Gone are the days when businesses could turn a blind eye to executive wellbeing. The financial consequences of businesses ignoring the health and wellbeing of their executives are becoming more apparent each year.
Just taking a closer look at reports shared by some of the country's top insurers provides a sobering glimpse into the cost of ignoring executive wellbeing:
But what is the cause of this massive spike in claims, and why should these statistics worry business owners?
All of South Africa's top insurers noted an upward trajectory of suicide claims since 2015, with a sudden spike in 2020. Mental health issues have skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic as executives struggle to deal with the loss of loved ones, long working hours, financial worries due to pay cuts and economic downturn.
The drastic increase in suicide and unnatural death should be a massive cause for concern for businesses. The loss of even one executive will have a ripple effect that impacts the whole company.
Research shows that CEOs who are grieving the loss of a close work colleague can make poor management choices for up to a year following the incident. The study also noted that the closer the CEO was to the deceased colleague, the more pessimistic their decision-making.
Furthermore, the death of a key executive could have the following negative implications for your business:
Disability
Insurers also noted an increase in disability claims due to late diagnosis of chronic illnesses such as cancer. During the hard lockdown, many people missed medical check-ups where doctors usually detect and diagnose chronic diseases. A late cancer diagnosis is a massive cause for concern as cancer needs to be detected early and treated adequately to improve the chances of survival.
Cancer is not only expensive to treat, but it also takes a toll on organisational productivity. According to the Independent Clinical Oncology Network, cancer treatment costs anywhere up to and exceeding R1 million per patient annually. In terms of productivity, one study found women undergoing treatment for breast cancer missed an average of 44.5 days of work and men treated for prostrate cancer missed an average of 27 days. This absence is independent of the indirect costs in terms of productivity and outcomes to the business.
Insurers are concerned that with the increase in late diagnosis of chronic illness, mental health concerns and the current economic crisis, there will be a significant increase in disability claims. They may have no choice but to raise disability income claims rates.
South African insurers are urging business owners to take executive wellbeing seriously and help keep premiums low by implementing employee wellness programs within their organisations.
How these factors will negatively affect your business:
Prioritising executive wellbeing and implementing health and wellness policies is the key to mitigating the risk that death and disability pose to your organisation. That's where ExecCare comes in.
Now that you are aware of the consequences of ignoring chronic diseases and mental health concerns amongst your executive team, you need to take action today to protect your bottom line. ExecCare is an executive health and wellbeing company dedicated to providing effective and comprehensive executive wellbeing programs designed to promote corporate wellness and its proven outcomes.
Bring your executive team to one of our three modern health and wellness facilities for a comprehensive health assessment. Our facilities are conveniently located in South Africa's biggest cities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
Our health and wellness services give your executives access to a wide variety of healthcare professionals to help them diagnose, treat and manage their health concerns.
Every executive will be examined by our team of medical professionals. Investigations and assessments, which include blood tests, are conducted by our medical experts to ensure that we have a thorough knowledge of each member of your executive team's health and well-being. These tests are essential for detecting and treating underlying chronic diseases in your top executives.
Our executive wellness program at ExecCare includes mental health support, personal mastery and stress management techniques. Your executives will have access to our state-of-the-art health and wellness facilities, where they can relax, recharge, and get back to work refreshed and rejuvenated.
ExecCare provides a broad range of health and wellness services. Our team of dieticians can help your executives make better choices about their eating habits, while our exercise specialists will work with them to create a tailored exercise programme. Taking these steps to develop health-savvy executives will significantly improve your executive team's overall health and help prevent serious illnesses and premature death.
Our team will give you valuable yet confidential data analytics on your executive staff in order to help you manage the financial risk of chronic illnesses within your company. With this information, you'll also be able to evaluate the success of your current corporate wellness program.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business overcome the challenges posed by poor executive well-being.
