Employee Health and How to Do It Right

As an occupational health coordinator, you recognize that employee health is important, especially among healthcare workers. Hospital employees, along with those at skilled nursing facilities, face unique challenges often not seen in other industries. Situations like high employee turnover and worker burnout don’t just lead to reduced patient satisfaction. They also have the ability to reduce the quality of patient care and increase the risk of medical errors. 

The state of employee health at your organization carries a lot of weight, and shouldn’t be overlooked. Ignoring it can have a trickle-down effect that can drastically impact patients’ lives. Therefore, to help you along, we’ve compiled a few things program coordinators should consider when allocating resources for workforce wellness programs. 

Why Correctly Investing in Employee Health Matters

Before we discuss strategies for improving employee health and well-being in the workplace, it’s crucial to understand why this is important. 

The McKinsey Health Institute and the World Economic Forum suggest that improving employee health and well-being may generate nearly $12 trillion in global economic value. In order to benefit from this, though, they say employers must not only invest more in workforce health, but also make better strategic investments. 

Pay Close Attention to Resource Allocation

One survey involving over 30,000 employees worldwide revealed that 57% reported good holistic health (e.g. mental, physical, spiritual, and social functioning). However, the results divulged some disparities across different industries and demographics that could negatively impact the workforce. 

This can occur when employers concentrate too much on fixing the substandard health of individual employees and take a one-size-fits-all perspective. Instead, it’s imperative to take on more of a portfolio-based approach, where you select a mix of programs to tackle varying employee needs. 

The authors go on to explain that some companies simply do not measure the advantages of their present-day investments in employer health. Then there are others who just don’t apportion their resources in the most beneficial way. Program coordinators must understand that it’s not so much about how much you spend, but how you spend it. 

Customized interventions are needed to address and avoid these employee health difficulties if employers hope to experience: 

• Better productivity
• Decreased absenteeism
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Greater employee engagement
• Improved employee retention

A workplace that enhances health and makes the right types of investments can expect greater individual and organizational potential. 

Understand Which Factors Affect Employee Health

Remember we mentioned how some disparities exist in different industries pertaining to holistic health perceptions among employees? Well, the medical sector is one that needs improvement when it comes to employee health and burnout. 

Healthcare professionals often work in environments that contain physically and mentally arduous activities. If these things aren’t properly managed, burnout can creep in. On the surface, this can poorly affect clinical decision-making, cause breakdowns in communication with colleagues and patients, and make it difficult for staff to manage work-related pressure. However, on the backend of burnout in the medical industry is compromised patient outcomes and quality of care.  

One study assessed which factors were associated with burnout in healthcare professionals, with researchers discovering the following.

• Age: Younger individuals were at a higher risk for burnout
• Profession: Resident doctors reported the highest rates of burnout while nurses and doctors exposed to violence in the workplace have a greater risk of depression and anxiety
• Workplace seniority: Those with less work experience were more likely to experience increased burnout; seniority is associated with lower burnout rates
• Relationship status: Unmarried individuals with or without a partner had the highest level of burnout

Employers can implement tailored interventions to create a healthier work environment by identifying the main variables affecting employee health. 

Strategies and Interventions to Better Employee Health

As one study noted, “No single intervention would be sufficient to deal with burnout,” reinforcing our previous explanation. Truly improving your workforce’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being requires a multi-pronged approach. 

Consider the suggestions below. 

Manage Staff Workloads

In the healthcare industry, one’s workload dramatically affects their quality of work life and performance, as well as the quality of patient care. If organizational leaders hope to retain their employees, they must make efforts to provide appropriate staffing levels and flexible work schedules. As one study mentioned, almost 99% of nurses said that workload was one of the most fundamental reasons impacting their intention to leave their current job. 

Find Ways to Address Stress and Job Pressure

Ongoing job stress can cause long-term health issues, such as: 

• Psychological disorders
• Musculoskeletal conditions
• Cardiovascular disease 
• Workplace injuries 
• Weakened immune system
• Insomnia

When on-the-job stress goes unmanaged, employees may develop poor behaviors like smoking, unhealthy eating habits, or abusing drugs and alcohol. As an employer, you’ll feel the effects of high occupational stress as it’s linked to decreased productivity. Staff may show signs of withdrawal or irritability and have increased conflicts with coworkers, which can affect entire teams. Stress might also cause employees to increase healthcare usage, spelling out higher health insurance premiums for employers. 

Employers should make counseling and mindfulness services available to employees to mitigate job pressure and overwhelm. 

Provide Professional Development Opportunities

Professional development activities, such as workshops, conferences, and seminars, impact health professionals in numerous ways. Healthcare workers might walk away with increased clinical knowledge, better skills, improved attitudes, and better performance. It’s not uncommon for them to make new connections through networking that could benefit the entire organization. 

Research even shows that on-the-job vocational training “improves the mental health, sense of coherence, psychological stress, dysfunctional attitudes, and smoking rate among health care workers.”

Foster Peer Support

Most employees want to connect with their colleagues and feel a sense of belonging. When you go to work and feel like you’re a part of a supportive community, you’re more likely to show up as your best self. Peer support groups can help establish this, and even positively affect employee health. 

