How Your Employees Health Predicts the Health of Your Business
Submitted by: Ali M. Shapiro, founder, Pyour nutrition
Woody Allen said, "80% of life is showing up." If you want to succeed in business however, this can’t be true for your employees. Today’s global marketplace demands more; yet businesses in the United States are pooling from a population with decreasing productivity and health. Of the U.S. workforce:
- 60% are overweight
- 60% are at risk for diabetes, cancer and heart disease
- 145 million people are living with chronic diseases
So what do Woody Allen and "showing up" have to do with your company?
Everything.
"Presenteeism" refers to productivity loss resulting from employees "showing up" with "benign" health problems such as seasonal allergies, asthma, back pain, gastrointestinal disorders, and depression. This costs businesses an estimated $150 billion annually, much more than current absenteeism costs. Researchers estimate presenteeism cuts an individual’s productivity by more than one third.1 Healthcare costs also drain profits with American companies spending $35 billion to treat depression and over $47 billion to fight arthritis, headaches and back problems.3
That’s the bad news.
So here’s the good news: the health care crisis is easily remedied by being proactive. Research indicates that for every $1 an employer spends on preventive healthcare, there is a $3-$5 return through reduced health care costs, medical premiums, and attrition expenses.3
One of the main thrusts of preventative health care is empowering individuals to take responsibility for their health. A great starting place is in educating employees on proper nutritional choices, exercising, and stress-reduction strategies. For example, when I facilitate my wellness workshops, it becomes apparent how confusing nutrition is from all the mixed media messages. Once people are educated on food marketing and how to tune into their bodies, their perspective shifts. They are encouraged to make changes and then by focusing on how much better they feel in their body, they see results and stay motivated.
While there are many wellness programs online and outside the office, many people don’t change lifetime habits by clicking through a website or being inconvenienced in an already over scheduled day. Bringing wellness services to your workplace is necessary to engage employees in upgrading their lifestyle.
There are many providers in the growing field of business wellness. It’s important to work with a vendor who brings fresh ideas and knows how to facilitate. This includes reframing thoughts on health and presenting in an engaging way. Often in my workshops I hear, "I never thought of it that way," or "I thought I knew everything about nutrition but this information actually relates to my life." Once people see the importance in their everyday life, motivation and results are apparent.
Simply put, health care in this country won’t change because of governmental policies. It will change when businesses realize the competitive edge in preventative health care. It may be common sense that a healthy diet, exercise and stress reduction costs less than Type II diabetes, but does your company’s health care strategy support this?
After all, the health of your business depends on it.
About Ali M. Shapiro
Ali Shapiro provides on-site business wellness workshops and individual health counseling. She can be reached at 215-279-7491 or alishapiro@pyournutrition.com. As a certified health counselor and 16-year cancer survivor, Ali applies her years of education, knowledge, and personal experience to help others make healthy eating and living a fun and natural way of life.
Ali is an honors graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, affiliated with Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Penn State University, as a Schreyer Honors College scholar. For more information, visit www.pyournutrition.com.
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