Simplyhealth isn't some funky agency, or a new company selling to the young, hip and cool," reflects Sue Allison, a member of the communications team. "We're actually 84 years old and predominantly operate in financial services." Even so, this Andover-based company is far from a dozing geriatric. With a mission to "do the right thing" and "help more people feel better", it injects its own staff with a sense of wellbeing. The mutual, formed as the HSA Group in 1922 and now using the name Simplyhealth Group to cover all its divisions, offers private medical insurance, health cash plans and wellbeing services such as occupational health and screening. Five main locations around the country include Reading, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds, while the four sites in Andover share a staff restaurant with overheads covered by the firm. Simplyhealth invests £25 per head a year on wellness and offers everything from advice on deskside exercises to food intolerance testing. Massages are available, and the firm encourages good health in its community with a Fit for Rugby, Fit for Life campaign, and sponsoring a Healthy Days corporate competition. With all this focus on wellbeing, it follows that employees report little exhaustion on getting home from work, the 57% positive score here putting the firm inside the top 10 nationally. They also believe the organisation supports their efforts to aid good causes outside work (71%) and see Des Benjamin, group chief executive and project leader on the regeneration scheme, the Andover Vision Board, as an inspiration (72%). The firm gives its 1,165 employees, typically customer advisers, the flexibility to make them happy with their work/life balance (73%). More than half of staff work reduced hours, flexitime or school hours and they can buy five days extra on top of 25 days' holiday a year. Senior managers have 28 days, and the top three bands of staff can buy up to 12 more. After two years, there is a paid 12-week sabbatical. There is a paid day to move house, five paid days before retirement for a special training course or individual days of meetings with advisers, and up to three days around a child's first day at a new school. There is a series of Making a Difference (MAD) awards and anyone can nominate a colleague to a committee that meets monthly. The prizes range from £25 to £50, and points are also given to the winner's team. Every quarter, the team with the most points gets a tin of sweets and half a day of flexible leave for everyone. In 2005, the firm recycled 74.12 tons of paper, and 447,343 plastic cups, and there is a policy to print on both sides of the company's environmentally-friendly paper. Simplyhealth tries to cut down fuel emissions and miles driven, and has an environmental committee, taking part in river cleans and giving advice on all kinds of recycling. The firm is looking at helping to rescue local wildlife and investing in an allotment. Employees think that Simplyhealth puts back a lot into the local community and have rewarded the company with a score (65% positive) bettered in just six other organisations. Staff members feel a strong sense of family and that they make a valuable contribution to the organisation's success (both 71%).