Economic benefits of health profile

Employee health and well-being is something that should be high on the agenda of any organization that wants to attract, engage and retain its talented employees. This is for many reasons, one of the most important being that it shows employees that they are a valued part of a company and that their employer cares. 

There is a broad consensus in recent years' scientific literature that workplace health promotion and prevention interventions make an important contribution to promoting and maintaining the health of employees. These interventions can reduce health risks, decrease sick days and promote awareness of healthy lifestyles. 

There is also a consensus in the literature that workplace health promotion pays off for companies by reducing the costs of low productivity, dissatisfaction and sickness absence. In fact, the benefits of taking targeted action are many times the amount invested. This is called Return On Investment or simply ROI. It is a measure of how many times the amount invested is returned. The latest studies show that there is an ROI of 1:2.5 - 10. If a company spends DKK 100,000 on prevention, it can be expected to make a profit of at least DKK 250,000. 

Detailed knowledge of the individual employee's state of health, readiness and motivation is needed in order to target further efforts and create the necessary benefits. And this is where health checks have proved to be particularly useful. This is shown in a major cost-benefit analysis carried out by three experts in health economics in collaboration with the Copenhagen Consensus Center under the leadership of Bjørn Lomborg. The ROI is calculated to be 1:23, making health checks by far the most efficient activity that companies can invest in. 

Health checks in 3F work

From 2010 to 2013, 3F carried out a project with several thousand members, which showed a clear effect, says Jane Korczak, vice-president of 3F. 

"The project has improved the lives of thousands of low-skilled people by providing them with treatment and counseling that they would otherwise not have received," says Jane Korczak. 

The survey, which covered 6000 mainly low-skilled workers in 50 workplaces, resulted, among other things, in one in three cleaners being referred to their own doctor for further treatment. 

In total, one in five people were advised to see their own doctor, and one third of these people were referred directly to medical treatment after seeing a doctor. 

"When a health check can catch such a large proportion, it is a good investment for society," says the 3F Vice-President.

Health checks reduce mortality!

Three leading researchers have described the value and impact of health checks in the Ugeskrift for Læger. And there is no doubt that health checks offered at the workplace and associated health initiatives work. The three researchers are:

Torsten Lauritzen is a general practitioner, Professor, PhD, Aarhus University, Department of Public Health, Section of General Medicine. 

Knut Borch-Johnsen is Deputy Director, Holbæk Hospital, MD, PhD. 

Annelli Sandbæk is a general practitioner, Professor, PhD, Aarhus University, Department of Public Health, Section of General Medicine and member of the Danish Council on Disease Prevention

Why do health checks/health profiles work?

One of the main benefits of workplace health checks is PREVENTION. It's about detecting health problems that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Blood pressure and cholesterol measurements can identify employees at higher risk of heart disease, and once employees are aware of their risk factors, they can do something about it. The value of health checks is thus screening and identification, as well as motivation for lifestyle changes. Addressing these issues early can prevent a future health problem that could lead to long-term illness.