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ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS AND THOSE THEY LEAD
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Edited by Rama Ramaswami Senior Editor, New York
The global health crisis wrought by COVID-19 has highlighted concerns about the long-term well-being of the workforce. As employees continue to quit, leaders are struggling on all fronts to stem the tide of attrition—and an important focus of their efforts is workers’ physical and mental health. Leaders want their employees to feel healthy, happy, and connected; they also want them to be productive in their roles. The American economy loses about $3.2 trillion annually from premature deaths and diminished productivity due to illness. Research shows a positive correlation between better employee health and higher productivity: even simple lifestyle changes can enable workers to get more done during the day. Here are some ways you can help your employees (and yourself) stave off health risks.
AN IDEA
Employers have traditionally been cost-conscious about providing health benefits, but that balance is changing as the growing exodus of talent pressures companies to offer incentives to hire and retain employees. McKinsey’s latest Employer Health Benefits Survey shows that despite the rising cost of healthcare, cost has become a less important factor for employers when choosing benefits carriers: the percentage of employers who consider total cost to be “extremely important” when selecting a benefits carrier fell by 14 percentage points between 2016 and 2021. Voluntary benefits such as dental, vision, and short-term disability are becoming more common in benefits packages. Companies are also investing in health management solutions for conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, as employees with such chronic diseases tend to experience losses in productivity.
A BIG NUMBER
$4 billion
That’s the approximate amount that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has allocated toward strengthening public-health departments across the country. About 75 percent of those funds are earmarked for public-health workforce hiring, retention, and professional development, a move that would help address losses in local public-health workforce capacity over the past decade. McKinsey research shows that globally, more people with a disease report low support from public-healthcare systems than those without a disease.
A QUOTE
That statement from the World Health Organization’s 1948 Constitution still applies today. “This definition encompasses the interconnectedness of health—a concept that goes back to ancient cultures,” says Harvard University psychiatrist Shekhar Saxena in a conversation with Kana Enomoto, director of brain health at the McKinsey Health Institute. When considering approaches to healthcare, “It’s important that we go back to this holistic and integrated concept of health rather than take each component separately,” Saxena says. For example, one way to improve mental-health outcomes may be to train all healthcare professionals in the basics of brain health. Training managers and supervisors to support mental health and positive relationships may have a significant impact on employee job satisfaction.
A SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW
Universal and affordable healthcare may seem out of reach for many parts of the world. But collaboration across organizations can help address disparities, according to Dr. Akram Bouchenaki, CEO of Saudi Arabia–based Abdul Latif Jameel Health (ALJ). “The name of the game is partnerships,” he says in this discussion with McKinsey’s David Schwartz and Ahmed Youssef. Bouchenaki advocates “establishing as many partnerships as possible at different levels for training purposes, for funding, for screening campaigns, for awareness campaigns, for media support, and more.” For example, ALJ has partnered with a producer of low-cost handheld ultrasound devices that can be used to train medical students. “We absolutely love this opportunity that will democratize access to ultrasound imaging,” Bouchenaki says.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU’LL BE READING THIS SUMMER
“Reading maketh a full man,” said the philosopher Francis Bacon, alluding to the broad knowledge that it brings. Reading also boosts physical and mental health—it can, for example, reduce stress, alleviate depression, increase longevity, and help prevent cognitive decline. If you haven’t been reading much lately, it may be time to hit the books. Check out McKinsey’s 2022 summer reading guide, in which leaders around the world share what they’re reading. Whether your tastes run toward biography, history, politics, or fiction, there’s something here for you.
Leading Off will take an end-of-summer break, but we’ll be back on September 12. Stay healthy, and thanks for reading.
Lead in good health.
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