A rising trend in the business world is ‘Wellbeing’ or ‘Healthy Companies’, which already has a standard of measurement and certification process (NEBOSH in the United Kingdom, AENOR in Spain, etc.). The theory is that a healthy office environment leads to more productivity and therefore a company can be more competitive but, does it?
A healthy company is considered to incorporate the following points in its corporate strategy:
- Guaranteeing the health and safety of employees, taking into account physical environment (i.e. ergonomics, presence of chemical and biological agents, etc.) and psychosocial aspects (i.e. company culture, harassment, etc.), thus reducing accidents and diseases.
- Complying with current legislation regarding occupational safety (i.e. lighting, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, evacuation plans, clearly indicated evacuation routes, etc.).
- Motivating employees to increase the mental health of workers and therefore productivity.
- Participating in the community service and outreach.
What are the benefits of a healthy company?
According to a study by Mediabank, a healthy employee can be three times more productive. According to the study, which was conducted in Australia, an unhealthy worker has 18 sick days a year, while a healthy worker only has 2. In addition, the productivity of an unhealthy worker ranges from 49 effective hours a month versus 143 days from a healthy one.
Other positive aspects of healthy management in a company are:
- An improved corporate image: Community service has become valuable and, if employees are happy that will have the best results.
- Simplifies compliance with legal: labor inspections will be solved without problems.
- Competitive advantage: is a decisive factor when looking for new clients.
- Better working environment: this reduces conflict, stress and therefore improves productivity and the perception of the company by its employees.
- Profitability: according to the ENWHP study, Healthy Work – Healthy Lifestyle – Healthy Business, every euro invested in health promotion programs generate a return of between 2.5 and 4.8 euros in absenteeism and between 2.3 and 5.9 in sickness costs. It also reduces social security costs by reducing healthcare costs by 26.1%.
Considering all these benefits, it’s understood that a healthy company is more profitable. This is possible because greater productivity and image perception implies a competitive advantage and therefore higher profitability. In conclusion, we can say that wellbeing companies are more profitable.
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