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Written by Joachim Willms [Managing Director]
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I recommend the following article!
Social trends are creating new
and increased health risks in the work environment. This topic has
powerful ethical considerations and includes a term that barely existed a
decade ago: “presenteeism” – the practice of working while unwell or
persistently working longer hours and/or taking fewer holidays than the
terms of one’s employment allow, especially as a result of fear of
losing one’s position or even employment. Employers that proactively use
corporate health management to address potential issues can create
significant competitive advantage.
Edited by Prof. Edward Yagi, from a speech made by Dr. Axel Baur, Senior Partner, McKinsey and Company, Tokyo Office
Key studies demonstrate a worrying trend in the relationship between
employee healthcare and negative financial impact. Indeed, healthcare
costs are shown to be increasing faster than other cost factors with presenteeism
currently representing the biggest cost driver in many industries.
Statistics show that just the top three problem classifications
(psychiatric conditions, respiratory conditions, and musculoskeletal
conditions) cause annual presenteeism costs of roughly US$8.4 billion
for the German car manufacturing industry alone. Furthermore, compound
annual growth rates of German employer healthcare costs were 4% between
2005 and 2010, while during the same period the comparable growth of
wages and GDP was only 1%. In parallel, it has been estimated that UK
employer failure to adequately invest in the health and wellbeing of
their employees, costs the UK economy £57 billion a year in lost
productivity.
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