As New Zealand adapts to getting back to work again, workers are likely to take more sick days, a health industry executive believes.
Alan Morpeth, CEO of Health 2000, a company that has been supplying natural health supplements in New Zealand for almost 27 years, says this is one possible outcome as Kiwis seek to support their wellbeing.
He says international studies show many suspect workers will use increased sick days for illnesses that in the past they would have gone to work with.
His comments come as his company has launched a personalised natural health care pack - built using sophisticated algorithms - which is able to be delivered direct to a person's door and is intended to make natural health simple.
"People have busy lives and there's heaps of confusion out there," he says. "A lot don't know which products they should be taking or how often."
Morpeth says the pack concept enables individuals to write a customised daily vitamin and mineral course by completing a comprehensive online health questionnaire prepared by qualified naturopaths and evidence-based nutritionists.
"The pack is designed to help people start and stick to healthier habits," he says. "The daily, dated sachets contain four weeks' worth of personalised supplements and means people will never find themselves caught short or running the risk of breaking healthy habits because they are running low on supplements."
Health 2000, which has 66 stores throughout the country and use only supplements which, Morpeth says, "are well-known and trusted premium New Zealand brands.
"The packs are totally customised to a person's specific health needs," he says. "Learning to understand how your body works and why you need specific nutrients to assist you on your health journey is the key to success."
One person using a personal care pack is Matamata-based human resources consultant Lou Morey. She says the last few months have been among the most stressful of her career.
As businesses take an economic hit in the wake of the lockdown, she has been in the thick of it handling a ten-fold increase in company re-structures, mainly in the Bay of Plenty region.
"There are a lot of people out there who are sad and upset and people are hurting," she says. "Normally I'd be doing one re-structure every three or four months but since level 4 lockdown I've done 10 or 12; it has been a particularly stressful time."
To help cope with her increased workload Morey has turned to using the personalised health care pack - thought to be a first in New Zealand - through which a daily programme of health supplements in tear-off sachets are delivered to her door every 28 days.
Morey heard about the pack through her links with Health 2000. Although not employed by the company, she contracts to them on HR matters.
Juggling her job with bringing up two teenage sons, she has been using supplements for several years to support her health: "I would go and buy supplements but found I was using them only sporadically, often forgetting to take them."
After becoming aware of the care pack, she completed the online questionnaire and was given a recommended list of supplements to take. Since starting the course in March, Morey says she has followed it "to the letter".
"The pack turns up in the letterbox a few days before the supplements are due to run out; it is extremely convenient," she says. "With all the stress of my job at the moment I need all the help I can get and I don't think I could have coped as well without them."
The questionnaire was developed by Health 2000's team of qualified naturopaths and nutritionists including Garrit Van Dijk who has a diploma of nutrition, Danielle Roberts who has a bachelor of science in human nutrition, naturopath and medical herbalist Ben Smyth and Hilary Te Hira, a holistic wellness and lifestyle coach who is qualified in therapeutic relaxation massage.
Van Dijk says the Care Pack offers people a virtual consultation with four qualified practitioners and takes the guess work out by focusing on customers' true needs.
Morpeth says if people prefer, they can go to a store to do the questionnaire either by themselves or with the assistance of a natural health consultant.
For more information go to: https://carepack.health2000.co.nz/
* When taking supplements always read the label and take as directed.