Healthy Employees Make BETTER Office Workers

Common sense tells us that if your employees are healthy and happy they will be better office workers. Do you agree? Investing in an employee wellness program will directly affect your bottom line. It’s a no brainer. You are guaranteed to see a return on your investment when you show concern for the wellbeing of your workforce. It’s proven that healthy employees make more productive workers lowering turnover and absenteeism.

A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reveals that employers seeking to improve worker output and reduce absenteeism should employ worker wellness strategies. The Keas Employee Happiness Index reveals that employees who participate in health programs are three times more likely to be engaged and satisfied in their work.

Such programs promote a healthier lifestyle, therefore better work productivity overall.

Here are some interesting facts that support this:

• Workers who ate healthy the entire day were 25 percent more likely to have higher job performance.

• Workers who exercised for 30 or more minutes three or more days a week were 15 percent more likely to have higher job performance.

• Workers with well-managed chronic diseases experience higher productivity than individuals without chronic disease who are obese and do not exercise.

• Companies that support workplace health have a greater percentage of employees at work every day.

• Because employee health frequently carries over into better health behaviors that impact the employee and his or her family (such as nutritious meals cooked at home or increased physical activity with the family), employees may miss less work caring for ill family members as well.

There are so many options for employee wellness programs. You could start by offering more active office design options to your employees as a way to embrace an active workplace culture. Or you could offer nutrition specialists or even a company paid fitness membership. The bottom line is that a company that cares about its employees’ health is often seen as a better place to work. These companies save money by retaining workers who appreciate the benefit of a wellness program and they can attract new employees in a competitive market.