Developing a recreational sports application

Health Care

Zwetsloot, G., Pot, F., (2004) the Business Value of Health Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 55, No.

The Business Value of Health Management states that "many organizations in Western Europe are increasingly being confronted with the financial impact of the effects of health on their business processes, and in particular the ever rising costs of disease (sickness) absence and disability among their personnel" (Zwetsloot, Pot, 2004, p. 115).

In response to that, the article shows how an Integrated Health Management (IHM) approach has been implemented by many of the effected companies. The IHM approach considers seven different areas that determine how to best manage the health, healthcare costs and healthcare benefits provided by company and enjoyed by employees. What the article determines is that such an approach "brings the company direct economic benefits" (Zwetsloot, p. 115).

Other studies agree that costs of rising health care and that worksite health promotion (WHP) is useful in containing company costs, while at the same time provides for healthier employees, which has direct and indirect benefits for both the company and the employee.

One recent study showed that providing company healthcare programs was not all about costs but that there were moral considerations as well. "While both senior GMs and HRMs are motivated primarily by their beliefs that WHP reduces indirect costs of health failure, GMs were also motivated by their moral responsibility towards employees" (Downey, Sharp, 2007, p. 103).

What was interesting about the article being discussed was how it showed that being healthy was more than just concerned with the health of the individual, it was concerned with the health of the company as well. The article states that "the concepts of health organizations and corporate social responsibility are closely connected. Both concepts include healthy employees (people) and a healthy environment (planet) and, in the metaphorical sense of the word, a healthy company is a financially successful one (profits)" (Zwetsloot, p. 116). Therefore, at least according to this article, providing good health for the individual employee also provides a more healthy environment and healthier profits for the company.

Second article

Noblet, a., LaMontagne, a.D., (2006) the role of workplace health promotion in addressing job stress, Health Promotion International, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 346-353

This article also addresses the advantages and benefits of worksite health promotion (WHP) and in particular how such a program can help in controlling worksite stress issues. The article states, "The enormous human and economic costs associated with occupational stress suggest that initiatives designed to prevent and/or reduce employee stress should be high on the agenda of workplace health promotion (WHP) programs" (Noblet, LaMontagne, 2006, p. 346).

Along with the article's assertion that reducing employee stress should be beneficial to both the individual and the company, the article also documents the many problems that can occur due to stress in the workplace. The article espouses, "For employees, chronic exposure to stressful situations such as work overload, poor supervisory support and low input into decision-making have been cross-sectionally and prospectively linked to a range of debilitating health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, immune deficiency disorders and cardiovascular disease" (Noblet, p. 347). Many of these illnesses are debilitating and can be long-term which adds to the company's cost due to employee absence(s) directly affecting the company's bottom line.