Although rising direct health care costs are a concern for every company, many don’t take into account the indirect costs that also impact the total cost of health care.
Indirect costs are losses that occur as a result of a decrease in productivity caused by employee illness, absence and “presenteeism” — when employees are on the job but not contributing to their full capacity due to physical or mental health issues.
To combat these rising costs, business leaders should consider instilling a culture of health in the workplace.
“Transforming a culture to one that promotes and supports employee health requires active support from management in making workplace health a priority,” says Sally Stephens, president of Spectrum Health Systems.
Smart Business spoke with Stephens about how a culture of health in the workplace can benefit your company and the steps to creating that type of culture.
Why is creating a healthy culture important?
It is well documented that a healthy work force contributes to a healthier bottom line. Trends including globalization, changing work force demographics and the increasing costs associated with attracting and training skilled workers are contributing to a shortage of human capital. Finding talented employees is likely to be the single most important management concern.
Providing benefits that keep employees healthy, productive and loyal is a leading strategy for acquiring, retaining and satisfying skilled workers who provide a competitive advantage for any company.
What workplace factors need to be addressed in order to create a healthy culture?
Changing to a healthy culture is not easy, especially with a majority of jobs placing Americans behind a desk or in an office, working at a breakneck pace that allows no time to foster physical or mental well-being in the workplace. The habits of a more sedentary and stressful culture put employees at increased risk for developing disease and chronic conditions. Because of this, it is far more challenging for employers to keep their workers healthy in an era in which obesity, cardiovascular disease, stress and diabetes are dramatically on the rise.
Focusing on keeping health care costs at bay is not the best strategy. Instead, companies should adopt a strategy to stop disease within the work force before it even starts. Active engagement and the ability to induce a positive health shift in the culture of your employees are key elements to successfully creating a healthy workplace culture.
How can employers address those factors?
Organizations that embrace their role in employee well-being can shift their investment emphasis from one of failure costs to one of detection and prevention costs. Pursuing the path of excellence in employee well-being requires the same investment that businesses make in service and quality improvement. The incidence of employee stress, illness and injury can be managed. Healthy organizations have outstanding 360-degree communication, meaningful and focused empowerment, and balance between work and personal life.
