Approximately 20% of the UAE population are living with Type II Diabetes, ranking the UAE in the top 20 worldwide. There is also a link between obesity and productivity levels at work and studies have shown, workers who are overweight are less productive. Since many employees spend more than half of their waking hours at work, companies are slowly starting to realize the important role of Wellness Programs. However, employers need to start thinking about wellness as a long term valuable asset to their employees, who will in turn work better for them.

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Workplace Wellness: An investment well
worth it
 Approximately 20% of the UAE population are living with Type II Diabetes,
ranking the UAE in the top 20 worldwide.
 There is also a link between obesity and productivity levels at work and
studies have shown, workers who are overweight are less productive.
 Since many employees spend more than half of their waking hours at work,
companies are slowly starting to realize the important role of Wellness
Programs.
 However, employers need to start thinking about wellness as a long term
valuable asset to their employees, who will in turn work better for them.
Healthy employees are the key behind every successful business. Since many employees spend
more than half of their waking hours at work, companies are slowly starting to realize the
important role of Wellness Programs. Such programs are designed to help:

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 Reduce medical costs
 Reduce absenteeism and presenteeism
 Increase employee morale and job satisfaction
 Reduce staff turnover
 Increase productivity levels
 Increase organizational effectiveness
 Decrease employee turnover
It’s no secret that the UAE is not the healthiest country. Approximately 20% of the UAE
population are living with Type II Diabetes, ranking the UAE in the top 20 worldwide. Research
and statistics report on diabetes across the UAE suggest that the disease will cost an estimated
Dhs 10 billion by year 2020 if the condition is not treated. Workplace wellness programs can
improve dietary habits through education and a supportive work environment where
employees can work together to reach personal goals.
There is also a link between obesity and productivity levels at work. Studies have shown,
workers who are overweight are less productive at a value of over 42 billion US dollars. When
compared to the productivity levels of workers who were at a healthy weight, employers could
save approximately 11 billion US dollars by investing in programs that educate their employees
on overall health and wellbeing.
Stressed employees do not work at their maximum potential. The UAE is not an easy place to
work and jobs in this region can bring about longer working hours, higher demands, and
increased pressure. Thus, there is a need for workplace wellness programs to help employees
carry out their daily tasks with higher productivity levels to avoid increased stress levels (which
can also lead to other health and performance concerns). A stress-free employee will perform
better when carrying out daily tasks and thus have higher productivity levels.
What’s in it for the employer?

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Employers may see workplace wellness as low priority, as it is a long term investment, where
results may not be seen right away. In fact, workplace wellness is a service that is not tangible
at all, so what’s the point? Similar to diets, workplace wellness will not work if you don’t
commit to changing an entire work environment. A healthier workplace can’t happen overnight
and it can’t happen with one “health day”. Employers need to start thinking about wellness as a
long term valuable asset to their employees, who will in turn work better for them (see below
diagram).
Companies like Johnson & Johnson have seen the benefits of investing in employee wellness
programs. In specific, from 2002 to 2008, they estimated a cumulative savings of $250
million US dollars. This calculated to be a return on investment (ROI) of $2.71 (US) for every
dollar that was spent.

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Sources:
- Gulf News: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/diabetes-likely-to-cost-uae-dh1…
- Ricci, J. & Chee, E. Lost productive time associated with excess weight in the US workforce,
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 47 (10), 1227-1234, 2005
- Berry, L.L., Mirabito, A.M., & Baun, W.B. What’s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness
Programs? Harvard Business Review, 2010
- Berry, L.L., & Mirabito, A.M. Partnering for Prevention With Workplace Health Promotion
Programs. Mayo Clin Proc ;86(4):335-337, 2011.
The article is written by Alison McLaughlin for Arab Business Review
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