3 steps to helping your community build a healthier workforce

Employers have skin in the good-health game.

From health-plan premiums, to workers’ comp and disability, to absenteeism and “presenteeism,” the private sector shoulders the burden of direct and indirect health care costs. According to the Public Health Institute, as much as 50 percent of company profits go toward those costs.

Nearly 80 percent of businesses in the United States have adopted worksite wellness programs as a strategy to control health-care spending. However, a landmark report from the Vitality Institute recommends a strategy shift to improve workforce health: collaborating with other organizations to improve the health of the whole community.

Collaboratively investing in community health can have a significant ROI. Consider these examples from the American Public Health Association:

• Every $1 invested in biking and walking trails can return benefits up to $11.80.
• For every $1 invested in food and nutrition education, there is a $10 return in reduced health care costs.

Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities

A national employer-community collaborative focused on better health, “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities” (HWHC), offers practical resources for employers navigating this shift in strategy.

If your company is looking to play a bigger role in the health of your community and to build a healthy future workforce, here are three key steps to getting started.

Continue reading the full article on The Business Journals.

Originally published by The Business Journals