More employers are taking a serious look at health and wellness benefits as insurance costs continue to rise. But just how much can offering these benefits mean to your bottom line and your position in the competitive employment landscape?
When you add wellness benefits to your insurance packages, you’re giving your employees a chance to improve their overall health through education and regular screenings. This can not only improve an employee’s quality of life but can also reduce costs over time, as healthier people tend to experience fewer illnesses than those who remain unhealthy.
Let’s look at a few more reasons why you should consider offering health and wellness benefits for your employees.
1. It Helps You Attract and Retain the Best Employees
If you want to succeed in today’s marketplace, you must be able to attract and retain the best talent. This is much easier if you can offer them competitive salaries, but what many employers don’t realize is that the total compensation package also includes non-financial benefits, such as health and wellness benefits.
So, the question remains, why should you offer health and wellness benefits?
To begin with, it’s the ethical thing to do for your employees. It will engender respect for the company as their employer, and they’ll be incentivized to work hard on your behalf, because they know that you’re not just thinking about your bottom line — you care about them and their families, too.
By offering health and wellness benefits to your employees, you will attract better candidates who are ready to come aboard a company that is invested in their well-being. Employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers its workers benefits such as health and wellness plans, because they’re making an investment in their future along with the employer. It’s a win-win situation.
2. Health and Wellness Benefits Are Cheaper than Employee Medical Costs That Aren’t Covered by Insurance
Health and wellness benefits can save your company money in two ways.
First, you’ll be able to avoid paying for many of the costs that come with prolonged or undiscovered employee health issues. We’ll come back to this later in this section.
Second, offering your employees these kinds of benefits can reduce the amount they’re required to pay for coverage on their own when they purchase private insurance outside the company. This is significant because many workers are leaving their jobs to become uninsured because they can’t afford the premiums and out-of-pocket costs associated with private insurance.
Bear in mind that people who don’t have health insurance tend to put off getting medical care when they need it, which means that when they do get help, it’s usually insurance coverage that tends to put their health needs on hold until they’re forced by a medical emergency to seek treatment.
This can be very disruptive and expensive for an employer because it means the employee is likely out of work while recovering and undergoing necessary treatments.
Ultimately, your company will pay for that lack of insurance through increased compensation paid to the worker as a result of his or her disability, higher insurance premiums, and reduced productivity.
It’s much less expensive in the long-run to have an employee who has access to health and wellness benefits from the get-go, because you’ll be able to avoid high medical costs that result from chronic illnesses and treatment of acute illnesses.
3. Health and Wellness Benefits Are a Great Way to Reduce Lost Work Days
When you give your employees access to health and wellness benefits, they’ll be able to get assistance with making lifestyle changes in terms of eating habits, exercise routines, and stress management.
It will also help them stay well, so that they can better avoid getting sick, which translates into less doctor’s visits and prescription medications are required due to illness. In addition, if there is an illness in the family, employees will know about it and can take steps to care for themselves with preventative measures and testing, if necessary.
4. Health and Wellness Benefits Increase Employee Productivity
On average, employees who have better health are more productive. Companies that support health in the workplace have a greater percentage of employees at work each day. This is — in part — because healthier employees are less likely to call out sick and/or use sick days.
Workplace health programs can also help in reducing presenteeism — the extent to which poor health adversely affects the productivity of individuals who choose to remain at work.
Find The Right Direct Primary Care Provider
Assurance Health & Counseling Center is a premier Direct Primary Care provider that offers exceptional healthcare without breaking the bank. We work with companies to provide an alternative to traditional health insurance, offering a lower-cost, budget-friendly option for your employees.
We provide our members unlimited access to our health providers for a flat monthly fee. We offer medical services as well as counseling services, providing a holistic approach to healthcare. Contact us today and learn how a membership can help your employees live a happier, healthier life.