As companies look to squeeze more productivity out of downsized workforces, it's a good time to consider how much obesity is dragging down the bottom line.
You can show skeptical managers a bottom-line benefit for weight-loss programs in the workplace, such as nutritional counseling, healthy meals in the cafeteria and on-site weight-loss programs: A 2007 study from Duke University found big employer costs linked to obesity, including higher workers comp claims, increased medical costs and more lost workdays.
By the time people get about 50 pounds overweight (obesity class II), lost workdays jump almost tenfold, to 117 days per 100 FTEs (versus only 14 days per 100 FTEs for those at ideal body weight). Workers comp claims are nearly twice as high, and medical costs are three times higher.
Even a few extra pounds have a big impact: for people who are overweight but not obese, the lost-workday rate increases by a factor of four and medical claims nearly double.
Given those stats, it makes sense for companies to move just as aggressively against fat as they have against tobacco – especially because obesity rates, like smoking, are influenced by social norms. In other words, it's easier to lose weight when people around you are trying too. In fact, one idea to consider is to encourage workers to find a weight loss buddy at the plant or office. According to a 2005 article from Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Brown Medical School and Dartmouth University, more people lose weight when they have a buddy than when they diet alone.
Of course, these programs require sensitivity. They need to be about helping employees, not punishing them or singling them out. But as more and more people take steps to improve their health, they'll value an employer that helps them achieve their goals. These kinds of initiatives might improve employee loyalty and position your company as a great place to work.
Michael Boyette
Editor, HR Cafe Training Center
Thanks for the helpful information. However, I would have liked to have seen more emphasis upon the thought buried in the last paragraph. Programs should be about helping employees, not punishing them.
Various predispositions that are generally undesirable from an employer's point of view can be statistically demonstrated to be disproportionately present in identifiable racial, gender or ethnic groups. Such statistical predispositions are occasionally used by employers, consciously or u8nconsciously, to screen out, or to make negative decisions, concerning indidual members of those groups.
I am an attorney and most of my practice involves employment discrimination and other employment disputes. I represent both sides - employers and employees. In one of my most fascinating cases I represented a plaintiff who was denied employment with a major Philadelphia employer for the undisputed reason that she was way off the company's height-weight chart - 350 pounds. Amongst the evidence that came out from the experts at trial was that (i)massive obesity is closely linked to genetics and (ii) massively obese females are more victimized by generalized obloquy and derision from the general public than members of any other identifiable group.
The vast majority of readers undoubtedly agree that all employees and applicants - fat, thin, black, white, male, female, etc. - have a legal and a moral right to be assessed as individuals. We must always remain vigilant to assure that facts like those cited in your piece - e.g., the statistically demonstrable increase in absenteeism that correlates with obesity generally - do not creep into the employment decision making processes concerning obese individuals.
Posted by: Benjamin G. Lipman, Esq. | January 19, 2009 at 03:15 PM
Mr. Boyette:
I applaud your intent in raising this issue. One thing I would encourage you to remind your readers of, though, is that many states include "overweight" as one of the areas covered by anti-discrimination laws. It is best to tread lightly and keep in communications with your HR office and your corporate attorney when planning weight loss efforts! Also, encourage your readers to remember that, as always with statistics, not all overweight people have these problems/issues. Studies just suggest a higher incident rate among the overweight, so targeting one individual may be useless (and illegal).
Deb
HR Director
Posted by: Deb Fennell | January 19, 2009 at 02:42 PM