Can boss insist on healthy habits?

[Woodmonkey]

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[BrianK]

Not to sure about asking employees to improve their health is wrong. Trying to weigh why an employer wants healthy employees Who benefits most? I think privacy is not so much the issue as those that oppse employers expecting employees to care about thier health look more at the employer benefitting by having the employee at work and able to perform the job they were hired to do. The employer because if he pays for health insurance the premiums will be lower. For the employer it's about cost & productivity. A selfish motive?

But what about the person? Is living fit and med free of more value to the employer or the person ? The person is not going to be an employee until death. There will be a time when they are free to enjoy whatever time they have left. Will their health permit them to enjoy that time or will it be spent reflecting on the years they spent generating a body that depends on routine visits to the doctors office?

To answer the question. IMO the boss shouldn't have to insist on healthy habits. If they do then they are acting more responsibly than an employee that can but won't promote their own good health.

[holtonfb]

OK .. how would you rather have it.. the company demands a worker stop smoking ... or reduce weight .. or what ever health problem ... or have their share of health insurance payments go up >>> as opposed to cutting off health insurance for all employees because the company can't afford it ????

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by holtonfb

OK .. how would you rather have it.. the company demands a worker stop smoking ... or reduce weight .. or what ever health problem ... or have their share of health insurance payments go up >>> as opposed to cutting off health insurance for all employees because the company can't afford it ????

It would be worth looking into making people who smoke, who are obese as defined by doctors (think that is 50 overweight), etc, pay a higher premium towards their medical care. As it is now, that cost is spread across all the employees.

[BrianK]

Originally Posted by Woodmonkey

It would be worth looking into making people who smoke, who are obese as defined by doctors (think that is 50 overweight), etc, pay a higher premium towards their medical care. As it is now, that cost is spread across all the employees.

Actually the cost of self inflicted illness is costing everyone. Self inflicted being those things that people know can negatively affect their health but choose to do it anyway.

Along with people choosing illness over health came the lawsuits by those people. Now in order to help reduce insurance costs doctors have to order every diagnostic procedure known to modern medicine.

For people that have health problems because of their lifestyle and choices I see no reason for companies to bear any additional cost of the premiums. Your choice you pay the additional cost.

This is one area where compassion or government subsidized health care doesn't help. Any grand plan to help or pay enables people to burden an already over burdened system.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by BrianK

This is one area where compassion or government subsidized health care doesn't help. Any grand plan to help or pay enables people to burden an already over burdened system.

You are right there. People who are obese stuffing their mouths, people who are warned they are in grave risk of developing diabetes not changing the way they eat etc. It seems to me that they are literally begging to be sick.

It always bollocks everything up when the government comes in (or mandates) that someone else will pay for the consequences of personal choices.