Do healthier employees create a better workplace?

By Gina Smith


Earning for a living is the primary purpose of employment for us. We all have different jobs. Some of us work indoors; some of us work out of doors. Mostly you can find nine to five timing. Then there are daytime jobs and also nighttime. What may people who study these things know for sure is that a healthy person is a better employee.

The big question arises, is it cost effective?

One huge corporation, Amway, has 3,900 local employees. The company says that for every dollar it spends on fitness for employees, it gets two dollars back in savings. What is the justification for this? Most employees who have participated in their wellness plan have lowered their medical and drug claims by eight percent. Some have lost weight. One woman who works for Amway lost 85 pounds in 18 months. This has given her an abundance of energy which naturally had reflected in quality work and increased production for the company. It is an recognized fact that such workforce oriented fitness program take as long as three years to start giving returns. They say it takes time for employees to learn new behaviors.

It is also come to notice that the health expenditure of those employees who do not take part in such fitness program rose up to 23 percent.

Another company, Flexco, located in Illinois, has established a program to encourage employees to eat better and exercise. Because the program was so successful, this Grand Rapids company was able to move to a high-deductible health program cutting annual premium costs by $100,000. The bottom line is that this program is very effective. Furthermore, such companies are even willing to spend for the employees

As an incentive, the employees earn wellness points when they join this program. With these points, they can reduce their share of the annual health care costs up to $850. This acts as an incentive for the employees to get enrolled in this. It also helps that the employee is volunteering to get in the program rather than being forced to get in.

They can combine this program with the overall goals of the company. This would benefit the company in many ways. They have healthy people who are willing to stay healthy and combine that with the goals of the company. Furthermore, it also enhances the working atmosphere of the company.

Often employees are unhappy when they are asked to undergo tests for this, but it often helps to diagnose certain deceases before they become bad.

These two examples show that it makes a lot of sense to encourage employees to stay healthy, whether you do it through the company or you encourage them to do it on their own. Other companies have had success giving their employees free membership to weight watchers online. Healthier employees is an essential part of making a business profitable and successful. This also makes the workplace more congenial.




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