The factors that impact employee health and wellbeing are more than just medical and mental health. Understanding the environment in which the employees work requires exploring key factors, including:
Using public data collected from over 100 countries, Transparent Borders® scores these facets, providing employers the information needed to effectively evaluate the framework in which employees operate.
Transparent Borders® recognizes that establishing a country framework provides only a general indication on which to build. To help employers understand how the environment impacts the local employees in a given area, we perform an analysis and re-calibrate the country scores to closely reflect what matters to each local employee cluster. Through this process, we can determine if your employees are more or less resilient than the country-level scores indicate. The process also offers insight into whether or not your employees are worried about health events and if they believe their employer is helping them live a healthy, satisfying life.
By delving deeper into the issues that impact worker health and wellbeing, Transparent Borders® can give employers the knowledge needed to address problems that undermine the foundation of the work environment. For example, if female employees in a high-risk country are secretly afraid of a supervisor, that fear becomes a foundational risk that impacts all aspects of productivity and engagement. And if there is also a low sense of personal accountability, and employees don't believe that they can change an outcome, offering an Employee Assistance Program may not have much of an impact.
We realize that employers must consider many growing medical risks such as the increasing prevalence of diabetes and cancer. We also realize, however, that no single global management program—for any disease state or health risk—will likely prove the most effective option for all locations. Because a global management program is based on global assumptions, the program may miss the mark for employees in certain countries.
While diabetes, for example, impacts employees in many countries, employers must consider if the disease is the core issue for employees at various local offices. Is that particular risk a critical factor that's impacting productivity and engagement?
For one client in an emerging economy, the top claims diagnosis of urinary tract infections suggested a much direr trend and concern for the primarily female workforce. In fact, access to clean water, disinfectant soap, and scheduled bathroom breaks provided a much more relevant solution to a real health risk.
Transparent Borders® also recognizes that country-specific issues—like air pollution or access to potable water—impact the types of wellbeing programs that would best benefit each employee cluster. For example, why would an employer encourage outdoor running programs in an area with high accident rates, high air pollution and where obesity is not a risk? The Health and Wellbeing Monitor detects the issues that matter for each location, helping employers select more effective wellbeing programs.
Studies show that if the workplace has a high preventive culture or a high sense of proactive management, employees are receptive to taking positive steps toward a healthy and satisfied lifestyle.
Through a series of simple questions, we measure employee awareness and openness to prevention. Not only do we measure access to preventive tests, but we also gauge employees' responses to questions about their perception of prevention. To test the level of preventive awareness in employee segments, we ask questions regarding access to preventive measures—everything from to dental cleanings to flu shots. If a given location suffers from a low preventive culture, we suggest methods and tools to both expand the preventive culture and ensure there are culturally relevant positive incentives tied to a culture of safety.
At a country level, Transparent Borders® measures interest in environmental sustainability, corruption levels, and other attributes that paint a picture of employees' collective level of trust in the system. We also recognize that the given country's culture will impact how employees think about their health, safety, and wellbeing.
While a country score provides a general assessment, experience has shown that it's important to measure how employees think about accountability. Do they feel powerless to make changes in life? Is there time and interest to focus on health and wellbeing? If employee segments are scored to have a low level of accountability, it is important to review how the company can create or further develop an environment that encourages a culture of accountability. We consider this to be a critical building block for any long-term health and wellbeing initiatives.