Health and the Small Business

Newswise — Employee absenteeism due to illness can have a negative impact on a small business's productivity. While large corporations can pay for expensive wellness programs to keep workers healthy, what can small business owners do? "Small business owners can create a culture of wellness, and reap benefits similar to that of large corporations," said UAB clinical psychologist Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., who studies the role of psychosocial and behavioral factors in health outcomes. "Set an environment where health is emphasized and reinforced. If the business owner leads a healthy lifestyle, that message gets sent down to the employees." Bring healthy snacks to the office. Encourage exercise breaks or group walks, and recognize employee efforts to get healthy or lose weight with small rewards or moral support.