Thanks to Dr. Anthony Harris for first introducing MP Benefits Inc. to the Industrial Athlete concept originally coined in the United States when the ergogenic theory of sports medicine was applied to manufacturing sectors to improve the health, safety, and ultimately the performance of employees.
An athlete is considered a person trained to peak performance in exercises, sports, and/ or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. An employee is someone who is trained and skilled in the required field of their expertise to use these abilities for peak performance.
While these programs typically focus on the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries, they lack the bridge of access to care. This is where strategically designed benefits plans, combined with on-going, just in time education fills the gap of this approach to enhancing employee performance.
A measurable return on investment
Early intervention and allowing access to care reduces costs overall by preventing or containing, mitigating reduced performance, workplace compensation, and disability claims.
What’s it worth to productivity rates and overall revenue to keep healthy employees on the job?
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue, respiratory, and accidents and injury claims account for more than 49.8% of total short term claims in 2022[1], for those companies that offer Short Term Disability as part of their benefit package. Aside from respiratory, these numbers remain consistent for the last three years and stand outside of eligibility for workers’ compensation claims.
Across all age bands, the persistency of musculoskeletal and connective tissue claims (chronic pain) transferring, or in the absence of no short term disability, causing a new claim for Long Term Disability, sits consistently at 21.8% year over year. Musculoskeletal claims primarily consist of spinal disorders, osteoarthritis, and joint, such as knee, back, and hip.
A reality check.
Aligning benefits with compensation, wellness, safety, and productivity results in:
- Reduced turnover
- Increased productivity production
- Employee performance enhancements
- Elimination of dead time
- Prevention of absenteeism/presenteeism
- Enhanced corporate culture
- Adherence to real employee workplace wellness
Only when you begin to track, can you measure the return on investment.
Employees perform daily. Whether that is at their “peak” engagement level or not can only be determined if it is measured on an on-going, regular basis. It is a fact though, that no matter how much each metric is measured, if employees are not provided with access to preventative care, the numbers are worthless because they are not performing. Nonperforming employees cost money, reduce revenue, and decrease the value of the corporation.
Employees ARE 24/7. How they perform—their impact to corporate revenue—is not just based on when they clock in, but as a result of the magnitude of significant factors that impact them all minutes of the hour, for every hour in the day, like:
- Sleep patterns
- Eating habits
- Hobbies
- Recreation/exercise
- Off-the-job
Job ready | fit for work ATHLETES
Just like one-size fits all doesn’t work in shoe size (and most things), nor does it work within the corporate culture. Improved productivity is the ultimate goal because with improved efficiency comes business revenue. In order to accomplish this, we need to:
- Understand the corporate objectives.
- The desired customer experience.
- The reality of the employee journey.
- Existing tools and resources.
This productivity, to safety bridged with benefits playbook needs to include:
- On-going, effective communication
- Education and training
- Human Resources, people, and culture
- Operations and finance
- Safety, policies, and procedures
Consider how timely first aid can mean all the difference on the ice for a hockey player to get them back to scoring goals, so too can providing employee with access to the care they need lead them to be proactive, health ambassadors fit for work. Time and benefits are the key. Alleviate aches and pains before they develop into an injury or chronic condition. This is the beginning of how future benchmarking and improved yield can be established with an active return on investment measured.
We’d be pleased to engage in a meaningful conversation on this and other benefit topics. Give us a call.
Note: this was written without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. The site is read by a world-wide audience and employment, taxation, legal vary accordingly. Please seek legal, accounting and human resources counsel from qualified professionals to make certain your legal/accounting/compliance interpretation and decisions are correct for your location. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance.
