Better health means less spent on sick days

Better employee health means less money spent on sick days. For a manager this is a great incentive to help employees be healthy. As an employer or manager, you probably have a lot to worry about. One of the things you shouldn't overlook is the health of your employees. There are a number of reasons you should be concerned with employee health, most importantly that employees who are unhealthy can end up costing you and the company money. In addition, poor health in the office means more sick days taken. Too many sick days end up in wasted time. Deadlines get pushed back, work is late, and projects can become overlooked when people are out sick because of poor health.

Better health, however, means less spent on sick days. Employees who are in good health are not only more productive, but they have more energy and are more alert and in tune to their work.

The following are a few things you can do improve employee health and, as a result, spend less on sick days:

Encourage employees to stay home if they're sick.

The quickest way to have an office full of unhealthy employees (and more sick days) is to have employees who are sick stay in and work. This means they will spread their illness to others, resulting in more sickness and more sick days. Don't create an office environment in which employees are afraid to call in sick; instead, encourage them to stay home if they are sick and get well so they don't infect the rest of the office.

Keep your work areas clean.

Workstations carry a lot of germs, so encourage employees to keep them clean. Keep bleach wipes out to clean off computer keyboards, mice, phones, and other surfaces that people touch. Have bottles of hand sanitizer out for employees to use. By keeping areas clean and free of germs, employees are less likely to catch things and call in sick.

Encourage employee health.

Many times, sick days are the result of things that can be controlled. Lifestyle habits such as smoking or overeating can lead to emphysema, cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and other conditions that result in more sick days, or worse. If you have employees in your office whose lifestyles are unhealthy, consider offering paid smoking cessation or weight loss courses. These can go a long way in helping to improve employee health.

Offer wellness programs.

Sometimes poor health is the result of a lack of education. You can educate your employees on how to be healthy by offering wellness programs designed to give them better health, such as healthy eating and exercise seminars, a wellness fair that takes blood pressure and cholesterol, or a stop smoking course. Sometimes, wellness programs are the push people need to get motivated to be healthier. Or, in other cases, they may not even know that their habits are unhealthy.

Encourage healthy eating.

The office place is often riddled with candy, sweets, baked goods that people bring in, and other unhealthy snacks that lead to mindless munching throughout the day. This also leads to overeating, weight gain, sluggishness, and poor health overall. Encourage healthy eating around the office by providing smarter snack options for your employees.

Better health is important in the office for a number of reasons. Healthy employees use less sick days, which means more work gets done around the office, deadlines are met, and the quality of work is higher. These are a few things you can do for better health in the office.