Dealing with the overweight employee

Overweight employees cost their employers millions of dollars in lost production costs and healthcare costs. To combat this, some employers have begun charging their employees more money for being overweight. This is one effective approach to get employees to lose weight. Another approach is to implement a wellness program that focuses on improving employee health.

As the percentage of overweight employees is increasing, the healthcare costs are starting to climb even higher. Healthy co-workers are being forced to pay more money in healthcare costs because of their overweight co-workers. Overweight employees have to visit the doctor more and they often have an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and a several other health problems. Obviously this increased risk of health problems causes financial stress on them and on their co-workers.

Companies that have begun penalizing overweight employees have seen a 30 percent drop in healthcare claims. This is a huge savings to companies that are looking for ways to cut their healthcare costs.

Depending upon how high your healthcare costs are, you should consider charging anywhere from $30 a paycheck to $100 a month. Give your overweight employees some time to lose the weight before you implement the new penalty program. Most people will quickly drop the weight because they don't want to pay $1,200 more a year just to keep their healthcare.

If you don't want to charge employees for their weight, you should consider implementing a wellness program. A wellness program encourages employees to start living a healthier lifestyle. The employees that lose weight and start living healthier will be given incentives.In order for the incentives to work, you need to offer something that is attractive to the employees. Cash incentives are always nice, but a lot of people prefer to get a day off work or extra vacation time.

Dealing with overweight employees can be difficult and frustrating for companies that don't have many overweight employees. These individuals may deal with discrimination in the office and this can cause a whole handful of problems for your company. Make sure everyone at your company understands the policies that have been established. You should never point out the obesity problem an employee is having unless it is directly impacting their job performance.

Establish rules about respect in the workplace and make sure all of your employees obey these rules. You can't force your employees to get along with everyone, but you can improve the way your company is being run. Explain to everyone that their personal judgments are to be left outside the door and that they cannot discriminate against one another. Set guidelines about everyone's job functions this will help to avoid hurt feelings and stepping on toes. Have a reward system in place when you notice when a staff member is courteous, responsive, and helpful.

To help your overweight employees lose the weight, start offering time to exercise while at work. This is a wonderful way to encourage good health in the office. Give them access to treadmills and office exercise equipment they can use on break or during their lunch hour. Start offering yoga classes during work hours at least once a week, this is a great way to get your employees to exercise and it provides a much-needed stress relief for many of your employees. Get rid of the junk food in the office and start offering healthier alternatives like juice, water, and granola bars over soda and potato chips. While you can't control all of their lifestyle choices, you can certainly help many of them find ways to improve their health through smart decisions about their eating choices.