The power of prevention

Everybody has known somebody who’s been diagnosed with cancer at a late stage or someone who has had a heart attack, and unfortunately, they are our family members, friends or close colleagues. Many of those conditions could have been detected far earlier. I am really passionate about people having screenings at whatever level that can help them prevent a serious health condition from developing.

Advancements in screening diagnostics mean serious conditions are detected earlier and earlier alongside lifestyle and genetic risk factors that can be managed. Preventive health screenings mitigate risk — personally and professionally.

Our employees, like yours, are valuable and critical to the delivery of the business model. Sickness and high turnover can be damaging both to your company’s financial health and business delivery. Serious illness of an employee is too common and devastating.

Leading the team

As an executive, it is important to be able to show up consistently as the best version of yourself and that means looking after your health. Exercising regularly, eating well and sleeping well but also accepting the challenges of a busy schedule and the demands the role creates are all part of this. I am very conscious of the benefits to my well-being.

Executives are often in high stress situations for prolonged periods of time. They also are juggling family and life outside of work. We believe it’s important to acknowledge the whole person as opposed to just the role they perform at work.

I think mental health well-being needs to continue to be a major part of the equation alongside physical health well-being. For every £1 spent on supporting the mental health and well-being of their workforce, UK employers get (on average) about £4.70 back in increased productivity, according to the latest report by Deloitte.

Stress plays a big role in many health conditions. Good stress management can make a big difference in preventing and managing those health conditions. Equally, if you do have any underlying health conditions like high blood pressure, it’s important that you manage your stress level.

Visit Mayo Clinic Healthcare for more information and to learn more about our Executive Health Programme.