Four Ways to Improve Employee Health

Times are tough. The economy has everyone worried, and your employees are no exception. Stress and anxiety can manifest into physical symptoms that lead to illness, inefficiency and absenteeism.
 
While you can’t solve the world’s financial problems, you can take steps to improve the health and well-being of your team. 

1. Offer resources to encourage better health – People are spending the majority of their waking hours at the office, so be sure the atmosphere promotes a healthy lifestyle. Organize athletic leagues and form walking groups to get people moving. Bring in a registered dietician to discuss healthy choices and provide nutritional facts on food available in the cafeteria. Give free flu shots and promote annual wellness screenings.

2. Provide an online health-risk assessment – Empower employees to identify personal health issues through a confidential online assessment. These resources promote overall wellness and can reduce health-care costs by identifying early warning signs of health concerns. Participants receive personalized reports to share with their physicians and families.

3. Pay for participation - Since gym memberships are one of the first things people cut when money gets tight, offer full or partial reimbursement for exercise activities. A growing number of companies also provide wellness incentives to workers who exercise regularly, eat healthy or participate in smoking-cessation and other programs.

4. Review and upgrade your sick-leave policy – Encourage employees to seek medical attention when they need it. Eliminate the culture that rewards individuals for making it to the office when they belong in bed – not only is their personal productivity diminished, but they’re probably infecting everyone around them. Cross-train on critical systems so the team can stay on target while a sick colleague misses a few days of work to get better. You’ll all profit in the long run.

These benefits can increase employee productivity and morale while helping reduce overall medical costs for the organization. And they’ll probably earn you the reputation as an employer of choice, making it easier to recruit and retain highly skilled professionals who bring innovative ideas that advance your business.