Mobile Edition
Print
Get the Mag
Weekly Updates"A stitch in time saves nine" easily applies to one's health. If you take care of yourself now, you reap the rewards of good health later in life.
Companies also can benefit from encouraging employees to take better care of themselves. Employers picked up the tab for 86 percent of the $1.6 trillion dollars spent in 2002 for private health care in the United States, according to Katharine Levit's article "Health Spending Rebound Continues in 2002" in Health Affairs' January-February 2004 issue.
A recent report released by Milliman Inc., a consulting and actuarial company based in Seattle, that studied 15 million insured Americans, projected that an average family of four covered by a preferred provider organization (PPO) will use $12,214 worth of medical expenses in 2005. They will pay out-of-pocket only 17 percent of the expense themselves. From where does he remaining 83 percent, or, $10,173 come? Their PPO. Your PPO.
Non-work related injuries and illnesses also contribute to increased downtime, decreased productivity, job dissatisfaction and turnover. Unhealthy people just aren't happy people.
Regardless, preventative health care "is frequently ignored," said Mike Chriss, health and productivity advisor for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in Anchorage.
You can improve your employees' health for less money than you may think by impacting their habits and changing the work environment. The new trend in preventative health care is whole health and productivity management.
"This concept says that we really need to not just look at individual, compartmentalized approaches to employee health and decreasing costs, but the whole picture," said Carol White, program manager for Cardiovascular Health Program for Take Heart Alaska in Juneau.
Today's harried, hurried lifestyles leave many with little time to care for their own health. Yet, ironically, without health, we cannot be as active as we want to be.
ASSESSMENT
Helping employees know wherein lies their health problems and potential health problems is the first step in encouraging them to address these issues and prevent the blanket approach to wellness wastes resources.
A Health Risk Assessment (HRA), which is a health survey conducted either online of on paper, can guide you as to how to meet your employees' needs. By hiring an outside company to conduct a HRA, you minimize your risk of liability and you increase the chances that employees will want to change unhealthy behavior because an objective source is telling them they need to quit smoking, lose weight and avoid risky habits.
Hosting a health fair increases awareness and participation in health improvement promotions. A health fair can include medical screenings for common health problems, a private weigh-in, a cooking demonstration with healthful recipes, giveaways for items such as bicycle water bottles, pedometers or yoga mats, and quizzes and surveys to examine eating, sleeping, narcotics use and other lifestyle habits that influence health.
TAKE ACTION
The next step is to offer options that help employees take responsibility for their health. If your company is large enough, the easiest route is hiring a company such as Summex Health Management in Anchorage to conduct the voluntary HRA and then provide follow-up coaching through phone calls. Some insurance companies such as Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska and Great West Life also offer these services through a third-party company, according to Julee Drennan of the Wilson Agency in Anchorage, who calls the confidential health assessments "a very different and proactive approach to keeping costs in line."
As an incentive to boost involvement, some companies can give premium discounts to employees who complete the HRA.
"It causes a lot more people to do it if you impact them in a monetary way," said Larry Chapman, chair and co-founder of Summex Health Management.
Of course, promoting health should be about offering rewards for participation, not punishment for abstaining.
Conducting an anonymous survey can help you know employees' health needs. Targeting the biggest need is especially important if your budget is limited.
Once you identify employees' health risks, address them by offering voluntary programs and helpful information that will improve health.
With a smaller monetary and time budget, you could offer health quizzes and checklists in the company newsletter or as an insert in paychecks. For example, reprint (with permission) articles on exercise, healthful eating and safety. Posters listing this kind of information also can be useful in raising awareness and instigating positive change. Perhaps a guest speaker from a local fitness club could pitch the business and give fitness tests at lunch time to any employees who care to join in.
Deeta Lonergan, president of Career Transitions, a strategic employment planning firm in Anchorage, urges employers to offer flex time so that employees can take a longer lunch break, encouraging them to use this time to take a walk, slip off to the gym, or reduce stress with a massage or a nap. Of course, how employees use this time is up to them; however, by adding to their benefit package a complimentary or reduced-cost gym membership or providing an employee lounge for relaxing, you demonstrate your concern as an employer for your underlings' well-being.
If poor diet contributes to many of your employees' health problems, consider distributing healthful recipes in the company newsletter (with permission from and credit to the source), stocking the vending machines with healthful options and replacing giant bagels and fatty doughnuts at staff meetings with whole-grain, moderately-sized bagels, yogurt and fresh fruit. Employers who provide food service can greatly impact their employees' eating habits by cutting back on calorie-dense and fried foods and serving plenty of whole grains, lean sources of protein, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
CREATE A HEALTH-CONSCIOUS CORPORATE CULTURE
Offer health benefits that focus on preventative health and cover screenings such as prostate exams and mammograms. Health savings accounts can drive employees to more closely monitor their health because items such as maintenance drugs come out of their HSA.
"When you make the money belong to the employees, they will make better choices about their health," Drennan said.
Encourage employees to live healthfully by living healthfully yourself.
"You set an example not only by allowing people the time (to exercise)," said Lonergan, an avid runner, "but also by doing it yourself. Do some kind of physical activity every day."
Many companies provide "extracurricular" activities to foster camaraderie. Instead of making happy hour a tradition, start up a walking group at lunchtime, or organize weekend hiking trips. Third parties, such as Weight Watchers, offer workplace-based programs.
At the workplace, posters encouraging healthful habits--such as taking the stairs (not the elevator), eating right and drinking plenty of water--can improve health.
Prohibit smoking on the premises and offer a smoking cessation program as part of the benefits package. Check with the American Lung Association (www.lungusa.org) or Smoke Enders (www.smokenders.com).
Habitually overworking employees may seem like a good way to get ahead, but it's counterproductive because it raises stress levels. Demanding employees to work late and on weekends fosters resentment and increases turnover. Instead, listen to employees' suggestions on how they can work more efficiently. Provide them with the tools they need to complete their work on time so they can enjoy leisure time with friends and family.
"If you're stressing people out because they are spending so much time there (at work), that's not good," Lonergan said.
Some workplace improvements can be as simple as planning the work to prevent long commutes. If some employees must sit in traffic for 90 minutes, try adjusting the schedule so they can work from home a few days per week if possible, commute in early to beat the rush and leave by 2 p.m., or work four 10-hour days and then schedule a day off.
Some people may need a seasonal of a permanent switch to a different position to lower their stress. Keep an open mind to changes within your organization that will benefit the company by benefiting individuals.
Paid time off (PTO) is also important to employee health. Some companies' culture makes work so out of balance with personal life that employees are afraid to take vacation time, call in sick or just take a day off for mental health. Feeling free to call in sick as needed also will reduce other employees' illnesses because the germs will not be spread as far. Support employees' downtime by refraining from bad-mouthing those who take PTO. Encourage employees to take their allotted PTO and make sure they know how much they are missed while they are gone to avoid giving the impression that their jobs are at stake every time they are gone.
The workplace structure itself can impact employees' health. Beyond problems monitored by Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, dim lighting, too-hot or too-cold offices, dingy restrooms, and suffocating cubes can make eight hours seem like eternity.
"The physical layout (of work areas) has something to do with how you feel about your employees," Lonergan said. "It shows you value your employees and they will value your clients and customers."
The cleanliness of the environment also impacts employee health. Germs spread illness easily in work environments that are not properly or frequently cleaned. Housekeeping, whether done in-house or by a commercial crew, should take special care to disinfect often-handled surfaces such as doorknobs, handles and countertops. Areas such as restrooms, public waiting rooms and eating facilities are also prone to harboring germs.
FEED