Wellness In The Workplace: Bringing Preventive Care Into The Office

For many Americans, preventive health care is completely disconnected from their daily work routines. However, over the past few years, the connection between the work environment, employee health and employee productivity has been examined with increasing scrutiny.

At this point it is common knowledge that American health outcomes are not in good shape. In a nation where, according to the CDC, more than 75 percent of health care spending is related to chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, obesity and respiratory conditions — many of which are preventable — it has become imperative to examine the entirety of the American lifestyle. Since most American adults are employed at least part-time, the workplace inevitably plays a large role in Americans’ health.

A study published in May pointed to a correlation between an increasingly sedentary workforce and an increasingly obese population. While approximately 50 percent of private sector jobs required at least a moderate amount of physical activity in 1960, fewer than 20 percent of private sector jobs do the same today. In addition to a lack of physical exercise, the CDC points to poor nutrition and poor lifestyle choices — such as binge drinking and cigarette smoking — as the major causes of these chronic conditions. It’s obvious that poor lifestyle choices have adverse effects on Americans as individuals. What is less obvious, but equally as important, is the adverse effects that poor health outcomes have on employers.

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