July 2007

Developing Employees
Reap the rewards of having healthy employees

By Joe Pisciotto
Staff Writer

As summer begins to reach its peak, the sedentary nature of the typical modern worker’s life becomes pronounced for those who spend most of their day sitting inside a building or vehicle. With Americans working longer hours than ever, physical activity is often left by the wayside. What results is an unhealthy workforce; and an unhealthy workforce translates into inefficient companies.

In its most recent assessment of job-related wellness issues, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health stated that workplace health issues arise due in large part to longer work hours, downsizing, more demanding management control programs, and nontraditional employment practices.

The report cites research that showed the average working couple has seen their work year increase by nearly 700 hours over about a 20-year period and that 25% to 30% of the workforce normally experiences “high levels of emotional exhaustion at the end of the workday.”

The crux of the issue is that workers of all types experience significant stress, and, in addition, they are so busy that they have a hard time properly maintaining their health.

Health maintenance is important because according to Helpguide.org, a nonprofit online health information resource, “Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress.”

Stress on the job is a leading source of “emotional, financial, and safety concerns for employers and managers,” reports the site.  Every year, U.S. companies collectively lose an estimated $300 billion to poor performance, absenteeism, and direct health costs—all stemming from job-related stress.

While a dollar figure that large and encompassing has to be hard to precisely gauge, even if it were inaccurate by a moderate fraction, it would still indicate a large sum of money going out the window needlessly. Most of this cash goes toward treating or covering up the mere symptoms of an unhealthy workforce; instead, companies could benefit more by implementing preventative, proactive health programs for their people.

The good news for wealthier companies who want to help their people stay active is that the federal government already subsidizes employee use of on-site workout facilities. But for those who can’t afford to build such a facility, no such aid is available—yet.

Both chambers of Congress are now considering a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue code to give employers a tax deduction (up to $900 per person per year) “for fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility” on behalf of an employee. In addition, the paid membership would be tax-free for employees.

The bill, called the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act of 2007, appears to have bipartisan support but currently sits in committee as lawmakers deal with other pressing issues.

While Congress attempts to correct these inequities in the tax code, you can encourage your people to take part in myriad other beneficial activities that can go a long way toward keeping them healthy, fit, and less stressed.

Stress can be good or bad. The good kind helps people meet challenges and persevere. Employees should always be encouraged to embrace good stress, as it will help them excel in their jobs. However, when stress becomes clearly detrimental to one’s personal and work life, it is obviously no longer helpful.

There are several ways to alleviate stress, and not all are beneficial. Some people will self-medicate to the extreme with drugs or alcohol. Some may take it out on others in the form of mental and physical abuse. You don’t want to see your employees handle stress in either manner.

Instead, you can actually help your employees channel stress in positive ways by encouraging physical activity. In addition to providing the physical sustenance that the modern worker is often sorely lacking, exercise minimizes worries by taking the mind off stressful situations. A good workout—in one form or another—nurtures the individual on many levels, elevates mood, and delivers benefits quickly.

Even though the WHIP Act is being kicked around congress at the moment, that doesn’t mean companies are barred from giving their people passes to the gym as an incentive, a bonus, or part of a benefit packages, for instance.

But fancy gym equipment isn’t the only way to get good exercise. Encourage employees to take advantage of the nice weather with their own locomotion. In urban and suburban areas, cycling, walking, running, skateboarding or rollerblading to and from work is often convenient and easy, and, depending on where one lives, it can actually be faster than driving. Where distance prohibits such a commute, employees still have an opportunity to go for walks or runs during breaks.

Anyone can simply verbally encourage employees to be active, but often it works best to do more than that. Create incentives for your people to get healthy. Aetna, for example, will reward an employee up to $345 a year if he or she participates in and completes the company’s “Healthy Lifestyles” program, which requires employees to be physically active, in addition to watching their weight, staying educated on health-related issues, and practicing preventative care.

However, incentives don’t necessarily have to be elaborate. Physically active employees can be rewarded with flexible work schedules, paid time off, longer breaks, or whichever benefits best fit the company and employee.

Different incentives will make sense for different companies. With time you should begin to see whatever investment you make in these incentives come back to you multiplied in the form of healthier, more productive, and less absent employees.