In this series, professionals predict the ideas and trends that will shape 2016. Read the posts here, then write your own (use #BigIdeas2016 in your piece).
Every year, U.S. businesses lose more than $225 billion because of sick and absent workers. In an effort to figure out why, the Vitality Institute published a study a few months ago aggregating health data such as obesity, smoking rates and heart disease from more than 3,100 counties, cross-referenced with workforce data from 21 major industries. The analysis, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), revealed that industries with unhealthy workers are likely to be located in counties with unhealthy populations.
The Vitality report is yet another proof point that community health is critical to the health of the workforce — and the health of the economy. Which leads to my Big Idea for 2016: The business case for investing in community health will be embraced by companies and financial institutions.
[For more of this story, written by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, go to https://www.linkedin.com/pulse...heres-lavizzo-mourey]
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