Is Employee Health and Wellness the New Competitive Advantage?
- Kaitlin Cashwell
- Jan 21, 2018
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 22, 2018
Employee health and wellness should be a priority of all employers. Smaller organizations often have a hard time developing health and wellness programs because of the costs associated with it (1). Larger organizations often have a hard time implementing health and wellness programs because of the complex organizational structures (2). The benefit however completely outweighs the cost. A healthy work environment can help you decrease turnover, decrease unexpected sick days, increase productivity, and increase recruiting advantage. These benefits are even more desirable with the US unemployment rate at 4.1% (3). Basically, employers are stuck with the employees they have or they can try their odds by dipping into the small employee recruitment pool. Productive employees are a limited resource. This is why you need to invest in employee health and wellness now.
I was recently listening to a Joe Rogan podcast, #1037 – Chris Kresser (4), and was completely mind blown by the facts presented. In the interview, Chris Kresser mentions the following:
1. Our federal budget is at risk: “By year 2040, 100% of the federal budget will be going towards Medicaid and Medicare expenses if healthcare continues to increase at its current pace.” How does this affect employers? This risk may trickle down to employers when federal funds run out.
2. Chronic disease is the threat: “The Department of Defense has named chronic disease as an existential threat to the US.” How does this affect employers? A threat to the US is a threat to our entire economy and all businesses that reside in it.
3. Treatment costs are exorbitant: “The cost to treat a patient with type 2 diabetes is estimated to be $14,000 per year.” How does this affect employers? This affects your current employer based insurance costs.
4. Disease is on the rise: “Currently, 1/3 of the population has pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.” How does this affect employers? Employer based insurance costs are expected to be higher in the future.
5. The threat is closer than you think: “It takes approximately 5 years for someone with pre-diabetes to transition to type 2 diabetes.” How does this affect employers? When I say higher in the future I mean higher in the near future.
These issues are not just unique to the US. Diabetes is increasing globally (5). With that being said, chronic disease is a threat to every company’s success. Employees are a company’s greatest asset and why would you not want to protect your greatest asset.
I was reading up on some articles about health and wellness programs within companies and came across “Meet the Wellness Programs that Save Companies Money” (1). The articles talks about two key points. The first key point is that organizations where employees have a high overall sense of “well-being” have significantly lower health-related costs. The second point is a wellness program requires visible CEO leadership. Most employers think health and wellness programs are extravagant and costly. I am going to take a different approach to the topic that is not costly and has more benefits that just a healthy work environment.
A wellness program doesn’t have to be a big costly endeavor. Whether you are a small organization with limited resources or a large organization with a long communication chain a health and wellness program is achievable. We all know a plan is more successful when it comes from the top down, but often times we forget about the bottom up. In planning a health and wellness program you must consider the first point from the Harvard Business Review article about well-being at the employee level. Employee well-being is something that can be tackled with a few small and impactful steps. These steps are healthy work practices, employee sense of purpose, and opportunities for employee growth.
Healthy Work Practices
The first step is encouraging healthy work practices. Healthy work practices means respecting others time, staying focused, and taking necessary, required breaks. Does your company have a habit of the following: starting meetings late; extending scheduled meeting times; jumping off topic during meetings; or holding meetings without goals/agendas? This is a common issue that can appear disrespectful. Don’t get me wrong, brainstorming meetings are important, but they should have a goal and a time restriction. I like to keep meetings no longer than 1 hour. If a meeting is longer than 1 hour, the meeting organizer should go back to the drawing board. Additionally, meetings should have a purpose with due outs. Consider this, if there are no conclusions or action steps after a meeting, then it may have not been necessary. Staying focused and on schedule during meetings is not the only thing to blame in an unhealthy work environment. Another issue is the unhealthy practice of working late nights and skipping lunch breaks. Employees need to have breaks. Working out, spending time with friends/family, reading books, and adopting a new hobby are actually great for companies. When an employee grows outside of work they have new insight and knowledge to share. Some of the greatest ideas happen when someone is on a run or reading a book. If your employees are not taking time away from their tasks, they can miss the big picture. As a manager, you can encourage healthy work practices by ensuring meetings are on time and organized. Also, you can encourage employees to take breaks and have interests outside of work. As an employee, you can come prepared to meetings and stay on track with discussions. You should come to work on time, focused, and ready to tackle the day. This will allow you to get more done while you are there making your time off more enjoyable.
Sense of Purpose
The second step is ensuring employees feel a sense of purpose. I could get deep into job dimensions and a discussion on skill variety, task identify, and task significance but for the purposes of this article I will keep it less academic. In order to create a sense of purpose you must understand what the employee’s motives are for working. To do this, you must know your employees. By knowing your employees, you will know what makes them get out of bed each day. Each employee is different. That is what makes employee management so difficult. An employee that is there to improve the bottom line can be completely different than an employee that is there to make a difference on the lives of the customers. Each type of employee is necessary for the success of a company. Each of these employees however will need to be managed differently. Finding your employee’s purpose will help improve your management over them which increases their well-being and productivity. As a manager, you can cultivate a sense of employee purpose by getting to know your employees on a one-on-one level. Staying connected with the desires of your employee is a good investment. As an employee, you can improve your sense of purpose by vocalizing your wants and needs to your employer. Being honest with yourself and others will go a long way for your health.
Opportunity for Growth
The third step to improving well-being within your workplace is by creating opportunity for growth. Growth is not just about climbing up the corporate ladder. Growth is about learning new skills, taking on new responsibilities, and building new relationships. Micromanagement, close mindedness, and lack of employee engagement are just a few mistakes companies make that will deter growth. Micromanagement or lack of autonomy for employees can be very discouraging. When an individual does not have the freedom to “own” a task or project they do not have room to grow. Close mindedness or ignoring innovative ideas is another issue. As discussed earlier, employees that have new ideas from their experience outside of work is good for the company. When an employer ignores the worth an employee brings to the table, they are missing out on opportunity and discouraging out of the box thinking. Lack of employee engagement as discussed above is also a mistake that can deter growth. By knowing your employees, you will understand their aspirations. Getting to know an employee builds confidence and trust improving leader-member exchange. An employee is likely to invest more time growing with the company if they know their worth to that company. As a manager, you can improve opportunity for growth by giving your employees more responsibility. This will help them learn new skills and gain confidence which is an investment for your company. As an employee, you can promote growth by rising up to the challenge your employer gives you. You won’t know all the answers, but if you show a desire to learn and stay committed to success your position within the company will be much healthier.
A health and wellness program doesn’t have to be in the form of a costly insurance plan, a gym membership, or a healthy lunch program. A health and wellness program should be more about improving the well-being of your employees while they are at work. Time at work is all an employer can actually monitor. By making the work environment pleasant, an employer can reduce anxiety and maximize performance. An employee spends between 20-30% of their time at work on average. That means employers are responsible for shaping almost 1/3 of their employees lives. An employer should invest in healthy work practices, creating purpose, and building up employees skill set. Employees that are empowered feel they are in control of their future and they are in control of the success of themselves and others around them. Employee well-being is the biggest step employers can make in the health epidemic we are all facing today. No let this affect your bottom line. Employee health and wellness is a competitive advantage. It is a competitive advantage for an individual just as much as it is for a company. What are you doing to obtain it?
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