Industry news
Bosses 'encourage unhealthy habits'
Posted Tue, 27 Jul
More than half of bosses believe socialising at work means going down the pub, according to an insurance company report.
Employers may be making their staff more unhealthy with the practice, said Aviva's Health of the Workplace study, due to be published next month. A rate of 57% of bosses claim that workplace social events normally entail drinking at a pub - only one in five (23%) say they organise team-building days and around one in 10 (13%) will arrange sport activities.
Although many bosses claim their staff are not obliged to drink alcohol at events, just 7% of them say they would actively discourage staff from getting drunk. Around a quarter admit they would have no sympathy if a member of staff did not show for work the following day, and around the same amount would be worried about any damage to their business if employees phoned in sick because it may encourage others to copy them.
Aviva UK Health's Doug Wright said: "In the longer term, employers need to look for other ways to build team spirit to ensure everyone is involved and that unhealthy habits are not sanctioned in the workplace."
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