Are health benefits directed effectively at work?
Many health benefits tend to serve those who are already healthy.
Many employers offer great benefits supporting a healthy lifestyle: sponsoring sports and exercise, organizing lectures and raising awareness on healthy nutrition.
These are all important items to improve productivity and health, however more seldomly, employers stop and analyze whether intended efforts reach the employees who are at highest risk.
Many times, the 5K runners, yogis and people already attending fitness classes are most engaged with wellness benefits.
To reach high risk employees, employers should analyze what types of activities interest them, and what kind of care delivery would get them engaged.
According to Mercer (1), in 2023, the majority of employers in the US will offer virtual care solutions beyond telemedicine to promote better outcomes with digital monitoring. In any strategy that seeks to steer employees to higher-value care, convenience must be part of the equation, along with a natural liking for the activity.
In countries where the retirement age is rising, the need for health and prevention is increasing as well. In cardiovascular conditions, a heart healthy lifestyle and stroke prevention are important issues for both corporate risk management as well as improving the health of employees. After all, the majority of cardiovascular conditions and ischemic strokes would be preventable if risk factors were properly addressed.
Atrial fibrillation is typically easier to treat when detected early, lowering risks of complications
Atrial fibrillation is not a cause for work disability by default in many countries
Monitoring after diagnosis improves living with atrial fibrillation
Suspicion of any heart rhythm irregularity can cause concern which self-monitoring can alleviate
There are many risk factors for atrial fibrillation. According to research, also stress and long working hours are a risk factor for heart rhythm disorders (2).
References:
1. Mercer, Report on health & benefit strategies in 2023
2. Kivimäki M, et al. Long working hours as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation: a multi-cohort study. Eur Heart J. 2017
