Company and Employee Health Go Hand-in-Hand

As the price of healthcare costs continue to rise, more and more companies are realizing that keeping their employees healthy is an important step to control increasing healthcare costs, as well as the success of the company as a whole. Sick and unhealthy employees cannot work at 100 percent capacity, and the rate of productivity goes down. Unhealthy employees can cause unhealthy business. It isn't difficult to keep your employees safe and healthy in the workplace. Many options exist to keep your workforce healthy and positive. This will keep your profits intact and prevent you from shelling out extra costs to cover avoidable staff absences due to illness or injury.

Texas Coalitions Inc. conducted a study in 2005 that found that 72 percent of executives said keeping employees healthy is crucial to business success and feel it is their duty to keep employees safe and well.

What's ironic is that the healthcare industry is no better than other industries in terms of overall worker health. Shouldn't healthcare workers be setting the standard for the rest of us? What's crazy is when your overweight doctor tells you to lose weight and to watch your diet. Healthcare workers' credibility is lost when they're supposed to set the example of a healthy living and yet, some healthcare workers are no better than the rest of us.

Companies across all industries, especially the healthcare industry, should adopt more stringent employee wellness policies. The first thing is to keep the workplace a safe and healthy environment. Cleanliness goes a long way in preventing the spread of germs. Safety should also be a concern as accidents in the workplace are a common occurrence.

While some companies are even turning to unfair tactics like deducting pay from unhealthy employees, many companies are providing incentives to keep employees healthy. Giving incentives for good health is more advantageous for companies than penalizing their employees. If you penalize, morale will decrease, resulting in less effective workers. So, don't penalize those who are unhealthy, rather reward those that are and offer programs or competitions to improve motivation toward better health. Companies go so far as to offer free gym memberships, which is only good if people go and make use of the gym. A better way to encourage a healthy environment is to offer competitions or incentives.

For example, many companies mimic the show "Biggest Loser." Employees can partake in the competition at work, get regular weigh ins, and the employee who loses the most weight at the end of a given period of time, should receive an incentive, like a cash bonus. A cash bonus is a real motivator to get people to lose weight and improve their diets. This may not be fair to those in the office who are healthy and thin, but maybe they can get rewards as well if they help employees lose weight. For example, thinner employees can help those trying to lose weight by going on daily walks together during breaks in the day. When these incentive programs are happening in your office, limit the amount of food ordered for meetings and other occasions and make sure that instead of bringing donuts on Fridays, bring a healthier snack.

We live in a society that encourages long work days and few vacations. Sometimes stepping out of the office from time-to-time is a good thing. Employees are fresher and more healthier when they get time to take a healthy lunch, a walk, or even a small vacation.

We all are responsible for our health, but executives need to promote a healthy environment for their employees, which in turn creates a successful business.