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Paying for unhealthy employees
Obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and other lifestyle choices are costing employers billions of dollars in medical expenses. Obesity may be a daily struggle for some people, but there is no excuse when it comes to the additional costs they are forcing their employer to absorb. When it comes to medical costs, there is about $2.30 lost on productivity for every dollar spent on employee medical costs. Mental illness problems cost their employer even more money, about $20 in lost productivity for every dollar spent on medical care.
Some of the common medical conditions that are causing health care costs to spike include the following:
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- Cancer
- Back/Neck pain
- Coronary heart disease
- Chronic pain
- High cholesterol
Sitting in the same position hour after hour will cause some people to have chronic pain. Normally this pain will be in the neck and back and the knees. They may have this pain because they are not sitting properly at their desks or they may get it because they do not spend time stretching their muscles. It is important to keep the body moving and the blood flowing. When people sit hour after hour, their metabolism starts to slow down and many of them will start gaining weight, especially if they like to snack while they work.
Everyone in your office needs to be at 100% when they are working. If someone doesn't feel good, send them home. You will actually lose more money if they sit in the office and do their job mundanely. Employee productivity is extremely important to companies. Obese employees are less-productive than fit employees. In fact, fit employees are about 2 times more productive than employees that are overweight.
Employees that smoke are more likely to take 7 more days of sick leave than their healthy co-workers. They are like the obese workers, costing their employers billions of dollars a year in health care costs and lost productivity.
Medicare spends nearly $100 billion directly related to obesity-related health issues. With the staggering medical costs related to obesity, it is no wonder why employers are partnering with health insurance companies to find a way to reduce obesity. It also makes sense why health care companies are increasing their rates and why employers are passing on the higher costs to their employees. Some employers do not even offer health insurance to the employees that do not meet the BMI (body mass index) requirements and other health tests like blood pressure and cholesterol.
Employees that smoke are more likely to take 7 more days of sick leave than their healthy co-workers. They are like the obese workers, costing their employers billions of dollars a year in health care costs and lost productivity. Employers often refuse to hire smokers because of the additional costs they are charging the company. They may not say it to your face, but it is one of the things they will evaluate when they are looking for the right person to fit the job.
If employees want higher wages and lower healthcare costs, they need to step up and start taking care of their bodies. It is important for them to realize that they are 100 percent in control of these costs and they need to make an effort to live a healthier lifestyle.
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