COMPANY HEALTHCARE

Healthcare at work

Almost all Danish companies have introduced healthcare schemes for their staff, and despite the ongoing economic crisis, companies maintain these schemes because experience shows that healthy staff strengthen the bottom line

By Anne Klejsgård Hansen

Free fruit, quit smoking courses, fitness training and physiotherapy are just some of the offers that have become popular at Danish workplaces in recent years.

Because while free home PCs, free telephones and newspaper subscriptions used to be among the most common perks, company healthcare schemes have progressed rapidly in the last 10 years in Denmark, where almost all companies today offer their staff at least one form of healthcare benefit. And it has turned out to be a really good business for employers, since healthier staff equate to a healthier bottom line.

“Healthier staff means fewer days lost through sickness, which is really expensive for companies. So it has major importance to the corporate finances if sickness absence is reduced. At the same time healthy staff are more well-functioning staff and thus more efficient and creative,” says Henrik Holt Larsen, professor in Human Resource Management at Copenhagen Business School.

Sickness absence is expensive for companies

Sickness absence in Denmark corresponds to 150,000 full-time jobs annually and costs society DKK 37 billion (EUR 5 billion).

Overweight costs 1.5 million extra sick days
Inactivity costs 3.1 million extra sick days
Smoking costs 2.8 million extra sick days
Mental workload costs 1.5 million extra sick days

Source: The National Institute of Public Health

Sickness absence costs billions
Sickness absence costs Danish society DKK 37 billion (EUR 5 billion) each year, and in companies a lot of money can be saved if staff sickness absence is reduced. A fresh survey from Danish pension fund Danica shows that if each Dane in employment could cut one sick day per year, companies would save at least DKK 3 billion (EUR 403 million).

Henrik Holt Larsen points out that company healthcare schemes also play a key role in recruiting and retaining staff.

“Staff are hungry for healthcare offers. This is because of the intense public focus on healthcare and well-being and the fear of coming in contact with the hospital service which is often under fire in the media,” says Henrik Holt Larsen.

Healthy Company is one of the leading Danish suppliers of company healthcare schemes, and has seen rapid growth in recent years.

“We have witnessed strongly increased interest in our company healthcare schemes in recent years, and our customers span all types of company today,” says Sune Nielsen, partner and director of Healthy Company.

According to Sune Nielsen, only two or three years ago it was primarily knowledge companies such as lawyer’s offices and financial firms which focused on health, but today the customer palette has significantly broadened its spectrum.

Health in figures

If a company invests EUR 1 in health-promoting initiatives, the company can save EUR 2.5-10 in sickness absence per euro invested
Lifestyle factors will be responsible for 70 per cent of all diseases by 2020

Sources: European network for workcare/healthcare promotion and WHO

Health checks are popular
Healthy Company’s health checks are particularly popular in Danish companies. The health check provides staff with an overview of the state of their health, and is used to prepare an action plan. The health check is followed up at least once a year.

“It is essential to work continuously with company healthcare schemes, and it is important that the entire organisation commits itself. It is no good that the HR manager thinks it is an amazing idea to focus on health, if the sales director thinks it is silly,” says Sune Nielsen.

Because although Healthy Company visits companies regularly, it is not part of day-to-day operations, so according to Sune Nielsen it is necessary that the commitment comes from inside.

“We put major efforts into talking to both staff and management when we start a course, and we also train health representatives – sort of safety representatives in the healthcare area – who the staff can refer to on a daily basis,” explains Sune Nielsen.

Little impact from economic crisis
The global economic crisis has not by-passed Denmark, and many companies have been forced to cut their costs in the last year. In some companies it has affected Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, where companies have been hesitant to launch new initiatives. Most companies have however maintained their existing CSR initiatives, and both Henrik Holt Larsen and Sune Nielsen think that the economic crisis will have only a limited impact on company healthcare schemes.

“The economic crisis has resulted in many companies cutting fringe benefits, but this has involved the less serious perks such as entertainment and free sweets. The more serious benefits such as competence development and healthcare are affected only to a lesser extent,” says Henrik Holt Larsen.

At Healthy Company the economic crisis has not given Sune Nielsen any grey hairs. He points out that there has been a small decrease in relation to initiating brand new healthcare initiatives, while companies are maintaining the healthcare initiatives they have already launched.

“Those companies which have already introduced healthcare schemes see them as a good investment according to our surveys. It is not the healthcare area they are looking at when they swing the axe,” says Sune Nielsen.

The latest report from the National Board of Health shows that company healthcare schemes are so widespread today that 99.6 per cent of Danish companies have healthcare initiatives of one sort or another for their staff. It is especially in the areas of smoking, alcohol and food that companies outline guidelines and help schemes for their staff.

Focus on the whole person

Many people spend more time at work than at home, so the workplace must be alright if they are to thrive as people and thus as staff. That is the philosophy behind LEGO’s personnel policy, which has made health a focus area.

“Our staff spend a large proportion of their time here with us, and we thus have a responsibility for them thriving both physically and mentally. We pay a great deal of attention to creating the right framework – and here health plays an important role,” says Charlotte Simonsen, head of communication at LEGO.

For more than 10 years, LEGO has offered healthcare schemes to staff in the group’s Danish units, but in recent years the company has provided significantly more healthcare offers.

“Basically it is about what the staff want, and here we are very clearly seeing that the various healthcare initiatives are highly rated,” explains Charlotte Simonsen.

Weight reduction and quitting smoking
Two of the most recent initiatives are weight reduction and smoking cessation courses, and the interest from staff has been significant. But they are far from the only healthcare offers to staff. A company training centre, free physiotherapy and massage as well as treatment guarantees at private hospitals are just some of LEGO’s healthcare offers.

LEGO is seeing that healthcare schemes, together with other fringe benefits such as family days for the staff, help to make the company an attractive workplace which can hold on to its staff while at the same time attracting new staff.

“There is no doubt that perks such as healthcare schemes are an important element in the battle for new staff, and that is naturally something we are thinking about,” says Charlotte Simonsen.

LEGO is located in west Denmark in the small town of Billund, whose hinterland is quite sparsely populated, and at times it has been difficult for the company to attract new staff, especially knowledge-intensive staff.

There are also healthcare schemes at some of LEGO’s international factories, but it is not something the group is pressing to implement, unless the staff themselves want it.

“It is essential to us that people themselves can choose. So if the staff in a given country prefer another form of fringe benefit, we do not pressurise them with new healthcare initiatives,” says Charlotte Simonsen.

Companies focus on good health

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