Companies trying to
increase productivity should offer their employees more wellness programs, a
new study finds.
Workers who ate healthful meals
and exercised on a regular basis had better job performance and lower
absenteeism, research from the Health Enhancement
Research Organization (HERO), Brigham Young University and the Center for Health Research at Healthways shows.
Employees who eat
healthy all day long were 25 percent more likely to have higher job
performance, the study found, while those who eat five or more servings of
fruit and vegetables at least four times a week were 20 percent more likely to
be more productive.
In addition, employees who exercise for at least 30minutes, three times a week, were 15 percent more likely to have
higher job performance.
Overall, absenteeism was
27 percent lower for those workers who ate healthy and regularly exercised and
that their job performance was 11 percent higher than their peers who were
obese, the study found.
Overweight
workers experienced lower job performance and higher absenteeism, compared to
those employees who suffer from depression and other chronic diseases or
conditions.
Your partner in health,
Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA
Certified Health Coach
Wellness Consultant
C2 Your Health LLC
WELCOA Faculty
Top 100 Health Promotion Professional nominee
