27 maja 2026 r.

Why is nutrition education the missing element of HR strategy?

19 maja 2026

Corporate health promotion activities increasingly include preventive care. However, without nutrition education it remains incomplete and less effective. Daily food choices impact employees’ health, energy levels and ability to concentrate. Omitting this element means missing a real opportunity to reduce absenteeism, improve productivity and cut health costs in the long term. Therefore, nutrition education should be an integral part of the organisation’s prevention strategy.

Prevention is an investment that pays off

Modern HR departments are increasingly moving away from a reactive healthcare model towards proactive prevention. [1] From a business perspective, combating absenteeism and presenteeism is a key challenge. According to Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) statistics for 2025, the most common causes of absence from work are musculoskeletal diseases (over 17.5% of days of absence), mental disorders (almost 14.1%) and respiratory diseases (nearly 14%). Global reports also show that cardiovascular diseases and related metabolic disorders (such as diabetes) are a growing problem, with almost one-third of employers (30%) citing them as one of the main factors driving up the costs of company health plans. [2] Effective prevention, including diet and habits, is therefore becoming a strategic need.

Developing competencies is not just about hard training

Nutrition education is also important from the employee’s perspective. The latest Multi.Life survey shows that for nearly half of the respondents (48%), the greatest motivation for development is improving the quality of life, including health and energy level, and nearly one in three respondents (28%) declares that this year they would like to learn the principles of conscious and healthy eating. These are not just declarations. Diet was the most frequently chosen training module on the Multi.Life wellbeing platform last year. This is a clear signal for employers: investing in health knowledge, including healthy eating, is also a real response to the expectations of teams. Currently, only 10% of employees in Poland feel that their employers invest in the skills they will need in the future. [3]

Support for healthy eating: from better wellbeing to stronger teams

Why else should employers support employees in such a private area as food choices?

– Proper nutrition is a support system for cognitive processes. What we eat can significantly affect our concentration, decision-making speed and resistance to stress. A stable blood glucose level and an adequate supply of micronutrients help maintain energy, concentration and better emotional regulation, which may indirectly affect the quality of work. From the employer’s perspective, nutrition education can therefore be one of the elements supporting employee wellbeing and indirectly have a positive impact on the organisation’s efficiency. At the same time, systemic support allows employers to take care of a group of employees for whom nutritional issues are a source of mental burden. MultiSport data shows that as many as 42% of adult Poles want to reduce their body weight. Unfortunately, after using restrictive diets and fasting most people return to their original weight. This constant cycle of trial and error can impact mental wellbeing, leading to low self-esteem and feelings of guilt. Employers who have been supporting their teams in areas such as health and physical activity for years, offering reliable knowledge about nutrition, can help employees by turning dietary frustration into a sense of empowerment. At the same time, employees today do not need another “magic” diet, but education and a lasting support system in building habits that will help them make conscious daily decisions – explains Klaudia Socha, psycho-dietitian, Multi.Life expert.

Systemic support instead of ad hoc advice

An important role of the employer is to act as a partner in achieving the mental and physical health goals that the employees define for themselves, especially in such individualised areas as health and diet. Instead of theoretical advice, modern systems (such as the Multi.Life platform) offer a structure that helps implement a lifestyle change plan. Tools that facilitate logistics – such as foodlog, a calorie counter based on meal scanning, or access to experts and a meal creator that develops individual diet plans – relieve employees of the burden of tedious calculations and planning. The creators of the Multi.Life platform emphasise that this technological convenience, combined with access to clinical dietitians, psychodieticians, psychologists, and sports coaches in one tool, helps in the sustainable implementation of healthy habits without unnecessary pressure and logistics.

Holistic wellbeing care does not end with the physical sphere

Although companies primarily address physical health needs, they are increasingly moving towards comprehensive care for various areas of health. Since the pandemic, employers have been paying more and more attention to aspects related to the mental health of employees. According to the Willis Towers Watson “2024 Wellbeing Diagnostic Survey”, 66% of companies identify emotional wellbeing as an area that needs attention and will be the highest priority among wellbeing activities in their organisation by 2027.

– A meta-analysis of the literature [4] on the costs and savings associated with workplace wellness programmes found that health care costs are reduced by approximately USD 3.27 for every USD 1 spent on such programmes, and absenteeism costs are reduced by approximately USD 2.73 for every USD 1 spent. But these are not all the benefits. Better health translates into better employee functioning, and thus the quality of their work, team relationships and willingness to cooperate. Preventive health care begins with a comprehensive approach and flexible tools which must provide the employee with three things: easy access to professional and practical help, clarity about what that help is, and a sense of security – emphasises Piotr Szostak, Strategy and Product Development Managing Director at Benefit Systems.

According to a survey by Willis Towers Watson, by 2027 the percentage of organisations that will prioritise their team wellbeing in their HR activities will increase to 46%.

1 2022–2023 Global Wellbeing Survey, Aon.
2 Howden Global Employee Health Report 2026.
³People at Work, A Global Workforce View, ADP Research.
⁴Wellness Programs on the Rise, PubMed Central.

About the survey: The survey, commissioned by the Multi.Life brand, was conducted on a group of 1,090 people aged over 18 between 28 and 30 December 2025. The survey was conducted on the nationwide Ariadna research panel using the CAWI method.

Benefit Systems has been a leader in the Polish non-financial benefits market for over 20 years and one of the most important players in the fitness industry in the region. For years, the company has been setting market development directions, creating modern solutions that support employee wellbeing and promote an active lifestyle. Benefit Systems’ flagship product is the MultiSport Programme – the most recognizable and most frequently chosen sports programme in Poland, providing access to thousands of sports and recreational facilities. The company’s strong portfolio is complemented by the MyBenefit cafeteria platform and the comprehensive Multi.Life wellbeing programme, creating a unique ecosystem of benefits for companies that care about their employees. Benefit Systems is also dynamically expanding its presence abroad. The company’s sports offer is available in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey, which strengthens its position as one of the key providers of wellbeing services in Central and Eastern Europe. The group is also a major operator of fitness clubs in six markets, and in Poland it is responsible for well-known networks, including Fabryka Formy, FitFabric, Fitness Academy, My Fitness Place and Zdrofit. Benefit Systems’ mission is to inspire physical activity and care for health at every stage of life. That’s why the company runs numerous educational and health-promoting initiatives for children, adults, and seniors, including through the MultiSport Foundation. Its actions confirm that the role of a leader is not only about scale, but also about real social influence. Since 2018, Benefit Systems has been a member of the prestigious B Corp community, which brings together companies that adhere to the highest standards of responsibility and social involvement in their business. More information at benefitsystems.pl/en and biuroprasowe.benefitsystems.pl/releases/English.