Submission Date

7-23-2020

Document Type

Paper

Department

Business & Economics

Faculty Mentor

Andrew Economopoulos

Comments

Presented during the 22nd Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2020 at Ursinus College.

A related presentation is available here.

Project Description

Does health impact the productivity of workers? Are there differences between the U.S. and Canada? Firms both in Canada and the U.S. deal with issues of presenteeism and absenteeism. Presenteeism is when an employee shows up to work but they are distracted by their own or a family member’s health issue. One response to reduce presenteeism and absenteeism are workplace wellness programs. Workplace wellness programs are facilitated programs by a firm to promote the health and wellbeing of their employees, which benefits the employer and the employees. There are additional incentives for U.S. employers to implement workplace wellness programs as employers are the foundation of private insurance in the U.S. while Canada operates on a one payer healthcare system. However, Canadian employers are responsible for pharmaceutical, physical therapy, and mental health insurance costs (Jacobs, 2017). Most studies examine their country and found that workplace wellness programs provide 300-400% return on investment in Canada and the U.S., making wellness programs effective and smart investments for firms to make. This study will do data analysis that will compare the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs on productivity in Canada and the U.S.

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