In today’s cutthroat workplace, companies are always looking for methods to become more and more productive while cultivating a happier, healthier staff. This is where employee health and wellness programs come in to save the day.
Under the ACA (Affordable Care Act), businesses with over 50 full-time employees or FTEs (Full-Time Equivalents) are required to offer health insurance to their workers. However, some businesses go beyond this standard and offer additional wellness programs like fitness training, mental health support, and more.
Why do employers offer health benefits if they are not legally required to do so? The answer is simple – employee health and wellness programs are good for business.
In this blog, we’ll tell you about the many benefits of employee health programs and teach you how they can reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and ultimately, be an investment with a positive ROI. Let’s get started.
Why Are Employee Health & Wellness Programs Important?
When employees call in sick or attend work while not feeling their best, employers take the hit. These are seemingly minor inconveniences, but poor employee health costs the US economy $575 billion every year in terms of lost productivity and absenteeism.
The key to reducing costs like these is to implement employee health benefits and wellness programs. They aim to simply keep your workers happy and healthy, indirectly bringing you benefits like:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Lower healthcare costs
- More engaged workers
- Better employee retention
If benefits programs are built well, they can help your company attract and retain top talent, putting you on a list of workplaces that care for their teams.
Key Metrics to Measure the ROI of Employee Wellness Programs
According to the WHO, every $1 invested in treating mental health has a return of $4 in terms of productivity and ability to work. Another study showed that Johnson & Johnson managed to save $250 million on healthcare costs within 1 decade, showing an ROI of $2.71 for every dollar spent.
So, how can you measure the return on a program that works indirectly? Industry giants use the following metrics that are directly correlated to ROI.
- Sick days
To see if programs reduce absenteeism, companies track the number of sick days before and after implementation.
- Higher employee satisfaction
Are employees more predictive and satisfied with their work after program implementation? Sentiment surveys can be used to measure this change.
- Turnover rates
56% of workers claim that health coverage is a determining factor in either staying or leaving a company. A higher retention rate means you save costs in hiring and training new employees.
- Healthcare costs
With comprehensive employee health and wellness programs, workers stay on top of their health in a preventive and proactive manner. This helps catch illnesses before they become serious, helping them avoid costly treatments in the future. In fact, they can reduce healthcare costs by 26% for companies.
- Productivity through quality and speed of work
If employee health programs are working and increasing your ROI, you’ll be able to see this through your employees’ ability to meet deadlines and do better work.
While not all of these measures may be quantitative, understanding the connection between these figures and your bottom line is crucial in at least estimating an ROI for your company.
How Health & Wellness Programs Improve Productivity
Your first priority in setting up health and wellness programs should be your employees. Nevertheless, they don’t just benefit workers. Instead, they can directly translate into measurable gains for your brand. Here are the top 5 ways you can see improvements in employee productivity thanks to health and wellness programs.
1. Reducing Sick Days and Absenteeism
On average, employee health initiatives can reduce health related absenteeism by 27%. This means your workflow will be more efficient and have fewer distractions.
Most of the time, absenteeism is caused by illness. To tackle this problem from its source, wellness initiatives keep your workers healthier, which means their sicknesses will be fewer and less severe. Instead of losing billions of dollars on absenteeism, businesses can keep working and maintain their workers’ health.
2. Boosting Mental Health and Resilience
Mental health has a major influence on our lives, including the work we do. If a worker is depressed, anxious, or under stress, their productivity will likely go down and they will be less focused at work. Wellness programs with mental health support can be a solution.
Through counseling, therapy, stress management classes, and other mental health resources, you can indirectly keep your workers happier and healthier. In fact, businesses that prioritize mental health usually have employees who are more cooperative, concentrated, and most importantly, resilient.
3. Enhancing Physical Fitness and Energy Levels
If an employee is physically inactive, it directly impacts their productivity and fatigue levels. Your wellness programs can include gym memberships, yoga classes, or other training sessions, to address this problem.
By helping your employees stay active, you are indirectly giving them more energy throughout the day, as well as:
- Better stamina
- Higher alertness
- More productivity
- Higher job satisfaction.
4. Promoting a Healthy Work-Life Balance
One of the biggest killers of productivity is burnout. Without a healthy work-life balance, your employees are vulnerable to developing chronic stress, which is neither good for them nor you.
According to Gallup, workers who experience burnout are 63% more likely to take a sick day. The theory that reducing work hours can reduce burnout is a myth.
If you want to improve the work-life balance and burnout rates of your employees through health and wellness programs, you can try including initiatives like remote work choices, flexible work schedules, or stress-relieving activities at the office.
5. Supporting Chronic Disease Management
Last but not least, let’s talk about how chronic diseases like diabetes or heart conditions are huge contributors to lost productivity and higher medical costs. With comprehensive wellness programs that offer chronic disease management, these negative effects can be mitigated.
Chronic disease management initiatives usually include regular check-ups, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing remote monitoring. As an employer, you have the power to support your workers in managing their chronic illnesses, indirectly helping them perform better and miss fewer workdays.
Conclusion
Programs for employee health and wellness have an ROI that goes beyond financial savings. The numbers alone prove that these initiatives have a direct impact on productivity and overall business success. Your reputation and bottom line only stand to win.
From lowering absenteeism and helping manage chronic diseases to improving physical and mental health, corporate wellness programs have tons of benefits. Aside from measurable and tangible benefits, you can also simply make your workers happier, healthier, and engaged.
Guest writer
