Before March 2020, any discussion of “employee health care” was pretty much limited to Medicare benefits, with the exception of sick leave and how to minimize abuse. The pandemic changed all that almost overnight.
Even as they do their best to mitigate the health risks of workplace infections through physical distancing, mask and vaccine requirements, employers still have a huge impact. Only during the two-week period from late December to early January, 9 million people miss work As Omicron cases surge, the UN’s ILO expects total work hours lost to the pandemic in 2022 to be Equivalent to losing 52 million full-time jobs.
As a result of this painful experience, company leaders are now acutely aware of how the health and well-being of their employees directly affects their organization’s ability to be productive, competitive and even viable. Simply providing health insurance benefits is no longer enough. As the pandemic subsides, health is likely to be the top consideration for employees in the new normal.
This is why many companies are hiring a new type of CMO (Chief Medical Officer) to implement and oversee programs to optimize employee benefits. Once a title only reserved for healthcare organizations, companies across industries are now recognizing the importance of taking a more active role in supporting and managing employee health.In fact, the number of job postings CMO jobs jump nearly 20% In the first year of the pandemic, companies scrambled to implement Covid-related workplace plans.
But even as the Covid-19 obsession is largely over, the CMO’s role remains as important as ever. Here are five reasons why your organization needs to add a CMO to your leadership:
- Employees need care. Over the past two years, more than 40% of adults delay or avoid medical care There are millions more suffering from new or increased mental health problems. In short, employees need easily accessible healthcare now more than ever.By engaging a CMO to develop and implement programs that promote and protect health and prevent disease, companies can achieve There are more than 157 million full-time workers in the U.S. Get care right away.
- For “system” administration. Just as the CIO looks inward at managing and optimizing the data and information systems on which the company depends, the CMO looks inward at the health of the human systems on which the company depends. Your employees are your most important resource, your most valuable asset, and your most expensive item. Just like your IT systems, it makes sense to enhance and optimize their performance. Keeping them in good working order is critical to business continuity and success.
- Develop strategies. Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) programs are becoming a top priority for every organization, and ensuring the health and well-being of employees plays an important role in achieving ESG metrics. CMOs can be an important part of ESG strategies, helping to anticipate and plan for adverse events (such as a pandemic), proactively anticipate needs (such as mental health care), and provide appropriate services to protect employees on the jobsite and beyond.
- to meet privacy requirements. Protecting the privacy of personal health information (PHI) is essential in all circumstances. But it’s even more important if providing workplace healthcare becomes part of the CMO’s responsibilities. Meeting PHI privacy requirements, such as HIPAA compliance, requires good data practices and the employment of trained medical administrators and/or contractors. These steps are critical to ensuring that employees’ PHI is protected.
- This is a competitive advantage. The hiring market is tougher now than ever, employees find an employer who care about their overall well-being. In fact, 3 out of 5 employees Believe that their employers have a responsibility to ensure their mental health. Hiring a CMO and making health and prevention a top priority can be a key differentiator when it comes to meeting employee and prospect expectations, which can reduce turnover and help you attract the best talent.
In today’s global business environment, where employees are under more pressure than ever before, ensuring their overall health and well-being is an important business function. Healthy employees are known to be happier, more productive, motivated and engaged, knowing that their employers see them as people, not just cogs in a wheel.
Hiring a CMO whose primary goal is to look after the health of your employees is one of the best investments you can make in your most valuable business asset (employees).
Photo: Andrei Popov, Getty Images
