What Can a Company Do to Promote Employee Health?

Companies have to tread a careful line between concern for employees and actions that may be perceived as harassment or discrimination. But there are steps that they can take to help employees maintain and recover their health.

Every company needs to set out in their employee manual clear expectations for the employees, which might include not smoking in the workplace, not consuming alcoholic beverages in the workplace, not driving under the influence on company time and not coming into work when the employee is coughing germs all over the place. The company can provide ways to help employees stay healthy with reduced memberships to health clubs and, most important, an employee assistance program that is strictly private and available to all employees.

Some employers, according to recent reports, are taking novel approaches to make employees take vacation time and recharge, including giving extra vacation time to employees who take two consecutive weeks off.

Companies can also help managers who may have trouble creating a healthy work environment, by providing coaching. Managers aren't born knowing how to manage; they may need help with their people skills. Managers should also be encouraged to access the employee assistance program and the HR department for guidance when they have concerns about an employee's health. And above all, every manager and executive in the company should model the behavior they expect from employees. CEOs need vacations and sick days, too.

For more conversations about health, see the Harvard Pilgrim LinkedIn group, Let's Talk Health Care.

Harvard Pilgrim is compensating the author for participating in the Let's Talk Health Care program but the opinions expressed are the author's own.