How Mental Health Makes You Fit For Business

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By Audacy

To stay competitive in a large market like Los Angeles, small business owners need every advantage they can get. To that end, they should work to ensure that their companies are operating at peak efficiency. One proven method of increasing productivity and profitability across all industries is for a company to optimize the mental health of its workers.  

Stressed Out Workers are Less Productive
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. industry loses $225 billion to lost productivity annually. The leading causes for that staggering deficit are illness and injury related absenteeism and presenteeism, the phenomenon of ill or otherwise unfocused employees who come to work but are so distracted, they are effectively absent. The most significant contributing factor to all that absenteeism and presenteeism is stress. Several studies have shown that employees who are burdened with an overabundance of stress are incapable of doing their work with the attention it demands.  

Poor Workplace Health Leads to Higher Health Insurance Premiums
Another way poor workplace mental health can hurt small businesses is that it increases the cost of health insurance premiums. Employees who are stressed out are more susceptible to contracting chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. The cost of providing treatment for employees living with those conditions increases healthcare costs for the entire company. As such, it’s in your best interest to make sure your workers are in the best mental and physical health possible.  

Unhappy Workers Aren’t Loyal
One 2016 study found that employees who consider themselves to be happy take less sick leave and are twice as productive as unsatisfied workers. Additionally, the study found that unhappy workers are less likely to stay with their current employers than those who are content. As the cost of a replacing a skilled salaried employee is typically between 6 to 9 months of their annual pay, small business owners have significant incentive to keep their workforce in a good place psychologically.  
 

The Most Important Driver of Employee Satisfaction
A 2016 survey conducted by Glassdoor found that the most important driver of employee satisfaction is quality health benefits. Having access to preventative and ongoing health care allows workers to operate at peak efficiency. Moreover, the security of knowing that an accident or bout with serious illness won’t wipe you out financially provides significant peace of mind. And it lets staffers know that their employers are invested in their future, which in turn drives them to do their best work. Given the tangible benefits that come from optimizing employee mental health, Los Angeles-based business owners should look into securing quality health insurance from an affordable local provider.  

 

To learn more about affordable healthcare plans for your small business, visit Anthem.

For more tips and inspiration for small business owners, visit Small Business Pulse Los Angeles.