The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Embracing health as a business
Comprehensive approaches benefit workers, companies.
Poor health habits among employees can negatively affect more than workers’ well-being — they can also adversely affect your business. That’s why Kaiser Permanente has developed a report on the value of healthy employees. Ones who smoke, for example, spend six days a year on cigarette breaks alone. Employees who are obese are twice as likely to get hurt at work. And the cost of chronic conditions can add up, for example, with $9,600 in annual costs per employee with diabetes and $9,450 per employee with untreated depression.
Employees are your business’ biggest asset, and they’re more focused, effective and enthusiastic about their work when they feel their best. Research shows that more than 90% of business leaders said in a recent study that employee health had a significant effect on performance and productivity. In a five-year study ending in 2014, large public companies using a comprehensive approach to supporting employee health saw their stock values rise by 235%.
Data favor the belief that both workers and businesses can benefit when employee health is approached comprehensively. With a datadriven approach powered by an industry-best health electronic record system, Kaiser Permanente has a proven track record of delivering personalized workforce health solutions that can help your employees improve their health and quality of life — while also helping your business improve its bottom line.
Creating a culture of well-being
Chronic health conditions can create a daily struggle for employees who deal with them and be a financial drain on a business. High blood pressure and smoking can both lead to $2,000 in additional annual costs per employee, whole obesity can cost businesses an additional $4,000 per worker per year. Unhealthy lifestyles can increase the risks associated with an employee’s chronic condition, leading to more sick days and higher workers’ compensation costs.
Reversing those trends begins with creating a culture of well-being within the workplace, with access to wellness programs as a cornerstone. Just four chronic lifestyle risk factors — lack of exercise, poor nutrition, tobacco use and excess alcohol consumption — are largely responsible for most increased employer health care costs, and implementing a workforce health program offers an opportunity to influence those behaviors and improve the efficiency and productivity of your business.
Similarly, reducing four health risks — weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol — by just 1% can result in an annual savings of $83 to $104 per employee in medical costs. A commitment to a healthier workforce also reduces turnover and attracts more highly skilled employees. And given that 6-in-10 adults in the United States suffer from
a chronic disease, prioritizing employee health isn’t just the right thing to do for your workforce, it’s also a sound business strategy.
Choosing the right partner
For any business, trying to reduce the effects of chronic conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease among employees can seem like a herculean task. That’s where finding the right workforce health partner makes all the difference. Kaiser Permanente’s population health management program gathers clinical and financial data from across your organization to find ways to advance health outcomes and reduce the costs of care.
It’s a win-win: employees are better able to manage chronic conditions or end unhealthy lifestyle habits, while employers see lower per-worker health care costs
as a result. Kaiser Permanente’s population health management tool develops programs that encourage workers to be more involved in improving their health, help them avoid or manage chronic conditions and enable them to recover more quickly from surgery. In addition, the Kaiser Permanente On-the-Job program helps manage work-related injuries and illnesses at dedicated health centers, helping employees get better faster and at a lower expense.
The effectiveness of Kaiser Permanente On-the-Job was evident in a recent study that showed how the program drastically reduced direct medical and pharmacy costs among employees at Macy’s. Kaiser Permanente On-the-Job resulted in 41% lower costs per claim, 45% lower direct medical costs per claim, 59% lower average pharmacy costs per claim, and 64% fewer claims
involving litigation. With the cost of a workers’ compensation claim usually increasing the longer it’s open, On-the-Job resulted in lower total costs for multiyear claims.
Developing healthy habits
Having a healthy, engaged and focused workforce doesn’t happen by accident — it takes creating a culture in which employees care about their health and are supported by employer programs that prioritize their well-being. Kaiser Permanente found that it experienced a 46% drop in smoking rates and a decline in major chronic conditions among employees since its wellness programs were implemented in 2010.
Kaiser Permanente’s extensive suite of tools and resources can help set your company on the path to having a healthier workforce, as well. Kaiser Permanente workforce
health programs offer guides on healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, stress management, smoking cessation and much more.
It can offer on-site services like biometric screenings for conditions like blood pressure and cholesterol, flu clinics and classes to promote healthy lifestyle habits like quitting smoking, managing weight and reducing stress. It all starts with targeting your company’s most pressing workforce health needs, setting goals and a budget and developing a program that best fits your employees.
Kaiser Permanente has shown how a data-driven and personalized approach to workforce health can pay dividends — learn more about how it can develop the right program for your organization, one that benefits both employee health and your bottom line at the same time.
hile most of us will spend Thanksgiving Day with family and friends in the comfort of a cozy home where we’ll eat and drink to excess and maybe watch a little football, thousands of Atlantans will rise to an alarm clock and show up at work as usual to keep the city’s essential services humming along for the rest of us.
Plumbers like Odari Head will be on call in case your collard greens clog up your kitchen sink.
NICU nurse Jessica Bullock will be at the ready at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston Hospital to care for medically fragile newborns.
Delta agent Courtney Barrett will be at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport helping passengers get home to their loved ones.
So when you’re gathered around the Thanksgiving table this year, remember to give gratitude to those who have to work to provide safety and comfort for all.