In fact, one article suggested that at-work peer support programs could enhance employee well-being and relationships. The article went on to say that “Occupational health professionals should recommend that their organizations invest in these types of programs to improve organizational resilience.” 

Peer support groups may improve employee attitudes toward mental health, as there are often stigmas associated with it. SHRM shared that with peer support programs, employees who’ve experienced mental challenges and figured out how to manage them tend to help co-workers facing the same problems. While this isn’t a replacement for professional mental health services, this form of outreach is still an advantageous resource. 

How to Implement the Right Employee Health Initiatives

The last thing you want to do is implement employee health initiatives that your staff doesn’t even want. No matter how many benefits these different programs could provide, your organization won’t be able to reap those advantages if no one really participates. So, here are some suggestions to help you make the right selections. 

Identify Your Staff’s Wellness Needs

First things first, you’ll need to gather information about the health of your workforce. 

Consider Health Risk Assessments

One way to learn about your personnel’s needs is to have them complete a health risk assessment. This approach will reveal your unique employee population’s health risks and concerns so you can deploy the necessary interventions. These assessments usually include questions about your employees’ medical history, health status, and lifestyle to gauge the collective risks of your workforce.  

However, while this technique sounds good, and can be valuable, it comes with some obstacles. For one, there are laws surrounding the use of health risk assessments, so you’ll want to obtain some legal guidance before doing this. In addition, if only a small portion of your workforce completes the assessment, the results could be misleading, causing program coordinators to underestimate the true needs of their labor force. 

Research finds that those who finish these assessments tend to be healthier in general, and already have decreased medical costs, use, and average costs per health insurance claim. Creating a program based on this group would cause you to miss the needs of others. Health risk assessments would be the way to go in a perfect world where everyone participates. 

Conduct Employee Surveys

Because health risk assessments are intrusive, some employees will resist completing them, feeling that this is only information they should disclose to their physician. Yet, there are other ways to obtain the information you need, like employee surveys. Simply asking employees what their wellness interests are and what programs they’re likely to participate in will help point you in the right direction. 

Assess Health Care Utilization Rates

A third-party administrator or your company’s group health insurance carrier should be able to provide aggregate data of medical services utilized by your employees. Learning from the past needs of your workforce can guide you on what they may require in the future.  

Don’t Overlook the Social Determinants of Health

One’s state of health isn’t just influenced by genetics. There are social, economic, and environmental variables that play a role, too. While many employers believe individuals are responsible for their own well-being, several employees feel differently. 

For instance, the Harvard Business Review shared that 77% of employees view financial wellness programs as an essential benefit. Yet, just 28% of employers offer them, making it a significant missed opportunity for businesses. 

A 2023 PwC survey further exposed that almost 60% of employees said finances are the top cause of stress in their lives. These monetary worries don’t just stop at one’s bank account either. Survey participants indicated that financial concerns had a negative effect on the following: 

• Sleep 
• Mental health
• Relationships at home
• Physical health
• Self-esteem 

Occupational health practitioners should keep in mind that fiscal concerns could distract employees while they’re on the clock. This can interfere with productivity and, ultimately, your bottom line. Therefore, it’s worth assessing how other variables play into employee health. 

Provide a Healthy Work Environment

Healthcare facilities are environments designed to provide medical care so people can feel better. Although it’s easy to think that this only applies to patients, it also applies to your workforce. 

It’s believed that people spend about one third of their lives at work, so optimizing this space for employees’ health is critical. 

Address Ergonomic Stressors

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that sprains and strains were the most common injuries resulting in days away from home among healthcare workers. Activities such as repositioning, turning, and manually lifting patients can stress one’s joints, ligaments, and muscles. Therefore, it’s important that employees use and have available assistive devices, like manual lifts, shower chairs, sliding boards, and more to aid them. 

Program coordinators could also consider offering training on proper posture. Employees with ergonomic knowledge are less likely to perform tasks in awkward positions and know how to minimize strain when completing repetitive tasks. 

Offer Healthy Food Choices

The food choices available at your organization can affect your workforce’s productivity, mood, and overall well-being, so it’s vital to carefully evaluate if you’re promoting employee health. Look around and note what on-the-go food options your employees have. Is it primarily unhealthy vending machine snacks and sodas? If yes, see how you can provide healthier options. 

Next, take a close look at the hospital cafeteria. Does it accommodate those with dietary restrictions or specialty diets? Are there sources of lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains? It’s possible that offering more nutritious foods could elevate your employees’ work output, contribute to fewer health claims, and boost your net income. 

Make Strides to Improve Employee Health

Many healthcare professionals are overwhelmed by being pulled in multiple directions in their personal and professional lives. We now recognize that what occurs in one aspect of someone’s life impacts the other, regardless of their profession or industry, with personal matters spilling over into professional realms and vice versa. 

Forward-thinking companies that recognize this interconnectedness can implement strategies that not only benefit employees, but also the entire company. Aiding in employee health by encouraging positive behaviors and providing a supportive environment is the key to unlocking organizational financial sustainability.