Why are healthier employees happier and more productive and how can this save business owners money? Senior health management consultant Jeff Levin-Scherz told the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), "Employers will gain a competitive edge by creating healthier and happier employees." Promoting health and well-being among your workforce will make your business more appealing to job candidates, as well as to your current employees.
Building a healthier workplace adds value to your workplace culture that attracts and keeps the best employees. There are other benefits to promoting a healthy workplace that can directly save your business money, too. Read on to learn how building a healthier workplace can save your business money.
Healthy Workplaces Increase Productivity
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "In general, healthier employees are more productive." They are much less likely to call out sick or have work performance problems due to illness. Businesses that support workplace health have better work attendance than those that don't. There's also a phenomenon called "presenteeism," which means that employees can be at work, but suffering from illness. These employees are present, but performing below their optimal capacity because their body is under stress.
Self-care is so important in our lives and one way that you can be sure that your employees are staying healthy is to encourage them to get consistent and restful sleep. According to the CDC, "insufficient sleep has been linked to the development and management of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression." The old adage of "I'll sleep when I'm dead," doesn't work anymore. If you want your team to be operating on all cylinders, encourage them to have consistent sleep schedules. Turn your employees on to sleep and energy trackers that can help improve sleep like Rise Sleep and Energy Tracker. Rise helps users to learn more about their own energy levels and the science behind how having healthy sleep schedules can improve overall health and productivity.
Reduce Stress, Increase Profits
Common sense tells us that a stressed-out workplace isn't going to be as productive as a less-stressful, positive, and healthy workplace. The University of Massachusetts-Lowell (UML) has conducted studies that show how much money job stress costs employers. Here are a few of the costs UML's research has documented:
• Insurance claims for stress-related accidents cost nearly twice as much as non-stress related accidents.
• 40% of job turnover is due to stress on the job.
• Healthcare costs are almost 50% higher for workers with job stress
• Job stress causes more health problems than financial stress
Work-related stress also contributes to unhealthy lifestyle practices and coping strategies. MoodConnect can help you to create a healthier and less stressful workplace, reducing all of these risks and costs and contributing to your company's profits.
Reduce Employee Turnover
Some businesses may overlook employee turnover, blaming problems on individual employees and issues that are unrelated to a healthy, high-productivity workplace. Forbes Senior Contributor John Hall reports that the average cost of replacing an employee is 33% of their annual salary. So, an employee earning $45,000 a year who leaves will cost the business an additional $15,000 a year. By reducing employee turnover, your business will save these unnecessary costs.
So, how does a healthy workplace reduce employee turnover? One of the most common reasons for employees leaving their job is job stress. Other common reasons are depression and anxiety, issues that can and do result from stressful working conditions. You can boost employee well-being and reduce stress through MoodConnect, and you can also make physical changes in your workplace to make it a more pleasant and productive place to work.
Workplace environment is so important to employee satisfaction, functioning, and well-being. By creating a healthy workplace, you'll be creating a place where employees want to be. According to Work Design Magazine, "the physical space we work in every day has a significant impact on our physical and mental wellbeing."
Will a healthier workforce cost less to insure?
Yes, the answer is true: a healthy workforce will be more affordable to insure. Healthy lifestyle changes among employees can directly contribute to lower health insurance costs for your business. According to the Centers for Disease Control, on average, businesses could save up to 25% on health insurance and health care costs, along with:
• 25% less absenteeism
• 25% fewer workers compensation claims
• 25% disability claims costs
Other insurance premiums, like life insurance, go down for individuals with healthy lifestyles and healthy habits. Mental health is directly connected to our physical health too.
MoodConnect is committed to offering tools for personal and professional improvement for all businesses and we're doing this with our health and wellness marketplace as well as through our Masterclasses and Workshops. We have lots of exciting workshops offered in September and October, like a workshop led by journalist Dhara Singh, on how to transform our stories of pain into purpose. Life happens, but you have the power to take control and decide how you share your story with others.
Here For You
MoodConnect is here to support you and help your business support its employees and its profits through a healthier workplace. Our mission will always be to create healthier workspaces and to help you in prioritizing mental health and wellness for you and your employees.
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