Health problems in the workplace: How can it affect company productivity?

 


Introduction

The workplace continues to evolve, as do employee health and productivity concerns.

Faced with increased global competition, rising healthcare costs, and decreasing profit margins, forward-thinking companies are focusing on health and wellness programs to improve employee well-being and, as a result, company performance.

Employees who are unable to work due to illness are a financial burden on a company. As a result of absenteeism, presenteeism, and employee turnover, productivity diminishes when an employee's health is affected.


Health affects work

For the majority of employers, the concept of a downside to hard work creates an inherent tension. While a good book and a hammock in the shade can help alleviate tension, neither of these activities produces widgets. Anyone going into the executive suite with the intention of reducing work hours, increasing vacation time, and the like better have a strong business case.

To make the case for change, human resource managers must establish two points: that corporate culture has an effect on employee health and that decreased employee health has a direct impact on business spending. Fortunately, an increasing body of research supports both of these assertions.

According to  Bryson & Forth (2007) employees with healthy habits or only one risky behavior cost businesses 4.1 hours per week in lost productivity, short-term disability, and sick time. Costs increased to 5.6 hours per week for individuals exposed to three or more risks. This 1.5-hour differential every week equates to eight wasted days per person per year.

Apart from bad health habits, there are a variety of medical disorders that might impede productivity, including allergies, migraine headaches, and depression, as well as failure to take prescribed medications for these conditions.

The idea is that when medical costs, absence, reduced performance, and disability are added together, bad health ceases to be a human resource issue. It is a significant business challenge with significant financial ramifications, and the way some businesses are operated plainly exacerbates the problem.



Conclusion

Occupational health and safety are critical components of a business's success. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure employee safety. While workplace accidents are inevitable, they should be minimized. To reduce workplace danger, the employer should educate employees on safety precautions and ensure that warning signs are prominently displayed.

References

Bryson, A. & Forth, J., 2007. Is There Day of the Week Productivity Effects? s.l.: London school of economics.

Ernst, M. E., Franco, M. & Messemer, P. R., 2004. Nurse job satisfaction, stress, and recognition in a pediatric setting. Paediatric Nursing, pp. 219-227.

Landau, P., 2010. Dealing with workplace stress. The guardian.

Oluchi, O., 2013. Co-operation Between Employee and Management to Increase Productivity: A Case Study of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, s.l.: International Business Management.

Rossi, B., 2015. Man vs machine: productivity, creativity, and job creation. [Online]
Available at: http://www.information-age.com/it-management/skills-training-andleadership/123459242/man-vs-machine-productivity-creativity-and-job-creation
[Accessed 05 August 2021].

 

Comments

  1. Oshadha BandaraAugust 9, 2021 at 10:21 AM

    Very timely topic praveen. Employer shoul always give the priority to employee's menal and physical wellness. Ultimatley all these facts may imapct on overall performances.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Praveen Joel FrancisAugust 9, 2021 at 10:43 AM

      In the current circumstances, the pandemic is putting a lot of pressure on employees. It will, without a doubt, have a direct impact on overall performance.Thank you for your sincere concern regarding the article, Oshadha.

      Delete
  2. Parami RathmalgodaAugust 9, 2021 at 10:37 AM

    Hello Praveen. Very interesting topic. There are some tips for gain better employee health and wellness. Eg. Overtime and number of working hours, solutions for Conflict between work and family commitments, Offering health insurance coverage. It is very effective to the organization to keep employee happy ,instead the improving the overall work environment by creating a great place to work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Praveen Joel FrancisAugust 9, 2021 at 10:45 AM

      Thank you, Parami, for contributing additional points to make this topic more interesting for people to discuss.

      Delete
  3. Mihirani BalasooriyaAugust 10, 2021 at 8:00 PM

    Hi Praveen, Very important topic. Occupational health deals with all aspects of physical and mental wellbeing in the workplace. Anything which causes risk or hazard to an employee—physical or mentally—is an occupational health issue. There are many occupational health and safety challenges and issues faced by employers. Stress, sickness and unsafe working practices all contribute to absence, illness and injury. And when a workforce is demoralized by these issues, productivity dips.. thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  4. blogs of UMESHAugust 13, 2021 at 3:13 PM

    Good article.
    Agreed with your conclusion. Employees who have a greater sense of control and ownership over their lives tend to be less stressed at work and thus more productive. HRM plays a huge role to maintain the physical and mental healthiness of employees. as well, It directly links with organizations' performance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nadeeshan MadusankaAugust 23, 2021 at 12:59 PM

    Hi Praveen. It is a good topic to discuss about.
    Health affects work, and work affects health. It has an impact on both employees and employers. Employers can take some efforts to ensure their employees' health.

    1. Reduce working pressures to a minimum.
    2. Concentrate on assisting employees in improving their workplace skills and resilience.
    3. Help employees improve their physical and mental well-being.
    4. Assist folks in increasing their health awareness so that they can make healthier choices.
    5. Allow the employees to select the options that they believe will improve their performance.
    6. Allow employees to be physically active.
    7. Provide employees with the skills they need to address personal, relationship, financial, and other issues.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nishantha_Mba2021August 23, 2021 at 10:36 PM

    Employees are more productive when they are healthy. They take fewer absences, which means there is less chance of work piling up after taking time off. Being healthy also means that we are more motivated to work, recover from illnesses faster, and are less susceptible to long-term ailments. And it is not just talking about physical health here; we're also talking about mental health. Employees are affected by mental health issues, but this cannot see at work. As a result, most of these issues go unnoticed and untreated, potentially jeopardizing an individual's career and productivity at work.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sunith GeeganageAugust 24, 2021 at 4:30 PM

    Employee health is a vital factor for organization productivity and to complete company objectives within the strategic time frame. Company investment to create a healthy culture within it employee contribute to increase employee engagement. This will create physically, mental and social wellbeing people inside the company who can be more fit, satisfied and happy at any time. Promoting employee health has become a part of the corporate culture and as you mentioned in this blog healthy employees tend to be more productive and goal oriented.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bhashitha Dissanayake August 24, 2021 at 5:23 PM

    Good topic Praveen,The Impact of Health and Safety on Businesses Health and safety in the workplace is vital, as it ensures the welfare of employees carrying out specific tasks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rukmali FernandoAugust 25, 2021 at 6:47 AM

    Healthy workers are less costly, and helping businesses to ensure financial efficiency. On the other hand unhealthy workforce may occupy lot of sick days hence unproductive to the organization. Therefore, organizations must have proper mechanism to promote health and safety in the workplace.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nadun AbeywickramaAugust 26, 2021 at 10:26 AM

    Timely important topic Praveen, just under two-thirds (65%) of employees say work includes a negative impact on their psychological state , consistent with research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

    ReplyDelete
  11. Arun_Prakash_MBA_BlogAugust 29, 2021 at 6:49 AM

    Health problems can be in the form of Psychological and Physical health. Physical health issues are:
    - Sickness
    - Disability
    - Absenteeism

    Psychological Issues
    - Any form of Harassments
    - Favoritism
    - Race/Religion

    Companies should focus on engaging its employees into physical activities which will help in developing Team Spirit, Team Coordination, Decision making, stable mindset and thereby it will reflect in the employee productivity.
    Similarly the management should focus on strategies to eliminate the Psychological issues from drafting proper culture and rules and regulations that is equal to everyone to followed by its employees. Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Praveen Joel FrancisAugust 29, 2021 at 9:16 AM

      Thank you very much for your valuble feedback with your experience Arun,

      Delete

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