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A Business Owner’s Guide to Healthcare and Wellness in the Workplace

By the Chamber Healthcare Committee

In tough economic times, optimizing your investment in healthcare is crucial for business.

The bottom line is this: healthy employees are productive employees. Research has found that productivity losses associated with poor employee health are even more costly to businesses than employee health care coverage. In fact, a June 2005 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that the cost associated with performance-based work loss or “presenteeism” was far greater than the cost of absenteeism and medical care combined.

How engaged are your employees while on the job? Are they distracted by outside issues, or just generally not feeling well? Even if you don’t insure your employees, their health status could be costing you. Instead of waiting to spend money on medical treatments for employees and their families after they have medical conditions, leading employers understand health as an asset – not just an expense – and are investing resources into health promotion to keep their workforce healthy; trimming rising healthcare costs while boosting productivity and profit.

Everyone has a stake. Encourage your employees to buy in to their own health management through health promotion.

Leading employers promote health programs or healthy behaviors to show their workforce they are truly invested in their well-being. The main goals of health promotion are to reduce health risks and optimize health and productivity, while lowering total health-related costs.Whether you’re a caterer, engineer, lawyer or craftsman, worksite health promotion creates a culture that fosters vitality, boosting the overall effectiveness of your staff.

Giving your employees tools to take control of their own health and can be a very inexpensive investment in your future. Not surprisingly, A 2005 meta-evaluation of worksite wellness programs found an average savings of $600 for every $100 invested.

Further Reading:

“Patient Money: Getting Healthy, With a Little Help From the Boss.” (May 22, 2009) The New York Times

“Workplace Wellness Increases Productivity.” (May 2006) San Diego Metropolitan Magazine

“Firms offer bigger incentives for healthy living.” (January 20, 2009) USA Today

“Leading by Example.” (2007) The Partnership for Prevention

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