Effects of Obesity on Employees in the Workplace Occupational health nurses work in many different types of industries and some in clinics within a hospital setting. Nurses who work in the manufacturing workplace face many challenges in working with their employees. For example, in a furniture manufacturing plant the work was not easy. Pieces of the furniture were heavy and awkward. The plant could not be air conditioned and heating was difficult due to the large dock doors in shipping and the open area where the raw lumber came into the plant. One of the major issues these nurses dealt with on a daily basis were the employees who were obese and had developed other health related diseases due to the obesity. Because of the excess in weight, …show more content…
Those that are obese have a much harder time maneuvering around and find it difficult to be comfortable in performing their jobs. Because of these difficulties, obese employees may show a decrease in productivity. Along with decreases in productivity, obese employees may tend to have other health related issues such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. Having these health problems, employees may be absent from work on a more frequent basis resulting in less money in their paychecks. They are usually on more medications also resulting in less money. Some companies give discounts on insurance premiums for those employees who attend wellness classes, exercise programs and get their wellness physicals from their personal physicians. They will also offer incentives for those employees who lose weight and partake in a healthy lifestyle. Companies are becoming more proactive in healthcare for their employees knowing a healthier workforce will save them money on healthcare costs. A healthier employee will see an increase in productivity and satisfaction with the job. There is less absenteeism and turnover for the company by not having to replace employees who are unable to adequately perform their job duties due to health risks (Chalupka, 2011, p. 236). Offering wellness based programs, such as weight loss and nutrition classes, will benefit the employee as well as the
Employee wellness programs, also known as a “worksite wellness program”, are programs that are designed to promote and support the health, safety, and well being of a company’s employees. Wellness programs are meant to improve the health of the staff, their morale, and in turn also help improve their productivity. There are many components that make up employee wellness programs, for example; Health Screenings, Health Fairs, Fitness classes, Smoking cessation classes, and even wellness issue workshops. Employers have begun adopting these programs in hopes of helping their employees while they are at an age when health interventions can still help transform their long-term health choice. This paper will focus on trends found between employee weight and productivity, and the impacts these could have on a business overall.
The people in the workplace can be categorized into two groups: the employer and the employees. The employees work for their employer and in turn, the employer has the duty and responsibility to ensure that the minimum safety requirements are met. However, employers are not required to provide health insurance benefits to their employees. More often than not, providing health insurance benefits is very costly to the employer and in an attempt to mitigate the costs, employers’ encourage employee participation in various healthy lifestyle programs and initiatives as well as providing incentives for their participation in such programs. These kinds of actions are not always met with enthusiasm, some find it unreasonable to be expected to do so on their own time to change their lifestyle to suit their employers.
campaign and technical assistance to promote the benefits of worksite health promotion. A new CDC
While the strain on the health care system is evidently a major issue, poor health of employees also has been proven to negatively affect the overall performance in the workplace. Alternatively, good health in the workplace has been proven to reduce absenteeism, reduce the costs of disability and dru...
There is a need to adjust to a workforce that is increasingly diverse. Diversity is not only determined by traditional categories such as age, race, and gender. Diversity also includes generational differences, lifestyle, work style values and differences, employment expectations and goals, learning styles and abilities, educational levels and technological sense. In order to build a successful workforce for the future, adaptations to the vast array of differences in applicants and employees is a challenge to be recognized and addressed in the workforce action plan. With efficient occupational health services and smart occupational health personnel this can be achieved. Competitive industries invest more on workforce as they are well aware of its implications. This proactive approach of organizations impact both direct and indirect cost to industry. This clearly indicates that healthy organizations are more likely to be successful as they are more skilled of retaining workforce who is healthy in all aspects including physical, mental and psychological capabilities. I will conclude this document with a statement by Employees Benefit Journal Ann 2004, offering your workforce a full behavioral health program is one of the wisest decisions you can make to increase workplace wellness and
As stated by Grellier & Goerke (2014), analytical essays explore all perspectives of a topic; whether it be positive/negative or possibilities/difficulties. Also, an argument is generally not required as comparing and contrasting points is the main focus of the essay. Obesity (Student n.d.) will be analysed and critiqued based on conventions of good academic writing.
One study found that as BMI increases, so do the number of sick days, medical claims and healthcare costs associated with that person 11. Obesity (BMI > 30) related job absenteeism costs $4.3 billion annually based on data collected between 2000 to 2004 in the US 12. It is also reported that moderate to extreme obesity (BMI > 35) is associated with lower productivity at work which costs employers an additional $506 per worker every year, almost a 4.2% health related loss in productivity, which is 1.18% greater than all other employees.
