If life has taught us anything, it’s that doing the right thing always pays off. This is especially true when it comes to caring for your company’s most vital resource – your employees. Increasingly, this means providing a comprehensive wellness program that encourages your team to focus on their health.
When employees are healthy, they live happier and more productive lives, and they’re not the only ones to benefit. Their organizations also see a significant boost in performance across the board. Of course, the opposite is also true. When employees don’t focus on their wellness, their companies take a huge hit.Let’s take a look at how just one disease is crippling American businesses and what we can do to fight it.
Gallup's-Sharecare Well-Being Index™ Studied the Cost of Diabetes
According to the 2017 Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index™ study, The Cost of Diabetes in the U.S.: Economic and Well-Being Impact, businesses are paying a huge price when it comes to employees who suffer from diabetes. But, before we get too deep into the results, let’s take a look at how the study was structured.
The findings of the report are based on a subset of over 350,000 telephone interviews with U.S. adults across every state and the District of Columbia. These calls were placed during January 2015 and December 2016, and the cost analysis findings were derived from data compiled by the American Diabetes Association.
How Much Is One Disease Costing the U.S. Economy?
The report, which was released to coincide with World Diabetes Day, paints a pretty bleak picture. From January 2008 to July 2017, the national prevalence of diabetes rose from 10.6% to 11.5%. This increase has sent costs soaring for businesses whose employees suffer from the disease.
Here’s how:
- Healthcare costs are $19.2 billion higher than in 2008
- 2.3 million more cases of diabetes exist today than would have if we remained at the 2008 levels
- Full-time workers miss an extra 5.5 days per year, while part-time workers miss an additional 4.3 days
- Lost productivity costs American business over $20 billion annually, due to the 57 million extra missed workdays by workers with diabetes
The Good News
There is some good news to report. When employers focus on doing the right thing and providing employees a quality wellness program, everyone wins. Employees who focus on their health are much less likely to develop diabetes and other chronic conditions. Those that already have diabetes report significant improvement in the manageability of their disease. As the quality of their health improves, so does overall well-being.
A few of the benefits companies experience are:
- For every dollar invested, the company will receive a savings of $3.78
- Reduced work-related illnesses, which leads to increased productivity
- Reduced sick pay, which leads to more savings
- 27% lower absenteeism, which leads to increased productivity and company morale
- Reduced workers compensation claims, which can save companies over $70 billion a year
Are you looking to create a wellness program for your business, but don’t know how to start? Check out our complimentary Wall Chart, Getting Started on Healthy Living in the Workplace. It contains incredible tips on how your organization can promote a healthy lifestyle, and it’s a great place to begin your journey. Want to really jump-start your efforts? Reach out. We’d love to show you how C.A. Short Company can help your organization create a comprehensive and customized wellness program to fit your employee’s unique needs. We’re just a phone call or click away.
C.A. Short Company partners with companies to manage, drive and facilitate increased employee engagement to increase financial performance, productivity, quality, and core performance outcomes. Our process and research-based platform enables executives and managers to engage their teams to increase the bottom line, motivate staff, and incentivize positive behavior. To Request a Complimentary Consultation, click here.