Lifestyle Medicine and Worker Productivity.

The issue of employee productivity has become a major concern for companies. Inefficiency can occur at every stage of production either as poor design, worker limitation, or other factors. It is generally assumed that a healthy worker is more productive than an unhealthy worker. As early as 1776 Adam Smith observed and published in The Wealth of Nations that poor worker health was a detriment to industrial productivity. The objective of this article is to review the literature documenting the gain or loss of productivity related to the health of workers, as well as any lifestyle management strategies that can be used to improve employee health and productivity. The impact of employee obesity, smoking, physical activity, sleep, and behavioral health on productivity will be explored. By identifying and addressing health risks that impair worker performance, lifestyle medicine professionals can demonstrate a significant return on investment by creating a healthier and more productive work force.

Health and Economics of Lifestyle Medicine Strategies.

The cost of medical care in the United States is increasing at an unsustainable rate. The lifestyle medicine (LM) approach is essential to influence the root causes of the growing chronic disease burden. LM addresses health risk factors in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of developing disease rather than limiting resources and medical expenditures on acute care and reacting to illness, injury, and disease. Employers have much to gain financially from such an approach due to their status as the payer of health care costs for their employees, and as the recipient of productivity gains among their employees. This article discusses LM programs delivered at the worksite, including important findings from the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center. Examples of evidenced-based population LM interventions are summarized for physical activity, weight management, and nutrition programs that address chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes mellitus. These approaches have the potential to reduce health care cost trends, increase employee performance/productivity, and improve patient health outcomes.

Association Between Employee Dental Claims, Health Risks, Workplace Productivity, and Preventive Services Compliance.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in health risks and workplace outcomes among employees who utilized preventive dental services compared with other employees. METHODS: A retrospective observational study of employees of a large financial services corporation, with data from health risk appraisal questionnaires, medical claims, pharmacy claims, and dental claims. RESULTS: Employees with no dental claims were significantly more likely to have a variety of health risk factors (such as obesity and tobacco use), health conditions (such as diabetes), absenteeism, and lost on-the-job productivity, and were significantly less likely to be compliant with clinical preventive services compared with those with preventive dental claims. CONCLUSIONS: Employees with preventive dental claims had fewer health risks and medical conditions and better health and productivity measures. Study employees underutilized free dental care; employers should incorporate preventive dental care awareness into their worksite wellness programs.

The cost and impact of health conditions on presenteeism to employers: a review of the literature.

Employers are becoming concerned with the costs of presenteeism in addition to the healthcare and absenteeism costs that have traditionally been explored. But what is the true impact of health conditions in terms of on-the-job productivity? This article examines the literature to assess the magnitude of presenteeism costs relative to total costs of a variety of health conditions. Searches of MEDLINE, CINAHL and PubMed were conducted in July 2008, with no starting date limitation, using 'presenteeism' or 'work limitations' as keywords. Publications on a variety of health conditions were located and included if they assessed the total healthcare and productivity cost of one or more health conditions. Literature on presenteeism has investigated its link with a large number of health conditions ranging from allergies to irritable bowel syndrome. The cost of presenteeism relative to the total cost varies by condition. In some cases (such as allergies or migraine headaches), the cost of presenteeism is much larger than the direct healthcare cost, while in other cases (such as hypertension or cancer), healthcare is the larger component. Many more studies have examined the impact of pharmaceutical treatment on certain medical conditions and the resulting improvement in on-the-job productivity. Based on the research reviewed here, health conditions are associated with on-the-job productivity losses and presenteeism is a major component of the total employer cost of those conditions, although the exact dollar amount cannot be determined at this time. Interventions, including the appropriate use of pharmaceutical agents, may be helpful in improving the productivity of employees with certain conditions.