Think your company can’t afford a health and wellness program? Ask yourself if it can afford not to.
Corporate health and wellness programs are often seen as a luxury that only large companies can afford. But when you consider the real cost of “unhealthy” staff, even the smallest investment in a workplace wellness program is a winning investment.
Unhealthy eating up money
It’s hard to ignore the tangible impact of health problems linked to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy habits on companies. These impacts go far beyond simple absence due to illness, which itself represents a significant financial burden for employers, who generally have to pay both the salary of the absent person and that of his or her replacement, if any, or simply assume the cost of an interruption or delay in service when the person cannot be replaced.
Here are other examples of the impact of non-health:
- A person who smokes costs their employer an average of $6,000 more than their non-smoking colleagues (La Presse, June 3, 2013).
- In Quebec, 30 out of every 1,000 workers are absent each week for reasons related to their psychological health (Jean Boulet, Minister of work, 2023).
- People with diabetes are absent 2 to 10 days more per year than their colleagues (Diabetes Care, March 2013).
- The departure of an employee costs an organization an average of 30% of its annual salary (Jack Philip Center for Research).
And these are just a few examples. In all, according to an analysis by Groupe entreprises en santé, Quebec companies lose around 23% of their payroll due to employee health problems.
On the other hand, according to an analysis by Groupe entreprises en santé, companies recoup between $1.50 and $3.80 for every dollar they invest in health and well-being at work. The Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale even speaks of a return of up to $13 per dollar invested!
Beyond the $$$
Implementing a corporate health and wellness program brings significant benefits, and we’re not talking about monetary benefits here.
Among other benefits, a workplace health and wellness approach helps improve employee recruitment and retention, work climate, commitment and sense of belonging, creativity, productivity and quality of work.
Conversely, it reduces absenteeism and presenteeism, turnover, conflict and the cost of group insurance programs.
Furthermore, according to a study conducted in 2021 by Paychex and Future Workplace, 67% of workers consider workplace well-being policies to be a decisive advantage in their job search. A significant figure in a context of intense competition for talent.
Doing things the right way
Of course, it’s easy to throw around promising statistics and conjure up benefits that will make both managers and employees dream. But to reap real benefits from a corporate health and wellness program, you have to do it right.
Here are the main steps in setting up a project:
- Secure the support and commitment of all stakeholders, especially management;
- Consult staff and all stakeholders to gauge their interest and understand their expectations;
- Identify issues, challenges and opportunities, as well as available resources (space, equipment, etc.);
- Draw up a structured, detailed plan including objectives, action priorities, communication actions and an estimate of the investment required;
- Find the resources to support you in implementing the approach.
Of course, having a consultant to help you along the way can only contribute to your success.
Is that all?
Of course not!
Once you’ve launched your approach and set up your program, it’s important to follow it up. Among other things, you need to measure whether your initial objectives have been met, keep an eye on staff participation rates, and set up a genuine process for measuring user satisfaction and continuously improving the program as a whole.
In short, to ensure the program’s success and longevity, it must always meet the often-changing expectations of staff. By Hervé Charbonneau