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'Wellness leave' could be the new weapon for employers trying to win the war for talent and retain skilled staff according to Southern Cross Medical Care Society.
Group Chief Executive, Dr Ian McPherson, says introducing 'wellness leave', a reward as part of an overall employee health and wellbeing programme, has seen the health insurance business improve staff satisfaction levels and reduce absenteeism by more than three per cent.
"Our experience is that 'wellness' leave works."
This leave is part of Southern Cross' "Switch2Well" programme developed with direct input from staff. It entitles Society employees to paid time off. To date 166 staff have achieved this. Also, they can earn other benefits such as vouchers for health-related services.
"We established this new leave category in recognition that taking time out is important in finding work/life balance. This balance gets a lot of lip service, but many employers struggle to go beyond that when the pressures of day to day business take precedence. The investment has been more than returned in terms of staff retention and satisfaction."
Dr McPherson said that in addition to wellness leave, the health insurance business had introduced work health initiatives which related to employees' own health goals and concerns.
