UPfront Health in HR

Most of ’em say they do regular exercise, two thirds reckon they’re in excellent health, very few smoke and more than 60 percent say they eat healthy stuff.
All in all, human resource folk do better than the Kiwi average when it comes to healthy living. Just as well, given the potential influence they can have on health-related programmes within their organisation, according to Southern Cross, which carried out the survey of 309 HR professionals as part of its HealthWorks programme.
However, SC warns that the survey also highlights areas of health concern. While such common problems as diabetes, asthma and lower back pain are either at or below expected levels, there’s plenty of evidence these are impacting on individual health and days off work in the wider workforce.
Stress was also an issue. Some 21 percent of participants reported mild to moderate degrees of stress, nine percent showed high stress risk. These levels are similar to stress reported by employees in other Southern Cross studies and represent real risk factor, according to Southern Cross Group chief executive Ian McPherson.