Employee health and wellbeing are a priority for organizations across the world. A healthy workforce can be more productive, loyal, and profitable.
In addition to the direct costs of employee absences, low productivity, and poor health there are indirect costs such as the cost of recruiting, training and losing good staff or even the impact on customer service.
Poor employees’ health and well-being are all aspects of the business from absenteeism and presenteeism to staff turnover and recruitment costs. It can increase costs by up to 10% of operating costs in some industries and reduce productivity by as much as 30%.
Employee health programs could also save you money by helping you: improve your employee’s mental well-being, reduce stress levels, boost productivity, reduce absence rates and improve the well-being of yourself and your colleagues.
Effective Employee Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Prevention of illness and injury is the best way to control costs. This can be achieved through an effective employee health and wellbeing strategy that encompasses the above components. The following are key areas that need to be addressed:
Healthy eating and physical activity – with a focus on increasing the number of employees who regularly eat healthy food, drink plenty of water, eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and achieve at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
Alcohol misuse – with a focus on reducing the number of employees who drink alcohol excessively.
Tobacco use – with a focus on reducing the number of employees who smoke tobacco products.
Stress management – with a focus on helping employees manage stress in their work environment by reducing demands, developing skills/competencies, and increasing resources/support (including supervision).
It’s not just about making sure your employees are healthy; it’s about making sure they’re happy and engaged in their work.
A survey commissioned by the National Business Group on Health showed that employee wellbeing impacts productivity and profitability, but only 30 percent of employers feel they have a good understanding of what a healthy employee looks like.
Employee health is more than just the absence of illness or injury. It is an active process of promoting good health, preventing illness and injury, and promoting safe behaviors.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that physical activity levels are lower in Canada than in many other OECD countries. It also found that Canadians reported “poor mental health” more often than people in other countries did — 23 percent versus 15 percent.
What does this mean for employers?
Physically active employees tend to have better mental health outcomes than those who aren’t active at all or those who are very sedentary according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC).
Lowering Your Health Insurance Premiums
The average American spends $1,300 a year on health insurance premiums. And that’s just the average — some people pay as much as $5,000 a year for their family’s health insurance coverage.
Lowering your health insurance premiums doesn’t have to be difficult. There are several simple steps you can take to help reduce your annual bill. Follow these steps to lower your health insurance premiums.
Read on for seven ways to lower your insurance premiums and increase the value of your dollar when it comes to paying for health care.
1. Compare different plans
2. Get married or stay married
3. Shop around for better rates (repeat every year)
4. Consider a high-deductible plan (especially if you’re young)
5. Use credit cards and other incentives to reduce out-of-pocket costs (credit card rewards and discounts)
6. Pay attention to the little things like whether an office accepts your insurance or not.