World of HR: Employers in the UK are getting creative with wellness benefits

Burnout is a serious problem for workers in the UK, according to recent reports, so some companies are exploring new ways to help employees reconnect and destress.

Several employers in the UK have installed beehives “on rooftops, in courtyards, and car parks” as a way to help workers build community and reconnect with nature, the Guardian reported.

​​“There’s something very special—almost spiritual—about enabling your employees to take time away from work to see how nature has created the greatest example of how every business should run,” Chris Payne, co-founder of Green Folk Recruitment, told the Guardian.

Payne said he keeps hives at his offices, and takes his employees for hands-on education on how to construct a hive and care for bees.

Employers understand that well-being and nature are closely related, according to Emma Buckley, CEO of Buckley’s Bees, which provides lunchtime workshops for companies. The company provides cameras so employees can livestream the hives. “We even have one company that livestreams into their break room,” she told the Guardian.

It’s just another way for employers to bring employees together in ways that other well-being benefits, like gym memberships, may fall flat. And beehives aren’t the only perks that UK employers are trotting out for workers.

Some companies in the UK offer “life leave,” which allows workers to take days to weeks off for various life events without dipping into their personal or vacation time to do it. Life leave can be used for a variety of events, including parent-teacher check-ins, moving, and adjusting to a new pet, Metro UK reported.

Some employers are even installing saunas in the office, a trend adopted from US-based employers, according to Startups UK. Instead of colleagues catching up over a pint, they can sweat it out in the sauna during the workday.

HR leaders caution that employers should assess the potential risks that accompany these well-intentioned initiatives. The beehives could be negatively impacted if the surrounding environment isn’t ideal for their survival, while a sauna could cause new problems for employers.

“Whilst I appreciate the wellbeing and relaxation positives of a sauna, they could bring more heat to an organisation,” Rachel Western, principal at Aon, a global professional services firm, told HR Magazine. “How does an individual return to the workplace having sweated out their stress? Office showers and facilities for changing would also need to be considered. HR will need a sauna to destress from the complexities of having a sauna!”