There are a lot of different characteristics that can help a business qualify as a family-friendly workplace – or not. One of the most important benefits that a family-friendly workplace offers is health benefits for the whole family. But in today’s economy, with many unemployed workers, and many more non-traditional workers with part-time employment, self-employment, and the like, such benefits are more important than ever.

Help your employees find work-life balance by creating a more family-friendly workplace. Allow your employees to focus on their work each day rather than worrying about such issues as insurance coverage, and your business will benefit from the increased productivity and security.

Ways that Health Insurance Affects Work-Life Balance

1. Cost

Individual health insurance plans are often much more expensive than group health insurance plans – almost twice as much, according to a recent Money Magazine article. This leaves much less money in your employees’ pockets for everything from gas to groceries to daycare to entertainment. This additional expense can cause a problem in their work-life balance if they can’t afford to have any fun or if they must work extra hours just to make ends meet. Employees with better balance are more productive at work.

2. Preexisting Conditions

Some of your employees may have health conditions or past surgeries that might affect their ability to obtain affordable individual health coverage – or any coverage at all. Your employees will be more productive if they are healthy, if they are able to quickly obtain high-quality treatment for any health conditions, and if they are not spending their days worrying about their health at the back of their minds. Help your employees focus by providing family-friendly workplace benefits.

How You Can Help Promote a Family-Friendly Workplace

1. Offer high-quality health insurance plans for your employees to choose from, and include options for all employees, not just the standard full-time hires.

2. If your business cannot afford to provide health insurance coverage, be certain that human resources is prepared to offer all employees information about industry-specific group health plans, state-specific health plans, or other benefits available in your area.

3. Encourage your employees to take advantage of yearly checkups and other preventative care which will keep your employees healthy and decrease the number of sick days taken.

4. Offer nutrition or exercise classes to inspire your employees to take the best possible care of themselves.