Why employers should care about employee health

Employees are a highly essential part of every business. And savvy business owners understand that good employees are a very important part of every successful business. One thing that makes an employee an even better employee is their overall health. Healthy employees are happy and highly productive employees. There are several reasons that an employer should be concerned about their employees overall health. Some of the reasons why employers should care about employee health are:

• Insurance-It is important for employers to offer their employees health insurance. While the benefit to the employee is obvious offering health insurance can also provide the employer many benefits. When an employer offers health insurance it can be a tax deduction for the company. This is helpful in reducing the overall amount of taxes that a company owes. When a business offers health insurance to employees it can encourage employees (who take advantage of the health insurance offered by their company) to stay with the company. Employees who feel that their company cares about them report feelings of enhanced job satisfaction and tend to remain on the job longer. In addition employees who have health insurance tend to seek medical care earlier which means any problems that are found can be treated earlier and cheaper.This is a great way to keep good employees and help cut down the costs that are associated with hiring and retraining new employees. However it is important to understand that by offering insurance it could also be costing a business money. If the company has many employees who are obese, overweight, or who smoke,(and these employees take advantage of the health insurance that the company offers), it could be costing the employer significantly more money than it should. It has been documented that obese employees are absent from work more often and file up to twice as many workers' compensation claims compared to those employees who are not overweight or obese. Obese employees also tend to cost a business more money in health care costs each year and in productivity. In addition employees who smoke cost the company more money as well. These are the employees who are more likely to get diseases such as lung disease, cancer, and heart disease. These diseases cost insurance companies a lot of money and the cost gets put on the employers offering these people health insurance.Having healthier employees if good for everyone but especially good for the health of the company.
• Productivity-Employers should be concerned about their employees' health because business owners should understand that unhealthy employees are less productive. When employees are less productive it can dramatically affect the bottom line of the business. Helping your employees become healthier means better productivity for your business which can only be good for your bottom line.
• Office morale-It has been shown in companies where there is a high amount of unhealthy employees there is low morale.Unhealthy employees can be preoccupied with their health while those who are healthy must often shoulder the burden of work that cannot be completed by their sicker counterparts.This can lead to a breakdown of morale which in turns leads to lower productivity. An employee wellness program with an Employee Assistance Program in place can help give counseling and assistance for both unhealthy employees struggling with health issues and can help those employee in the workplace who may be affected.Employers should understand that for every few dollars that are invested in an employee wellness program they can reap big dividends on their bottom line.Improving the morale of your office by getting employees healthier can only benefit everyone.