A healthy workforce is far more likely to produce a healthy balance sheet

Companies in America are becoming aware of the large cost savings that they can make to their balance sheets if their employees quit smoking. For example one particular company Bloomington Offset Process has told its smoking employees that they would have to pay ten percent more for their health insurance premiums.

Rather than lose the extra $26.00 a month most of these employees decided to quit smoking and this has had a big knock on effect on productivity of the company as the smokers are not going outside for lengthy smoking breaks. On top of this smoking causes people to suffer from serious illness and thus they are also more probable to call in sick for flu and colds.

Companies must realise that by getting their employees to quit smoking they are creating a “win win” situation.  The employees will be healthy and have a better quality of life and the companies will gain more in productivity and are less likely to lose staff to serious illness. Companies should also think about actually paying for their staff to go to smoking cessation counseling and paying for smoking cessation medications such as Champix.  In the long run the company will get its money back on the investment that it puts into smoking cessation initiatives.

A healthy workforce is far more likely to produce a healthy balance sheet at the finish of the year and more and more managing directors are beginning to realise this. It is becoming commonplace to put gyms in offices and for office canteens to provide healthy food also.

Even from a visual point of view a company which has packs of employees hanging outside the main front door lighting up cigarettes portrays an unhealthy image for the company.  Some companies even ban their employees from smoking by the front door so they have to go to the back of the building and smoke by the rubbish bins.