In today’s fast-moving and dynamic world, the pressure on businesses to perform better is more rampant than ever before. In the race to become better, beat competition, and make a mark in the industry, business leaders and the employees are oftentimes too busy to think about their health. This is reflected by unhealthy eating habits and food choices, disturbed sleep patterns and quality, high stress levels and several other lifestyle choices that are detrimental to physical, emotional and mental well-being. It is no surprise that there is a significant prevalence of health conditions like heart disease, obesity, hypertension and nutritional disorders.
The Importance of Ensuring that Healthy Culture is promoted in the Workplace
Due to the growing social and public pressure, as well as rising consumer expectations, companies must go beyond their working requirements and act more responsibly when it comes to health. They have to create a healthier workplace environment for employees to be as productive and creative as possible. Diseases can be prevented if organizations have the tools to respond immediately and cater to an employee’s medical needs. Ensuring employees have a good level of health maintenance plays a key role in improving their productivity and competitiveness.
People in the world of business tend to focus on specific risks, profits or return on investment. However, this doesn’t mean that good health should be forgotten. Health should also be one of the top priorities for businesses as it contributes to growth and success. If employees are healthy, it makes sense that they are going to be more productive. Business leaders, including top management, can work alongside employees to promote the health, safety and welfare of all workers. In order to reap the benefits of effective health management, some factors that organizations should focus on include, but are not limited to:
- Ensuring that health and safety problems are taken care of in the workplace
- Ensuring that health, safety and well-being are addressed in the psychological perspective as well.
- Taking care of personal health resources in the workplace, including support, encouragement and promoting a healthy lifestyle of the employer.
- Participating in community life to improve the health of workers, their families and community members.
There are many reasons why health can be considered key to success in business, and the top four among them are as follows:
Improves Leadership Commitment and Organizational Values
By making health a priority, senior executives and main stakeholders also get involved in integrating healthy work environments into their corporate goals and values. With this, the organizational culture is improved along with the employees getting motivated to perform well in the organization.
Improves Corporate Values
Promoting a healthy culture and the health of employees means happier employees. This goes a long way because happy employees are more likely to be highly motivated and productive employees, which ultimately means more productivity and business growth.
When management is able to integrate healthy work environments for its workers health is recognized as a priority while shaping corporate values and goals. Employees would easily become ambassadors of the healthy culture environment and support the organization even during dire times.
Improves Core Business Strategy
A healthy workplace environment indicates that health initiatives are a part of the business strategy of an organization, as it involves workers and employees. For example, business organizations can incorporate healthy food items in meals provided to employees to encourage the employees to be health-conscious.
Why this works is clear; in today’s fast-moving world, most people don’t find themselves able to make time to hunt for healthy, organic food and are left with no option but to consume processed, artificial or unhealthy food. Solutions like these are highly useful in today’s work environment and can be utilized by organizations for the promotion of health. Not only that, such companies demonstrate that it is their vision and commitment to begin a health revolution in organizations so that their nutritional products can be beneficial for the employees as well as the general population. These organizations are setting new quality standards for health benefits, which can improve productivity, motivation, and wellness of all staff members.
Improves Mental, Emotional and Physical Attributes of Employees
When health is a priority for a business, its employees are more likely to have energy and get work done before their deadlines. If health comes first, employees will be motivated and feel a heightened sense of comfort in their work environment. In addition, if a business cares for its employees in such a way, promoting good health, employees may have more pride in their work and take into account what the business organization has done for them. They may be more inclined to be honest and perform well knowing that the organization cares for their wellbeing and health. This brings tangible benefits to the organization.
To sum it up, promotion of health, healthcare management and provision of medical services to employees can have significant effects on the development of a business. If business leaders fail to focus attention and invest time, effort and money into this area, there will be a negative ripple effect. Therefore, health should not be overlooked or considered a useless investment of human resources or capital because it remains at the core of employee performance, and therefore business growth and success.