With all the noise about health care this week I thought I would chime in! Of course, my comments are about your business and the impact the issues have on you. A recent survey revealed that 67% of firms replied that the poor health habits of employees is the top challenge they face in maintaining affordable coverage. Second ranked was underuse of preventative services at 42%. I think these are closely related.

If you take care of yourself and your employees your health care costs will be lower. Sounds obvious but how often do you only have donuts in the break room or other poor quality choices at the lunch buffet? What about exercise? Do you make it easy for your employees to exercise? In the Marines we often did unit PT in the morning, but then at lunch we often took 90 minutes to allow time for exercise. I know some jobs are more conducive to this than others but what about supporting employees in a gym membership? Maybe a group activity in support of a charity where you pay the entry fee? There are many ways you can support and encourage but most of the firms I see do next to nothing in this area.

Some of this comes down to leadership. If the entire leadership team is out of shape then there is no role model for the rest of the firm. If some of the leadership team works on fitness and supports employee efforts it may payoff. This week I am with a client conducting a corporate university for nine days. A few years back we added a nutrition and fitness section to the curriculum. On several of the mornings we will be outside at 0630 for morning activities. Some calisthenics and a 1.2 mile walk or a 2.1 mile run – employee choice. It has become one of the highlights of the program as we make an impact on attendees and show them the way to more healthy life.

Check the local event calendar for a one mile fun run and 5K near you, then get the team ready for it and go do it. You will be happy you did (and so will your CFO).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 12:36 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.