The impact of employee health
If you own a business (large or small) you understand how important it is to have a fully staffed operation. Employee illnesses and injury can really impact your bottom line. Preventable illnesses are a huge driver of health insurance premiums and employee medical claims. According to the CDC, while some of the most costly illnesses that lead to employee absenteeism and claims include work-related stress, heart disease and stroke, chronic health conditions and unhealthy lifestyle choices have also increased. Specifically, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity can cost a U.S. company an average of $36.4 billion annually due to employees missing work according to the Center for Disease Control.
It’s clear that in order to reduce health insurance costs via insurance premiums and workers’ compensation claims and to reduce the indirect costs associated with missed work, businesses should be putting an emphasis on healthy lifestyle choices in terms of nutrition and physical activity. This is especially important for businesses where employees jobs require them to sit for long periods of time, allowing for little movement. While some of these costly illnesses are unfortunately out of our control, others like some chronic lung and cardiometabolic diseases are preventable with the right nutrition and exercise program.
Businesses have begun to take on a larger role in encouraging their employees to live a more healthy lifestyle, however, some of these methods, while positive and a good start, are more administrative than anything else. Programs that reward employees with points or gift cards by simply reporting healthy activities or nutrition choices via an app are great, however, they can very easily be falsified and don’t accurately represent whether or not the activity was actually completed or even started in the first place.
How we can help
We offer a wide range of services that are designed to strengthen not only an individuals physical fitness but also their personal and professional mental well-being and nutrition choices. Our life coaching service can help an employee destress from the daily rigors of a busy work day or help them become more productive in their personal and professional roles. Our personal training and nutrition programs are designed to help individuals get in the best shape of their lives by working with a dedicated NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, who will assess and create a customized training program that is sustainable, while also guiding them through some of the more challenging nutrition obstacles.
For more information about what our many services can do for your business reach out to us for a free consultation!