According to the report Aging Workforce: Cost and Productivity Challenges of Ill Health In Singapore, by Mercer and Marsh & McLennan Companies’ Asia Pacific Risk Centre (ARPC), societal ageing is estimated to drive the prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes by up to 200% by 2030, which means Singapore will face the challenges of stagnating productivity growth through increasing rates of absenteeism and presenteeism, said the report.

Based on current trends, productivity loss due to sickness absenteeism per employee is projected to increase by 25% based on Gross National Income (GNI). With an ageing workforce at the national level, this represents a cost of S$3.3 billion by 2030, a 43% increase from 2016.

This highlights the value of interventions for high-risk groups, such as health and wellness programmes to reduce the incidence of disease, and screening for earlier detection of disease, it added.

Employees are the most important assets to any organisation. Thus, employers should do what can be done to promote the health and wellbeing of their employees. According to multiple studies and findings, keeping employees healthy and productive makes sound financial sense, thus it is only beneficial for companies to implement quality employee medical checks and screening.

Regular employee health screening offers a variety of benefits to both employers and the individuals (employees) who work for them.

Benefits for Employees

• Ready access to personal health information.
• Reduced health risks through early detection.
• Improved personal performance due to improved morale.
• Better mental health and wellbeing.

Benefits for Employer

• Reduced sickness absence levels.
• Greater staff satisfaction.
• Reduced turnover of staff.
• Improved productivity.
• Improved morale and loyalty amongst employees – health screening demonstrates that employers care about their staff and are dedicated to helping them stay healthy.
• Improved teamwork.
• Health screenings offer lasting benefits to employees as a worker may be helped to overcome a niggling health problem or the tests may capture potentially more serious health issues early when they are easier to treat.
• Lifestyle advice and support (for example, advice about mental wellbeing, smoking cessation, etc) can reap long-term life-enhancing benefits.

All organisations will benefit greatly by supporting the health and wellbeing of its workforce, with the potential for lower levels of sickness and absenteeism. Fitter and healthier employees may also concentrate better and have higher levels of productivity.