employee productivity

In the November 15, 2010 issue of the Huffington Post, Glenn Close penned an article that revealed that her sister suffers from a bipolar disorder and her nephew suffers from schizoaffective disorder. According to Close, over "57.7 million Americans - 26 percent of the country - live with a diagnosable mental illness in any given year." Close argues that because of the stigma of mental illness, many Americans never seek treatment and are discriminated against in the workplace, and that every 17 minutes, someone in our country commits suicide.  According to her article, mental illness is the leading disability in the United States, and costs society over $190 billion annually.

According to the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, mental illness not only affects the ill person, but can also affect everyone around them. About one in four adults experience a mental illness in a year, which means statistically that everyone in that person's workplace will be either directly or indirectly affected at some point in their working career, or will experience an issue themselves. 

There are many types of mental illness, according to the Mayo Clinic, ranging from obsessive hand washing, ongoing depression or sadness, alcohol or drug abuse, to schizophrenia or other delusional disorders. The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation maintains that mental illness accounts for an enormous piece of the financial productivity pie in the workplace, about $105 billion worth. This includes losses due to absenteeism, presenteeism, disabilities and injuries in the workplace.

Ms. Close sites that the key to eradicating and erasing the stigma of mental illness in the workplace is education and training.  For more information on her family's organization, go to http://www.bringchange2mind.org.

2010 has been a big year for food borne illness.  We’ve experienced massive recalls and warnings for locally produced eggs, breakfast cereals, and green, leafy vegetables. 

In March of this year, a study by a former FDA economist and current Ohio State University assistant professor in the department of consumer science, Dr. Robert L. Scharff estimates that “produce (fresh, canned and processed) accounts for roughly 19,700,000 of the reported illnesses documented, at a cost of approximately $1,960 per case and $39 billion annually in economic losses.” The study was funded by the Pew Charitable Trust.

Depending on the specific cause or  pathogen, food borne illness can result in a range of reactions from uncomfortable to death, or anything in between such as the loss of ability to return to work or function normally in society.  Callous as considering your bottom line may sound when it comes to potential illness or death, even sick days directly affect your company.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 76 million new cases of food-related illness — resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations — occur in the U.S. each year. According to makeourfoodsafe.org, California pays an unbelievable annual $18,613,000,000 in aggregate medical costs.  New York pays an annual $10,375,000,000.

According to Erik Olson, of the Pew Health Group, “This report makes it clear that gaps in our food safety system are causing significant health and economic impacts.”  

Health and economic impacts, most certainly.  Those numbers, as with any other vastly devastating physical issues, such as obesity and the resulting diseases; i.e. cardiovascular disease and diabetes, can and should be reduced by prevention.  Food borne illness prevention calls for education.  Education comes from a comprehensive wellness program that teaches your employees the basics about food safety, how to clean, separate, cook and chill food, whether it’s necessary to spend more for organic to keep their families safe, how to store leftovers, and what to do in the event of a poisoning or emergency.   

As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Although healthcare costs are front and center in the debate, the single largest expense for most companies comes in the form of payroll. If that is true for you, then it makes sense that increasing employee productivity has the greatest potential for improving your bottom line. Achieving even single digit improvements in your team's ability to do their jobs will improve their quality of work and their capacity for innovation. To enable your team to perform with intention to excel and attention to detail, increasing their physical capabilities through exercise and sound nutrition is a proven foundation for success. To create a successful wellness strategy for productivity, make sure it includes these foundations of a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s review.  What is health promotion and what does it mean to your human capital?   When you empower your team with the tools for a healthy life, you also facilitate their productivity at work and at home.

The future of employee wellness starts with just one full time employee.

Nothing like an unsure economy and job market to keep your company off its game. You need employees at their best, especially in hard times. With that in mind, here are some wellness tips from the American Psychological Association: