. For example, the online cycling app Zwift provides virtual routes that participants can follow using an exercise bike at home and enables group rides where staff can encourage each other in real time. You can also promote virtual walking groups, where employees dial in and talk to each other while heading out for a lunchtime walk.

Healthy eating

Home working creates the potential for constant snacking and a lack of balanced meals. You can encourage healthy eating by supplying staff with healthy snacks. Additionally, various healthy snacking companies offer corporate subscriptions, allowing you to send snack boxes to employees at home. Education is a key part of any health initiative, so educate employees on the benefits of healthy eating and how to design a balanced diet, with training sessions delivered online and in person. Again, a workplace culture that encourages taking regular breaks enables employees to step away from their desks to eat well.

Encourage staff to set personal targets based on the health education you provide. For example, staff may identify a need for more fruit and vegetables in their diet, more protein or fewer sugary snacks. If you decide to provide snack boxes, consider offering employees the option to customise their contents.

Stress management

Isolation can lead to increased stress levels, so regular communication between employees, their peers and managers can help to reduce this. Schedule regular check-ins between managers and staff via Zoom or Teams for remote workers, in person for office-based staff, or both for hybrid workers. Also, encourage and schedule informal online tea breaks so colleagues have the opportunity to chat about their personal lives and any work-related stress they may experience.

Measuring mental health in a quantifiable way can be challenging. If you choose this initiative, focus on providing mental health resources and education to help managers and coworkers identify the signs of work-related stress or mental health challenges in their colleagues.

Provide suitable support

Your well-being initiative is more likely to succeed if staff have the proper support. We've mentioned some examples, such as funding exercise classes, providing discounted gym memberships via health insurance, or delivering healthy snacks to remote workers.

Creating a positive work environment that supports and encourages employee well-being is vital to underpin your efforts. Let's consider some practical ways your business can support employee well-being, particularly for remote staff.

Interactive training sessions

You can provide online training materials and resources for employees to read in their own time, and schedule video calls to deliver live training. However, these sessions are more likely to succeed if you introduce an interactive element to encourage staff to engage. This is relatively easy in the office, but can be more challenging when participants are online.

Encourage participants to ask questions or make suggestions during sessions. Video call technology typically has a function that lets you raise your hand virtually or type questions into a chat box. For larger sessions, create breakout rooms and set group activities where staff can discuss what they've learned and devise ways to incorporate their knowledge into their daily lives. Encourage feedback during the session and send follow-up resources afterwards.

Team building

Strong workplace relationships can help to reduce social isolation and mental health challenges. Regular virtual calls can enhance team cohesion and help staff build relationships. Online training sessions with group activities allow colleagues to discuss health topics and ways to incorporate changes in their personal lives, letting them get to know each other better.

Consider adding some in-person events alongside virtual catch-ups. These will need careful management, especially where staff have chosen remote work as a way to achieve a better work-life balance. However, team building activity days, training days or social events can all help to create a positive work environment when used well.

Self-help resources

Well-being and mental health resources empower employees to adopt healthy habits according to their needs and interests. They can also support your health initiatives by providing training materials and follow-up information after training sessions.

These resources are easy to provide online and can include articles from your health insurer, NHS websites and other trusted sources. Look for resources from charities covering health and well-being topics, especially those focusing on the needs of remote employees and offering mental health resources.

Health insurance can give employees access to various types of support and treatment depending on your chosen policy. As we've mentioned, most providers offer health assessments for staff, along with ongoing support to help them achieve their health and wellness goals. They can also provide you with data to help you decide what to focus on in your health initiatives.

Policies provide quick access to private medical treatment, along with health advice via virtual GP appointments and health helplines.

Health insurance policies usually provide mental health support in the form of counselling, and you can add an employee assistance program (EAP) that offers further counselling services.

Some insurers' reward programs let employees earn greater rewards by achieving their health goals, and also provide discounted gym memberships, activity trackers and other online resources that can help motivate your team. 

Health insurance can provide your remote workers with access to private medical care and resources to support their health and well-being. Choosing the best health insurance for your needs and budget can be challenging. At Globacare, we provide independent advice to help you consider your options and choose health insurance that supports the needs of your whole workforce. Contact us for tailored advice.