Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice

DR. MARC MANLEY

Vice President and Chief Prevention Officer

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota

Marc_Manley@bluecrossmn.com

bluecrossmn.com

Topic: Healthcare

Certainly not. If nutrients were profits, I’m sure every entrepreneur would keep plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables nearby.

Yet when it comes to employees—you know, the part of your business that actually does need to eat—making the time to find healthy foods while at work can be a near impossibility. And if you think this has nothing to do with company performance, you couldn’t be more wrong. Without exception, the financial health of a business is directly tied to the overall health of its employees.

The evidence is everywhere. A 2008 Blue Cross report shows that, on average, health care costs for overweight individuals are 12 percent higher than for people at a healthy weight. For the obese, costs are 37 percent more. In another 2007 study, researchers found one company with more than 11,000 employees had significantly more (and more expensive) workers’ comp claims among employees who were overweight, obese or users of tobacco. Employee health is business health.

Barriers to our health exist all around us in the workplace. It’s no wonder so many of us struggle with trying to maintain healthy lifestyles. The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Healthy options at work can be the rule, not the exception. My worksite is a good example. At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we’ve made a conscious effort to surround our employees with a worksite that’s full of healthy and easy choices. Here are a few examples of how Blue Cross builds a culture of health for our employees:

• A weekly $2.99 healthy meal special in our cafeteria, known as “Wellness Wednesdays”

• Specially-labeled “healthy options” in vending machines

• Free “Know Your Numbers” clinics where employees can find out their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other important vital stats

• Health insurance premium discounts to employees who meet 5 of 7 healthy “targets” such as quitting tobacco and getting the recommended amount of physical activity

• A tobacco-free building and grounds policy

• A “walking meetings” option to encourage physical activity during the day In addition, healthy worksites can:

• Offer a way to reach hard-to-reach employees. For example, when employers have tobacco-free buildings and grounds, 42 percent more employees who smoke make an attempt to quit.

• Address hidden costs of poor health behaviors. Absenteeism (absence from work) and its lesser-known counterpart, presenteeism (low productivity while at work due to health issues or other distractions), account for more than half of the cost of poor health behaviors.

• Boost effectiveness of personalized lifestyle coaching programs available through your health plan

As you can see the possibilities are really endless – but don’t let that discourage or overwhelm you! If you’re convinced that your business could benefit from a healthier workforce, I encourage you to try just one of the ideas mentioned here. See how it works and build from there. Encourage employees to submit their own ideas. The point is to focus on making the healthy choice the easy choice because encouraging someone to take care of themselves is a lot cheaper than trying to return a sick employee back to good health.

2010-02-09 11:10:37 -0500