GITONGA: Wellness makes sense for business in the long run

For millions of Kenyans who are ardent social media users, you might have come across this popular phrase that “majority of Kenyans are a sickness away from plunging into poverty”. From the face of it, the phrase captures the collective fear about the struggle that families have to undergo to manage illnesses, seek care and pull together to pay for healthcare.

Ordinarily, most Kenyans are vastly unprepared for medical emergencies that require large outlays. A survey by Financial Sector Deepening estimates that every year about 12 percent of households will need to take a family member to the hospital for care. The result is that the majority poor turn to their social networks for assistance or, more damagingly, resort to selling assets to finance care.

With this in mind, policy makers are suggesting solutions that are integral to managing healthcare costs and one of this is adoption of wellness programmes by Kenyans.

It hasn’t escaped the attention of economists, healthcare professionals, human resource practitioners and other industry experts who posit that health and productivity are “inextricably linked” and that a healthy workforce leads to a healthy bottom line.

The connection between lifestyle behaviours, elevated health risks, and chronic diseases are a concern, with studies strongly revealing that employees with elevated health risks are more likely to develop chronic diseases.

The health and wellness of a workforce have been recognised as a contributing factor to the overall success of an organisation. The fact that many employees spend the majority of working hours in the workplace makes it a natural venue for investment in health.

When they feel their employer is invested in their wellbeing, they have a reason to stay longer, lending their experience and deepening the relationships they can have with their customers and clients.

A study conducted in 2018 by Transamerica found out that Johnson & Johnson reported 3.7 percent lower average annual growth in total medical spending and saved between $1.88 and $3.92 for every dollar spent on wellness plans for 30,000 employees.

Other large employers also managed to reduce care costs by tailoring wellness and fitness interventions for employees with high chronic disease risks.

While establishing a wellness programme by itself might be a step in the right direction, the success of such a programme will depend on the strategies in place to achieve the desired outcome. Ways of doing this include collaborating with consultants or wellness specialists to create wellness programmes, embedding benefits into health plans or negotiating with health clubs.

You might also create a reward system for excitement while incentivising uptake of wellness activities, especially if you are introducing wellness as a new culture in the company.

With social media quickly emerging as a critical channel of interaction, businesses are encouraged to create an interactive, engaging wellness experience through social media tools.

For instance, through such tools, companies can form teams and/or inspire employees to lose weight, exercise more and, ultimately, become a healthier and happier workforce.

Through this, businesses are able to reinvent their People and Wellness Strategy for a more engaged and productive workforce.

While employee health-related expenditures are expected to continue to outpace inflation for the foreseeable future, investing in initiatives which reduce the aggregate economic burden related to employee health may further bolster the company’s success and brand outlook.

General Manager (Medical Business), Jubilee Insurance