Obesity is a very complicated disease and there is no simple cause or cure. Obesity refers to the gaining of weight which occurs when the body takes in more calories than it burns. These excess calories then become fat, leading to increases in weight. There are many factors in the onset of obesity. A major factor is sociocultural factors. Society today plays an important role in how we view food and influences our decisions on meal choices. In today's society, meals are made to be quick and easy, often being high in fat, sugar, salt and calories and lacking nutritional value. Television and advertising also focus on unhealthy food choices, which appeal to children with colorful marketing and toys or games. Furthermore, society has also succumbed to a somewhat sedentary or lethargic lifestyle. Physical activity is on the decline and the relationship between reduced exercise and weight gain has been shown to be a major factor in obesity. Many jobs require sitting in one place in front of a computer for much of the day, children often sit for hours watching television or playing video games instead of engaging in physical activities or sports. This results in weight gain because people do not exercise enough to burn the calories they are consuming.
1. Diseases related to obesity: Overweight and obese adults are considered at risk for developing diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and some type of cancers.
With the health care costs reaching high number there is no wonder we have a large number of absenteeism. So many wait to the last possible painstaking work day to decide to see a doctor about their aliment, and all of that could be prevented. Preventing oneself to have to take time off from work is one way to keep costs low. There are so many areas that need to be addressed when it comes to what is going to slow us down as a company. According to estimates by Dr. Jaime Claudio(1991), a corporate wellness consultant for Health Plus, a provider of health-care insurance, a comprehensive eating awareness and weight- management program designed to improve long-term habits could generate an 80% reduction in the incidence of potential problems caused by obesity in the workplace. These problems include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and diminished work efficiency. Obesity is not the only eating disorder that is a problem, there is bulimia and anorexia. Smoking, drinking, substance abuse, and stress are problems that are brought into the workplace and stop productivity. We have to be aware of issues that are there but are not usually thought of as an illness.
Workers of every organization need to embrace the culture of living a healthy lifestyle rather than implementing specialized health programs and insurance plans (Goetzel, 2012). Coca-Cola Company initially perceived health and well-being as only integrated into the safety programs that employees are given. The company needs to distinguish between health and wellness from safety concerns. Many governments have encouraged wellness programs through the Affordable Care Act; this raises the legal limits on the penalties imposed on the employees by employers for the health-contingent wellness plans (Baicker,
With obesity can come many other diseases or health problems. For example, people who are obese are more likely to develop heart problems, diabetes, or high blood pressure (Loop).... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Scope of Nursing Practice describes the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” of nursing practice. Each of these questions must be answered to provide a complete picture of the dynamic and complex practice of nursing and its evolving boundaries and membership. (ANA )The role of the nurse with the obese population is very important. Obesity is considered a chronic disease in many community health texts. Community health nursing grew greatly, during the later part of the 20th century, due in large part to a growing population of chronically ill people (who were now surviving illnesses that were previously less treatable). This situation with the chronically ill continues to grow, shifting more and more responsibility for health
The impact of getting to be hefty can have genuine repercussions on one's well being and their self regards, which can bring about absence of enthusiasm for work. For instance, you get issues, for example, hypertension, coronary illness, sort 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, nonalcoholic greasy sickness, stroke, metabolic disorder, irregular blood fat, rest apnea, conceptive issues, and gallstones and so on. Something else to pay heed is that heftiness is hereditary, which means you can pass it off to your children.
Another large debate in the issues and impacts of obesity is the responsibility of employer’s. Especially for those whose obesity comes from a sedentary lifestyle. Or perhaps need the preventative measures of keeping obesity at bay. A hot topic on the rise is whether or not employers should be mandated to give employees a work-out period in their schedule. The employers could offer employee’s incentives for utilizing resources (a company gym, discounted memberships, and dietician, walking a company track) and by using the resources keep costs low. Though initially it could be costly to take on the responsibility to offer extra incentives to employee’s it could offer long term potential savings. (Villareal, Apovian, Kushner, and Klein 2005) Those whose companies offer various programs and actively engage in them express more happiness, productivity, a greater quality of life, and overall better health. Better health allows for employee’s to serve their employers better. They use less sick pay, keep insurance premiums low, and are more likely to be in tune with their daily job. So while the initial cost may be high, the long term financial gain of a happy, healthy, productive team is hard not to invest in!