How much does poor employee health cost your business?

Employee health is important to employers for many different reasons and there are lots of incentives to encourage employees to be in good health.Many people just don't realize that having employees that are in poor health is very expensive and can actually affect the health of the business as well.Expenses due to poor employee health can build very rapidly and here is some information on how this can affect your business.

Research has shown that poor employee health and other side effects like stress cost companies billions of dollars every year.Many people find it hard to believe that this much money is spent or wasted on poor employee health, but reduced performance and employee absenteeism can really be very expensive to any company.But the cost of poor employee health isn't only equated to financial figures, but can affect many other areas of life and the business too.

Employees are affected in many different ways when they are in poor health.One of the most notable ones, and the one that is most easily equated into financial costs, is employee absenteeism.When employees are ill, they are much more likely to miss work and to perform poorly while they are at work.This can get very expensive over time and can be even worse if the problem is habitual or chronic.When something like this happens to more than one employee in one organization, the expenses, both real and intangible, can mount very quickly.It requires that other people cover the same work or learn how to take on additional responsibilities while the person who is ill is out of the office.

Poor employee health can also affect the morale and spirit of employees.When there is someone in the office that is ill, it is much more likely that other people will be affected by the poor performance and difficult situation of the others in the office.When employees see or feel that someone around them isn't feeling well, they have a tendency to start feeling the same way.It is contagious in some ways.

Another way that poor employee health affects a company is through health care costs.When a company has a group care plan, there is almost always some kind of broker or other company that keep track of the costs that are incurred by the company for health care purposes and the higher the costs to the company, the more likely the premium rates will increase for the entire company.This cost equates to more costs for your employees which can decrease morale and confidence in the company even further, but can also increase the cost of the health coverage to the company as well.Most employers pay at least half of company sponsored health plans and the more that has to be paid to this, the less can be used for something else that may bring increased profits to the company.

Despite all of the things that can be done to improve employee health, there are always going to be people that are sick or that have medical problems for some reason.There is really nothing that you can do about some of the health concerns your employees have.But some medical conditions are curable and can be treated or improved simply by living a better and healthier life.There is a very real benefit for you to encourage and reward good employee health for your business and as a person.When your employees are healthy, they will be happier and will work better for you.When they feel like you are invested in their long term success and health, they are much more likely to stick around and will be loyal employees.