According to a study published by The Integrated Benefits Institute, poor health among employees costs the U.S. economy over $576 billion a year. Of that amount, 39 percent ($227 billion) can be chalked up to lost productivity.
That 39 percent highlights a phenomenon known as “presenteeism” - where an employee comes to work sick, but is unable to work up to their normal level of productivity. Presenteeism was further studied by Virgin Pulse (formerly The Global Corporate Challenge). Their report reveals the cost of presenteeism to be far higher than absenteeism, to the tune of 57.5 working days lost due to poor productivity from being ill at work, but just 4 days lost to employees actually being out sick.
And these numbers don’t accurately reflect what kind of financial impact your business can sustain when employees are burdened by stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and other health-related issues.
"The traditional health insurance benefits that companies have been able to offer in the past to help improve this situation have increased in price in recent years."
"The traditional health insurance benefits that companies have been able to offer in the past to help improve this situation have increased in price in recent years."
As an employer, you need to be concerned about the health and welfare of your employees, if only because it has a direct impact on your company’s bottom line. However, the traditional health insurance benefits that companies have been able to offer in the past to help improve this situation have increased in price in recent years.
And, even those employers that are able to offer traditional health benefits find fewer and fewer employees are willing and able to afford to join or use the plans effectively.
This being the case, are there any less expensive alternatives you can offer your employees that can help improve their health without hurting their budget or yours? Here are 3 options to consider:
Gym memberships
The cost of gym memberships have dropped a lot in the last decade, and some gyms are willing to offer impressive discount rates if you’re bringing in a large group of customers.
Why not work with a gym close to your business to offer free or low-cost gym memberships to your employees? For as little as $10 per month per employee (or less) you can provide access to professional equipment and expert training help to start working toward improving their health and fitness.
Health-focused contests, challenges, and events
A mostly-free option that works well in conjunction with gym memberships, but can easily work as a standalone benefit as well, is organizing health-focused contests, challenges and events. These can take many forms - from a 5K race to raise money for a local charity to a weight loss contest. Overall, the goal is always to get your employees involved in fun, healthy activities and allow a friendly spirit of competition to serve as motivation.
Discount programs for health care
Although traditional medical and dental insurance may not be financially feasible for everyone, discount programs offer a valuable alternative that can keep needed health care services and products accessible for your employees without costing them or the company too much.
For example, the Dental Solutions dental discount program offers 20%-50% off the retail cost of standard and advanced dental services for an employee and their entire household for just $9.95 per month. For an additional $3 per month, the Wellness Complete discount program offers significant savings on vision, prescription drugs, and many other wellness services as well.
Whether you’re able to pick up the entire tab for these plans or even split the cost with employees, the monthly cost is typically very reasonable, and they’re likely to take advantage of the benefits as a result.
Use these healthy tips to get your own creativity flowing as you consider how to help your employees stay healthy and productive in 2017 without putting your company under undue financial strain.
