It is common sense that an unhealthy employee who often misses work or performs poorly at work due to health issues is detrimental to any company, which is by law obliged to provide a certain number of sick days to their employees. Employers will often settle for healthy but sluggish and demotivated employees. They rarely think about how it will benefit them if their employees are in excellent health. For example, compare an employee who is not sick and does what they’re supposed to do, to an employee who is in excellent health due to a healthy diet and lifestyle and who can think on their feet and take the company to great heights. Some of the many benefits of having healthy employees are as follows:
Maximised productivity
This is the most obvious financial benefit of investing in your staff’s health. While having employees who reach their deadlines is a good thing, many companies require more than that. Unfortunately, pushing employees to do more than their due amount of work will lead to work stress. And if they cannot meet such demands, it leads to stress-related illnesses. Employees in excellent health will commonly be of excellent mental health as well, and will be able to deal with work stress better and deliver more without falling victim to stress. They will be better able to focus on their work and deliver more than is expected of them.
Higher commitment
Employees are the most valuable resource in a business and shouldn’t be treated as expendable. While one employee can often easily be replaced by another, it will result in decreased profit since financial resources have to be invested in training the new employee and lower productivity resulting from the loss of experience. A company that invests in health-related benefits such as a comprehensive medical scheme; the provision of healthy, fortified foods; and a generally safe and healthy work environment will find that their employees are more committed to the company and will stay there longer, building skills and experience that will financially benefit the company in the long run.
Improved business image
Many business partners and clients these days look for companies who show that they care. While some hold “going green” in the highest regard, others consider a company who takes good care of their employees as a deciding factor in doing business with or investing in a company. Taking good care of your staff can also market your company. For example, employees at Google are so well taken care of that their policy towards a stress-free and healthy environment has almost become the biggest talking point when one thinks of Google. For example, their employees get free gym memberships, regular breaks, free gourmet food, and much more. While this contributes to happy, more productive, and more committed employees, it also improves Google’s business image and investor confidence, which translates to more profit.
How much money are we talking about?
While it may be difficult to determine how much money a company will make due to the abovementioned benefits, it is easy to determine how much money it will save. The bottom line is that a healthy employee costs companies less. According to Stats SA, absenteeism costs the South African economy R12 billion to R16 billion a year. They also state that 2 out of 3 employees who take a sick day aren’t actually physically ill, which is a result of low motivation at the workplace, which in turn can be a result of a poor diet and lifestyle. This is a good incentive for any employer to not only abide by compulsory occupational health and safety laws, but to go the extra mile to ensure that their employees are as healthy, as committed, as productive, and therefore as financially beneficial as can be.
Nhlayisa Power Supply is dedicated to improving the wellness of employees in the workplace. We provide several companies with our fortified food products so that their employees can enjoy a tasty, nutritious diet that will drive them to make a difference in their work and personal lives. If you want to make a positive difference in your workplace and your employees’ lives, please contact us.
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