Business has an important part to play in promoting health and well-being, particularly within workplace settings where a healthier workforce is both more productive and less expensive to insure.
Businesses can also impact the physical environment and promote community resilience with supply chain investments that create virtuous cycles that benefit both communities and businesses.
Employees
Employee health is an employer priority because healthier employees perform better and require fewer days off work, which in turn lowers business costs by saving on healthcare insurance and workers’ comp claims, while increasing productivity by decreasing employee absenteeism and workplace accidents. Unfortunately, measuring the impact of health and wellness programs on worker productivity remains challenging – however tools and systems are being created that measure gains in job performance gains.
Businesses can do more than improve employee health to promote a healthier environment. They can provide financial incentives to encourage participation in smoking cessation programs or initiatives designed to foster healthier lifestyles; or sponsor public health campaigns designed to combat obesity or chronic diseases.
Businesses create working conditions for employees that directly influence living conditions and life chances, including providing living wages, sufficient social support, work-life balance, skill development opportunities for advancement and welcoming workplace cultures. Businesses can play an essential role in supporting health and well-being by setting purchasing requirements that specify quality healthcare products, while mandating providers follow evidence-based practice. These requirements can help enhance the effectiveness of medical care while simultaneously lowering costs, by making sure patients receive optimal care. They may also invest in community projects to foster a healthier and safer environment such as providing access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income communities.
Customers
Consumers today increasingly demand health and wellness in products and services they consume, prompting businesses to develop strategies to satisfy this growing consumer trend while simultaneously cutting costs. Some businesses promote health by including it directly in their offerings – for instance by adding nutritional information into food products – while others aid customers improve their wellbeing through educational resources or encouraging physical activities.
Businesses have the potential to have a significant influence on societal health determinants by making policies that impact employees, communities and consumers directly or indirectly through purchases and supply chains; some businesses purchase healthy foods for cafeterias or provide incentives to encourage employees to adopt healthier diets. Furthermore, some support charities or civil society organizations working on health issues related to housing affordability, adequate food supply or medical care access.
Companies that place greater focus on employee health and wellness often experience lower costs, less absenteeism, increased productivity and improved morale. Companies can promote workplace wellness by offering preventative care like flu shots in the office or implementing ergonomic solutions which allow workers to tailor their job tasks according to their own bodies. Such initiatives may seem costly at first, yet studies conducted by Buck Consultants demonstrate that 74% of companies report saving money through investing in health and wellness programs.
Suppliers
As providers of goods and services, businesses provide benefits, costs and tradeoffs to both consumers and communities – with long-term implications on societal health. Furthermore, as investors themselves they can exert pressure on other companies to promote community wellness through decisions which prioritize consumer welfare while simultaneously supporting sustainable development.
As employers, businesses have direct responsibilities to support employee health and well-being. This may involve offering flexible work arrangements and healthy workplace eating facilities; no smoking rules in all company buildings, vehicles and public spaces; fostering open dialogue about health matters among staff; as well as offering health promotion activities (Box 6-4).
Many businesses have come to realize the power of purchasing power and other resources to use suppliers’ working conditions to influence societal health in positive ways. For instance, some retailers require pledges from supplier factories for protecting women workers’ safety and rights.
Inequalities in education, occupation, living conditions and income disparities along gender and racial lines often create health and healthcare disparities that harm vulnerable groups while undermining society overall, shortening lifespans and creating suffering among individuals and families alike. Businesses possess both an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute towards healthier societies by tackling social determinants of health.
Communities
As employers, businesses can help promote community-centric ways of working. This may involve activities such as encouraging the use of preventive health services and supporting workplace health programs while funding projects which promote health and well-being (see Chapter 7).
Many large companies are already engaged in the promotion of healthier communities through efforts such as restricting smoking at business premises and in company cars; providing healthier food options in company dining facilities; encouraging employees to participate in workplace fitness and health promotion programs; and limiting environmental pollution.
Businesses are also playing an increasing role in improving community health through business coalitions that aim to increase quality and accessibility of health care services. Initiatives like Leapfrog Group bring together companies with significant purchasing power in order to encourage providers of medical services to offer high-quality, safe care at an affordable cost.
Business leaders would benefit from engaging in a formal dialogue with government public health officials to ensure their views are taken into consideration when decisions about community health are being made. Such dialogue would enable business leaders to comprehend the rationale for public health statutes, regulations, requirements and processes – for instance how employee and community data is collected, analyzed and used as policy input.
