High Costs, High Stakes

Author: Steve McGookin

An estimated 66% of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a fact that costs the economy--directly and indirectly--somewhere in excess of $117 billion. About 60% of Americans drink alcohol, and about a third of drinkers have five or more drinks a day. And about a quarter of all Americans take no leisure-time physical activity.

The correlation between health and economic activity has never been more important, nor has it been as crucial for companies to take account of the well-being of their employees, particular those in high-pressure, mission-critical roles.

A study a few years ago at Bank One showed that for a comparatively small outlay, real benefits can be accrued--in fact, for a cost of around $400 to pay for an annual health check for an executive earning at least $125,000, there was a significant value to the bank in prevented absences.

Subsequently, findings in 2002 by the University of Michigan Management Research Center showed that executives who had regular physical examinations made 20% fewer health claims and were absent for 45% fewer workdays than those who didn't.

Earlier this month, the world's biggest brokerage firm, Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ), cut the number of sick days its employees can take, to try to reduce the cost of absences. But one consequence of such a move might be to encourage people who are still sick to come back to work too early and possibly infect their co-workers--thus winding up with the very lack of productivity the company was hoping to avoid.

While executives themselves have a responsibility to maintain their own health, both physical and mental, we all know how easy it is to slip from the path of proper exercise and good diet; so our busy, often high-stress lifestyles can end up having a detrimental effect on our business performance.