How to help employees use less sick time

Having employees take excessive sick leave can end up costing an employer a lot of money. This article discusses how an employer can help their employees take less sick time.

Have an employee wellness program

It has been proven many times in study after study that healthy fit employees who exercise regularly and eat healthy foods get sick less often. If an employer would like to get their employees to use less sick time they should think seriously about getting an employee wellness program started for their company.

An employee wellness program can be extensive or it can be a simple program. It will all depend on the resources that the employer has and what type of employee wellness program they want. There are many nutrition and exercise specialists that a business owner can hire to be in charge of the employee wellness program. Part-time or full-time wellness coordinators can evaluate employee wellness and set up exercise and eating programs for the employees to help them become and stay healthy.

If the employer does not have enough resources (such as space and money) to hire a wellness coordinator for their company they can set up a more simple employee wellness program that can still do their employees a lot of good. An employer could have an employee do a little research about healthy eating habits or exercising and the employees could take turn teaching each other healthy tips once or twice a month in a short meeting.

Keep the workplace clean

Another way for an employer to keep their employees healthy so they use less sick days is for them to keep the workplace clean. Desks, keyboards, phones, copy machines, and other office equipment should be clean and sanitized often to avoid germs being spread from employee to employee. There are other little things that an employer can do that will help employees stay healthy such as putting signs in the bathrooms and in the break room reminding employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating.

The workplace should also be deep cleaned when needed or at least a few times a year. Allergens such as mold can cause employees to have allergies that display themselves as cold symptoms and can make employees miserable when they are at work. Getting rid of these allergens can help employees be healthier.

Teach

If an employer wants their employees to use less sick time they may need to teach them to use less sick time. One way for an employer to do this is by holding a meeting periodically reminding and teaching the employees about sick time. An employer should stress that sick time should only be used by sick employees and not as vacation time.

Offer rewards

Employees love rewards and contests. A great way for an employer to help their employees use less sick time is to offer prizes to the employees who use none or only a day or two of their sick leave each quarter or year. Offering prizes can help employees be encouraged to only take sick days when they really need to-when they are actually sick.

Some examples of good prizes are gift cards to movie theatres, restaurants, or to a favorite store or tickets to a play, musical, or sporting event. These prizes are simple and do not cost the employer much; especially since they saved a lot of money on the sick leave that was not used.