How to Motivate Employees to Seek Healthcare When Needed and Encourage Well-Being

The modern workplace has come to recognize the importance of employee health and well-being. Yet, there is a concerning trend of employees delaying their own healthcare. A recent Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) analysis revealed that 58% of adults have postponed medical services due to personal and professional constraints. This pattern raises serious concerns, both at individual and organizational levels.

The Phenomenon of Employee-Induced Healthcare Delays

Delays in healthcare are often accompanied by exacerbated health issues, and what could have been a minor, manageable health hiccup can quickly morph into a serious and costly condition. Employee-induced healthcare delays could be attributed to several factors, including the prospect of high medical costs, the perceived inability to take time off work for appointments, and the increasing complexity of navigating the healthcare system.

The Cost to Businesses

The implications of such delays are far-reaching. According to IBI, employee health issues lead to a loss of productivity that costs U.S. employers a staggering $530 billion annually. Additionally, frequent employee absences due to health problems disrupt workflow and can dampen team morale, indirectly affecting overall business output.

Empowering Employees: The Role of Employers

Yet, employers are far from powerless. Advocating for telemedicine can offer employees a convenient alternative to traditional health services. According to KFF’s 2022 Employer Health Benefits Survey, among companies with at least 50 employees that offered health benefits, 87% of small businesses and 96% of large companies integrated telemedicine into their benefits package, signaling the growing acceptance of this technology.

The Intersection of Healthcare Delays and Employee Well-Being

Delays in care ripple across the spectrum of employee well-being. When employees delay healthcare, they experience elevated stress and anxiety levels, impairing their mental health and job performance. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report highlighted that employees struggling with health and well-being are seven times more likely to be disengaged at work.

Integrating Well-Being Initiatives to Counter Healthcare Delays

This is where comprehensive well-being initiatives can become a game-changer. Employers can foster a culture of health consciousness by offering regular health screenings, mental health support, fitness programs, and preventive care. Ipsos found that 75% of global companies consider employee well-being to be important at their firm. Furthermore, 87% of employers have already implemented a well-being initiative, and 83% also have a well-being strategy.

An Integrated Approach: The Way Forward As employee-induced healthcare delays persist, the path to resolution is not through isolated interventions but rather by taking an integrated approach that intertwines proactive healthcare services and holistic well-being initiatives. This multi-pronged strategy combines prevention, timely care, and mental health support, offering employees a comprehensive health safety net.

The foundation of this integrated approach lies in prevention and timely care. Onsite or virtual health screenings can effectively detect potential health issues, thereby reducing the chances of employees deferring critical healthcare. Similarly, facilitating telehealth services can address time-constraint concerns, allowing employees to attend to their health without disrupting their work schedules.

The other facet of this approach targets holistic well-being. Stress and anxiety often underpin many physical health issues. As such, mental health programs, wellness activities, and flexible work policies can alleviate workplace stress, indirectly improving physical health and minimizing the need for employees to delay healthcare.

This transition to an integrated approach requires a fundamental shift in perspective. Instead of viewing healthcare and well-being separately, employers should consider them as two sides of the same coin, each influencing and reinforcing the other. To this end, collaboration across departments is essential to effectively implementing and managing this holistic strategy.