Answer the case study questions please The Cost-Benefit of Well Employees When c
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Question
Answer the case study questions please The Cost-Benefit of Well Employees When companies buy computers for their employees they themselves,even if that just means taking a brisk ten- also provide training to make sure the investment pays minute walk at lunch 4. Offer on-site health education and screening for con- off. So why do those same companles invest millions of dollars in health care without making any particular ef- d fort to ensure that their employees stay healthy? ditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol 5. Share with employees who do take care of them- selves some of the savings they generate. as much of a stake in preserving or improving em 6. Design health care programs with a component that com reaches out to employees'immediate families. At Abbott, As major purchasers of health care,corporations have ployees' health as the employees themselves do. My pany invests hundreds of millions of dollars in health care; a company like General Motors-which in June placed much of the blame for its massive layoffs on health care costs-invests considerably more. We need to protect these investments and capitalize on them as we would on any other we cover an average of 1.6 dependents for every em- ployee. Keeping those families healthy produces evern greater savings for the company. Very few companies do all of these things (that includes out of six). And admittedly there are bar- ours-we do four riers to thoroughly embedding health consciousness in ns can raise charges of Companies can do that by recognizing that they achieve the corporate culture. Such actio larger gains when they address the causes,rather than the paternalism, manipulation, or senior executives inserting treatments, of il health. Focusing on health care is inherently reactive; focusing on health is proactive and, potentially a game changer. The chief reason companies fail to invest in health, I think, is that it fis often the how to measure savings from disease-management techniques that reduce the cost of care for an employee with a chronic condition. It is much trickier to accurately determine how much they could save by keeping that employee from get- business. Employees live healthler lives; companies do the ting sick in the first place.For that reason, significant in right thing and decrease their health care costs. In the pro- vestments in prevention require some faith. their noses where they don't belong. Creating incentives for healthy behavior may elicit cries of unfairness, particu- larly from superior performers with poor health habits. Companies must also be vig ilant that their preferences for healthy living don't in- fuence hiring and promo- t to s know on decisions. Despite those concerns, invest- ing in employee health is as unassail- able a proposal as you are likely to find in cess, organizations also reduce costs resulting from lost Given that employees spend about a quarter of their time at the office, companies can do quite a bit to help roductivity and absenteeism and become more attractive to many employees and job seekers. Nothing could be more straightforward them stay healthy and to cut their own costs in the pro- cess. For example, companies can: Yes, health care does impose a heavy burden on em ployers. 1. Provide plenty of nutritious options in cafeterias and vending machines And because healthy foods often costgroups concentrate on the long-haul task of reforming this more, employers can subsidize the purchase of them But while govenment, industries, and interest monster, individual employers should meaningfully influ ence their own small piece of it. MILES WHITE is the chairman and CEO of Abbott Laborato- 2. Make workplaces smoke free and help employes kick the habit outside of work. free use of ries, based in Abbott Park,IlMlinois, and immediate past 5 3.Encourage exercise by offering employees afitness center or subsidizing employees' memberships to local chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactur Eyms. When possible, leaders should set the example ers of America Reprint Fos12DExplanation / Answer
1. Companies spend lot of dollars in healthcare but they do not takes steps to ensure that employees are healthy. When companies spend money in something they should take steps to ensure that their efforts are paying off to make the competitive advantage by making well employees in the organization. Companies can achieve lager gains by addressing the causes and making the employees well, rather than treatments of ill health to achieve larger gains. Companies should be proactive to focus on health and it act as a game changer. When employees are healthy company can decrease their healthcare costs. Organizations can also reduce costs on lost productivity and absenteeism and become more attractive to many employees and job seekers when they concentrate on employee health and make well employees in the organization.
2. Companies do not provide support for well being of the employees as it is difficult to quantify the return. The company executives only know to measure the savings from disease management techniques that reduce the cost of an employee with a chronic condition and they do not know to measure the savings by keeping that employee from getting sick in the first place. Significant investments in healthcare require some faith and companies do not support the wellness programs as they depend on data to measure the savings rather than faith.
3. The concerns mentioned in the article are valid and most of the companies spend lot of money on healthcare programs. But they never try to ensure that their employees are well and are free from disease. In my company also there are lots of healthcare programs but the company place more work pressure on the employees and employees are never in a stage to enjoy the benefits of the healthcare programs. The management is never concerned about the health of the employees till they become sick and once they are sick provide medical benefits to cure the disease. The disease would have been prevented if they have taken adequate steps to monitor the health of the employees and provide provisions for healthy diet, an opportunity for fitness and health screening programs.
4. To address the concerns regarding health of employees, the companies can include few programs to ensure the wellness of employees. They are