Business owners have long known intuitively that healthier employees are better for their bottom line, but in recent years, research has confirmed their instincts. The Work, Family and Health Network recently released the results of four independent studies on how workplace policies affect employees' health and productivity. According to an article in the Society for Human Resource Management's HR News, "They found that training supervisors to be supportive of employees’ family and personal lives led to higher job satisfaction and better physical health and that it reduced the likelihood of turnover."
Workplace Wellness and the Bottom Line
Less healthy employees are more likely to miss work and are prone to "presenteeism" -- which means they're at work but not very productive. A Pennsylvania researcher surveyed 29,000 workers about how their health affected their jobs and calculated that poor health causes approximately $225 billion in lost work time annually in the United States. And 71 percent of that time is "lost" by workers who show up but feel too bad to be productive. Another study found that the amount of lost productivity from presenteeism is actually greater than that caused by workers who stay home sick.
Employees with health problems also tend to have higher healthcare costs, which can affect employers in the form of higher health insurance premiums or workers' compensation claims. Another article in HR News reported on research done at Wake Forest University that concluded, "Flexibility is good business practice." The researchers concluded that creating a culture of flexibility and accommodating workers' personal needs “benefits health-related outcomes with clear bottom-line implications for business."
Employers Benefit by Supporting Employee Health
For all of these reasons, many business owners and managers are looking for ways to help their employees improve their health. With people spending long hours at their jobs, often sitting at a desk all day, physical activity and nutrition are both major issues -- not to mention stress and fatigue.
But all of these potential health problems can be lessened by making healthier choices, such as adding more exercise to each day and finding ways to reduce stress. More and more, employers are encouraging their workers in these efforts.
Tips for an Employee Health and Fitness Program
There are many ways that an employer can create a fitness-friendly workplace. The time and money required can range from almost none to a significant investment, depending on the size of the business and the employer's level of commitment. Below are eight relatively easy and inexpensive ideas for getting started.
- Make the office a tobacco-free environment. If possible, pay for programs or medications that help smokers quit.
- Serve healthier food at meetings and office parties. Instead of cinnamon rolls and donuts, bring fresh fruit and whole-grain muffins to morning meetings. Serve healthier snacks like pretzels and baked chips in the afternoons. Encourage employees to drink more water and hot tea and less soda and coffee.
- Speaking of drinking less soda, help employees make better choices by giving them alternatives in the office vending machines. Offer water, juice and diet drinks, as well as healthier items like low-fat crackers, sugarless gum, pretzels and baked chips in snack machines.
- Reduce everyone's stress. The negative health effects of stress are well documented by scientists like Anita DeLongis, writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. If employees are struggling to meet a big deadline, bosses should do what they can to help battle that stress. Bringing in healthy meals and hiring a massage therapist for relaxing chair massages are two easy and relatively inexpensive ways to reduce tension.
- Managers can also combat stress and make the workplace safer by making sure employees have proper equipment and are trained to use it. This may seem like a no-brainer in a factory, plant or shop, but even office workers need ergonomically correct chairs and computer keyboards. Encourage those employees who use computers for long periods to take occasional breaks from staring at the monitor. The National Institutes of Health offers more tips like these on its website.
- Consider giving employees time off without any penalty for their annual checkups and other preventive healthcare appointments. Annual physical exams, health screenings and flu shots are low-cost but very effective ways to help healthy employees stay that way. For more simple ideas like this, check out Ten Steps to Better Health.
- Encourage physical activity by paying for all or part of the cost of fitness club memberships. A nearby gym might even offer a group discounts for a group of employees. If this isn't possible for a small business, perhaps the owner/managers can still encourage fitness by helping to organize a lunchtime walking club or office softball team.
- Last, but definitely not least: Keep employees aware of and educated about their health. Make wellness a regular topic for staff meetings and invite local experts to speak to the staff. Recognize employees who make strides, like quitting smoking or losing 10 pounds, and reward them with a gift certificate to a local athletics store or an mp3 player to listen to while exercising.
Health at Work: A Win-Win Situation
Employers who put health and wellness high on their own to-do lists will find that employees feel more encouraged and empowered to follow in those healthy, active footsteps. It's a win-win situation that can result in better health for everyone in the office.
References
- Jodie Levin-Epstein, “Presenteeism and Paid Sick Days,” Center for Law and Social Policy, February 28, 2005
- Kathy Gurchiek, “Research Links Workplace Practices, Employee Health,” HR News, Oct. 15, 2009
- Kathy Gurchiek, “Workplace Flexibility Has 'Bottom-Line' Implications,” HR News, May 13, 2008
- Kevin Miller, Ph.D. and Claudia Williams, “Valuing Good Health in New York City: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days,” Institute for Women's Policy Research, October 2009
- Stephen Smith, "Sick and Tired at Work," The Boston Globe, December 19, 2005
Robin Mayhall - I'm a versatile writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience, and I personally battle rheumatoid arthritis.
