You see them: techs, nurses, custodial staff, a doctor or two, all standing outside a hospital. Its cold and they are huddled together, away from the entrance, usually on the sidewalk. They are there because that is the closest they can be to the inside while they are smoking. Underneath the layers of coats and scarves you can probably make out that the majority of them are heavier than they should be. It’s not a leap of faith to determine that the amount of healthcare dollars that hospital spends caring for its employees is skewed to the workers that are outside versus the employees inside the building.
Recently, Ezra Klein from Bloomberg News had a very interesting article detailing the steps that one of the leading hospitals in the world was taking to improve the health of its employees. The impetus for the hospital was economic — nationally health care cost have been rising 6% annually. At Cleveland Clinic their health care costs decreased this past year by improving the health of its employees. Sounds wonderful, right? People get healthy, and it costs less money. But, to achieve that the hospital implemented some of the strictest rules any employer has in America. You can’t smoke on the hospital grounds. Which means you can’t smoke in your car in the parking lot. If you are caught once you are warned. If you are caught twice you are fired. The hospital also now does not hire smokers. Your insurance premiums are reduced if you are part of weight watchers or the free fitness classes offered at the hospital.
As we approach the new year the majority of Americans are going to make resolutions to improve their health, whether that means losing weight, decreasing blood pressure, or quitting smoking. If you are a regular gym person, you know January to mid February is always the busiest time of the year, but the new faces soon fade and by the spring you are left with the regulars. However, what if your job depended on you becoming a regular at the gym? What if your take home pay increased by not having dinner at McDonalds? My guess is you keep those resolutions. But do the means justify the ends? Is it too much to have your work make you do what you should? Or is money and keeping your job exactly what is required for you to keep this year’s resolution?
