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United States of America
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Today's employers provide more than just financial support to their employees. They increasingly play a crucial role in helping to improve their employee's health, as well.
With the right approach, employers can foster a healthier working community, boost employee productivity and morale, reduce absenteeism, and promote a positive work culture. Investing in employee health and relevant preventive strategies also shows employees you care, which can pay dividends for retention and recruitment.
Preventive care strategies take a proactive approach to healthcare to prevent illness through activities such as annual exams; immunizations; cancer screenings; blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar tests; and mental health screenings. This preventative approach can help identify risk factors for diseases, treat cancer and other diseases early on, and uncover existing health conditions before they become serious.
Below, we’re taking a look at the way employers can promote preventive care so their employees can lead strong, vigorous, and healthy lives.
How Employers Can Promote Preventive Care and Employee Health
Regardless of the business’s size, setting, or resources, employers can take action within their workplace to promote employee health using a few key strategies.
Create a health-focused culture.
Company policies can go a long way toward encouraging healthy behaviors. For example, offering incentives for preventive care can motivate employees to participate in their annual checkups and screenings. Health savings account contributions, lower health insurance premiums, and gift cards are all powerful motivators that can encourage employees to seek preventive care.
Employers should ensure that employees have easy access to care, understand healthcare costs, and know where to go for healthcare services. Care navigation tools, such as NaVcare from Vālenz Health®, can help ensure employees receive the care they need from the right providers. Through these tools, a care navigator offers one-on-one support, helping guide employees to in-network providers and answering questions about benefits, eligibility, costs, and more.
Providing on-site wellness events (such as wellness challenges, workshops, and seminars on nutrition, stress management, and physical health) can also boost employee awareness of preventive care and promote healthy lifestyles. Employers can also offer on-site health fairs and screenings; this enables employees to undergo screenings without taking time off of work, making the services more accessible for all.
By investing in a positive and supportive work environment, employers may notice increased employee satisfaction and productivity, reduced costs, boosted retention rates, improved employee health, and more engaged employees.
Offer comprehensive health benefits.
Emphasizing preventive care in the workplace starts with providing comprehensive health benefits that include mental health support and dental, vision, and wellness checkups. However, providing benefits doesn't necessarily equate to employee usage of those benefits.
Healthcare is complex. It can be challenging for employees to understand their best course of action and the resulting costs. They may not even realize that they can shop around for healthcare services.
Healthcare navigation tools, such as Healthcare Bluebook’s green-yellow-red cost and quality navigation solution, help employees find the best option for the care they require while factoring in cost and quality ratings. This way, they can receive accurate diagnoses and avoid unnecessary treatments while preventing surprise costs.
Foster a healthy work environment.
Creating a workplace that supports wellness and preventive care means considering the physical environment in which employees work.
Employers can help reduce strain by providing ergonomic workstations with adjustable chairs and standing desks to prevent musculoskeletal issues. Employers can also reduce stress with natural lighting, greenery, and designated quiet spaces for employees to focus.
Encourage healthy eating.
Supporting healthy eating habits while at work can have a significant impact on employee well-being and productivity. Employers can start by providing healthy snacks (such as fresh fruit and nuts) in break rooms to make healthier foods more accessible and to reduce reliance on processed or fast foods.
Nutritional workshops and resources about meal planning, balanced diets, and mindful eating practices can help employees make informed decisions both in the office and at home.
Find the Right Preventive Care Tools for Your Organization
Healthcare navigation solutions can be critical resources in helping employees make informed choices about their health and preventive care, but finding the solution that’s best for your organization isn’t always easy. Learn how to choose tools that are a good fit for your organization by connecting with Valenz today.