The health of employees has a large impact on the success of a business. High employee sickness rates can significantly hinder the productivity of a business as well as the overall bottom line. Thus, every small business manager needs to tackle employee sickness carefully to avoid significant effects on the company. Initially, one way a business will try to tackle this issue is to cover their employee’s health benefits, they could do this when looking around to find anthem plans for their employees, to offer health coverage for all.
A major way of tackling employee sickness is to prevent the employee from contracting illnesses at work. Good work policies and routines can also help a sick employee get better. Some good ways to tackle employee sickness effectively include, but are not limited to:
Encourage Healthy Eating
Encouraging employees to consume healthy foods is one good way to prevent employee sickness. This can be influenced by giving out coupons or providing employee discounts at trusted food stores. You can also encourage them to join healthy eating clubs or download dietary apps to monitor their food consumption. Employers can also consider observing health days yearly in which health nutritionists are invited to speak to the employees.
Maintaining a Clean Work Environment
The environment at the workplace is an important factor to consider. A clean environment eliminates possible chance of contracting illness at the workplace. A clean environment also influences the wellbeing of employees and encourages them to lead a clean lifestyle. Keep the workplace free of rodents and pests, fumigate the environment occasionally, and hire cleaners to come in regularly.
Tackle Stress at the Workplace
Stress is one of the body’s natural responses to excessive pressure and it cannot be avoided. It is only natural that an employee is likely to get more pressure at the workplace. However, certain strategies can help manage stress at work. Setting up stress awareness workshops and championing mental health causes helps employees recognise and manage mental stress. Maintaining an open-door policy also helps employees make appropriate complaints when overworked. When left unchecked, mental stress triggers employee sickness.
Offer Gym Membership
Offering free or subsidised gym memberships helps to encourage proper fitness lifestyle. This directly influences the wellbeing and productivity of your staff, in most cases. It encourages them to stay fit and creates a good attitude towards physical health, laying proper foundation for all-round healthy lifestyle. Regular exercises help to prevent common work disorders like back pain. They also build and maintain the immune system which reduces chances of contracting certain illnesses.
Organize Meetings to Encourage Healthy Lifestyles
Create a routine and hold group health meetings periodically. The group meetings are to identify employees that are struggling with unhealthy lifestyles. Find out how your employees are faring, set health challenges/targets and assign a certain reward to them. Give useful tips and discuss schedules for spas and gyms.
Conclusion
As a manager, it is your duty to maintain the steady growth and expansion of your business. Your employee health is a major factor that has significant effect on your small business. Proper management of employee sickness reduces chances of downtime and also boosts productivity. Take intentional and strategic decisions which will tackle employee sickness and execute them efficiently. Set a good example for your employees and make them realize that health is wealth.
