July 7, 2008

Business Insurance

Productivity Research Is Food for Thought

If it’s true that we are what we eat, then it would seem logical that employees who eat healthy diets have more energy and are more productive than their junk food-binging counterparts.

The findings of the 2008 Health & Productivity Index, a workplace wellness study conducted by ComPsych Corp., support this premise. It found that only 5 percent of workers with unbalanced diets feel energetic, compared with 50 percent of workers with balanced diets.

“Lack of energy is also one of the most common health-related complaints we hear from employees,” Richard Chaifetz, chairman and chief executive officer of ComPsych, said. “Given the connection between balanced diets and energy, organizations that promote healthy food—as part of a comprehensive wellness program—can expect to see a payoff in terms of productivity and performance.”

The study also found that 73 percent of those with healthy diets reported having high workplace productivity vs. just 24 percent of workers with poor eating habits.