THE MEDICAL SERVICES NEEDED IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

Offices and staff are never going to work in the same way again. Here are the steps companies should take to make sure their employees’ health comes first.

The pandemic and Covid-19 have changed the way we work and socialise, and it has re-valuated all our health and safety precautions. It’s also forced companies to overhaul their office guidelines and procedures, and it has led to innovative research and plans like Healthcare 3.0. One thing is for sure: the workplace will never be the same again, and our medical resources need to adapt – both for employees in the office and those working remotely. We can’t just rely on a basic, company-wide medical aid or hospital plan; there needs to be a tailored approach. Here are four essential health services for business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs to invest in for the future:

1. THERAPY AND MENTAL CHECKS

The pressure of the events of 2020 has caused a spike in mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and hypertension. Forward-thinking companies are using progressive steps like outsourcing therapists to be on video call for their staff on a full-time basis or offering company-wide subscriptions to stress-relief apps such as Headspace or Calm. Outside of these choices, there should also be regular check-ins with all your staff, and to make sure they know they have resources to use in times of high stress and anxiety. If you need help to collate a list of helplines and mental health resources, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) is a great place to start.

25% of the population which has said that Covid-19 has affected their mental health.
Source: Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism

2. ON-THE-JOB HEALTH MONITORING

The pandemic has emphasised how vital health monitoring is, and has shown how working from home can add a new set of stressful challenges and unhealthy work habits into our lives. As a result, workers now need a monitoring system that can keep tabs on their health, regardless of whether it’s for a remote worker or office employee. There are now apps and cloud-based software which can keep tabs on employee health, ranging from telemedicine apps that connect you virtually with real doctors through to health apps and fitness-tracking wearables.

1 billion virtual care visits will soar to more than 1 billion in the US this year, including 900 million visits related to Covid-19.
Source: Forrester Report

3. SPECIALISED EMERGENCY SERVICES

With staff working both from offices and remotely, you need to make sure that they’re covered in emergencies. In this case, you should consider a private emergency service provider, one that covers all the locations of your employees. While there are public ambulance services available, they’re dealing with a massive countrywide workload and their reaction times can be slow. Here’s where a private ambulance service offers plenty of advantages: they bring paramedics directly to you, offer immediate medical aid, and then monitor your health on the way to the best-suited medical facility, unlike the public ambulance which will take you to the nearest state hospital. Crucially, the private ambulance services can also look after your staff even when it isn’t an emergency – your employee’s health and comfort always come first.

84 minutes is the mean average response time of a public ambulance service in South Africa across rural and urban areas in Kwa-Zulu Natal according to research. This response time has been proven to be similar in other provinces.
Source: Faculty of Health Sciences at Durban University of Technology

4. CUSTOMISED WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAM

If this is something which you don’t have in place, or which doesn’t include remote workers, it’s crucial that you create a plan that covers both in-office employees and those that Work From Home and remotely. Traditionally, these wellness programs have relied only on office health days, reward initiatives, and health test opportunities, but that just covers the basic health needs. To be even more beneficial, you can offer extra benefits: like for example, free access to smoking cessation programs to help employees kick the habit. Other options could be to provide free virtual yoga and meditation classes every week. You can also set up confidential support lines for issues like substance abuse, anxiety, stress and depression – something which also fits into the second point mentioned above.

3,27 being the average return on interest for companies that invest in workplace wellness programs. This is calculated as for every rand spent, R3,27 will be saved on future medical healthcare costs.
Source: Wellsteps.com

To sum things up, the rules for workplace health and wellness have been changed forever, and employers and business owners need to use innovative tactics and software-based tools to look after their staff – wherever they’re based.