Seven Reasons Why a Healthy Workforce Improves Your Bottom Line
7 Minutes
Team Curative
Jun 12, 2024
A business is only as strong as its employees. As Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, explained, “it’s not the tools you have faith in—tools are just tools. They work, or they don’t work. It’s the people you have faith in or not.”
Successful companies know that the secret to greatness is to invest in employees first. Employees who feel supported by their organization are more likely to bring passion and innovation to their work.
One way companies can support their employees is by investing in strong health insurance that values preventive care. When employees are able to afford and understand their health insurance plan, they are more likely to utilize benefits and take steps to address their personal health.
As an employer, it is crucial that you create an environment where employees feel supported and are able to excel within the workplace. The effect of a healthy workforce can change your entire company for the better.
Here are seven reasons why building employee health can improve your company’s performance.
1. Improved productivity and reduced presenteeism
When employees are hindered by illness or injury, showing up isn’t enough. Presenteeism is when an employee’s productivity and engagement drops due to a medical condition. Poor health not only affects performance, but it also has the potential to lower other employees’ productivity by harming morale, causing lower-quality work, and possibly spreading disease.
Absenteeism ultimately hurts the company’s bottom line. According to the Integrated Benefits Institute, productivity losses linked to presenteeism from chronic illnesses and injuries cost U.S. employers $2,945 per employee per year.
A focus on preventive health can help reduce productivity loss. Healthy employees tend to have higher energy levels. They're more alert, focused, and able to perform their tasks effectively.
2. Reduced absenteeism
Similar to presenteeism, absenteeism refers to when employees take time off of work due to illness or other extenuating circumstances. In addition to reducing productivity, absenteeism negatively impacts employee morale.
Money invested into health insurance curbs absenteeism and saves money in the long run. Through preventive health care, timely treatment of illness, and mental health services, health insurance can help employees live their healthiest lives. The most productive employees are healthy employees.
3. Reduced staff turnover
A healthy workforce can lead to lower turnover rates. Reduced staff turnover reduces the costs associated with hiring and training new employees. Employees who are healthy and happy are more likely to stay with the company long-term.
In the competitive job market, having a supportive, healthy work environment can determine whether or not an employee sticks with their current employer. A recent report found that 82 percent of employees indicated that they would consider leaving their current job for a more empathetic organization.
Great companies care for their employees. Great employee benefits are one indicator that employers value their talent. A robust health insurance policy can be an incentive to accept a job offer or for an employee to stay with their current organization.
4. Increased employee engagement
Employee engagement and well-being are key factors in employee performance. Healthy employees are more likely to be engaged with their work, resulting in better performance and customer service.
A culture of preventive care is more engaging for employees and results in higher employee satisfaction. This also improves business outcomes. A recent study on mutual-fund companies found that if employees are happy, the company’s mutual funds are more likely to be successful.
5. Improved brand image
Companies can spend millions of dollars each year on promoting their brand. One often overlooked side of branding is counterintuitive — employee treatment and wellness.
Employees can be a company’s greatest brand promoters. Healthy and engaged employees will praise a company through word-of-mouth. In today’s age, where any opinion can be shared with a click of a button on social media, digital engagement is a quick avenue to learn about a company. As Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, once said, “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”
Customers feel good supporting companies that support their employees because it aligns with their core values. Potential employees are more likely to seek and accept jobs at a company with a positive brand based on employee well-being.
6. Reduced long-term health care costs
Health care can be expensive and difficult to manage. It can be challenging to know the cost of an appointment or treatment (with or without health insurance). The result of this confusion is often an expensive medical bill. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 100 million Americans report that they have struggled with medical debt in the past five years.
A successful health insurance company will educate members on navigating an insurance plan and reducing overall expenses. Curative, for example, has personal Care Navigators to help members appropriately utilize their plan.
Allocating funds to preventive health measures can also help reduce health care costs for the company and the employees. This practice can help employees feel more financially secure and less likely to leave the company for better benefits elsewhere.
7. Increased morale
Healthy and energized people are more likely to enjoy their work and feel satisfied with their jobs. Investing in preventive health measures can help create a culture of health and well-being within an organization. It also contributes to a positive work environment.
We all want to work in a place that values its employees. Feeling appreciated gives a higher level of satisfaction, making time spent working feel even more worthwhile. By supporting preventive health, employers show their talent that their well-being matters.
Preventive health matters
Choosing an insurance company that supports preventive health can make a world of difference in building employee health. Strong insurance companies encourage healthy lifestyles by making it easy to access and afford regular health screenings, wellness planning, and whole-health snapshots. With simple, cost-transparent plans, employees are more likely to use the benefits that come with their health insurance.
At the end of the day, people matter, and investing in a comprehensive health insurance plan makes your employees the bottom line.
About Curative
Curative wants people to love using their health benefits. Our health plan actually delivers better health through affordability, engagement, and simplicity.
No copays. No deductibles. No...really. Curative is changing the way we view health insurance.
Find out more about how Curative’s dedication to preventive care enhances employee health and financially benefits employers on our homepage.
To see all disclaimers, please view here.
References
Arends, B. (2023, February 24). Do happier workers lead to better investment returns? MarketWatch. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/happy-mutual-funds-beat-the-market-883ece77
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, December 17). Absenteeism in the workplace. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/absences/default.html
Integrated Benefits Institute. "The Cost of Poor Health (2019 Data)." Retrieved July 12, 2023 from ibiweb.org/resources/cost-of-poor-health-infographic-2019-data#
Hemp, P. (2014, August 1). Presenteeism: At work-but out of it. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://hbr.org/2004/10/presenteeism-at-work-but-out-of-it
Levey, N. N. (2023, January 10). 100 million people in America are saddled with Health Care
Debt. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://khn.org/news/article/diagnosis-debt-investigation-100-million-americans-hidden-medical-debt/
Solis, B. (2021, June 17). Every company must now become a wellness company. Forbes.
Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolis/2021/06/17/every-company-must-now-also-become-a-wellness-company/?sh=bf066571d56e
Witters , D., & Agrawal, S. (2023, March 10). Well-being enhances benefits of employee engagement. Gallup. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236483/enhances-benefits-employee-engagement.aspx
Stewart, W. F., Ricci, J. A., Chee, E., & Morganstein, D. (2003). Lost productive work time costs
from health conditions in the United States: results from the American Productivity Audit. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 45(12), 1234–1246.
To see all disclaimers, please view here.
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