A shedload of personal and professional commitments and hectic daily schedules do affect our mental as well as physical health which leads to a myriad of health issues.
On 11th September, during an event in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin suggested that employers give employees an additional one-day leave to go for their annual health screening appointments.
Khairy Jamaluddin said the cooperation of employers in both the public and private sectors is necessary to ensure workers undergo regular health screening.
“I’ve requested for this under the 2023 Budget as it will have an impact on the employers,” he revealed.
He has also urged the Ministry of Finance to draw up a regulation for employers to provide a day’s leave to their workers, noting that employers need to take into consideration that employees may not have time to go for medical check-ups on weekends.
He further explained “When a worker wants to do a medical check-up, usually once a year, hopefully, the employers will give it. Otherwise, they will have to take it from their annual leave,”
“They are not able to do it during their working hours and they’ll be busy with their own family on weekends. In the end, they are unable to undergo health screening,” he said.
According to reports, the level of health awareness in the country is still low, with only about 53% of Malaysian adults having undergone medical check-ups in the past one year.
Importance of having an annual health screening
The majority of people underestimate the need for self-care and turn a blind eye to medical checkups. However, employee health screening benefits both companies and people in a variety of ways.
Benefits of employee regular check-ups include:
- Early diagnosis of potentially life-threatening disease
- Reduces the risk of complications
- Improved chances for treatment and cure
- Reduces medical costs
- Avoid costly medical services
- Increases lifespan and improves health
Health check-up benefits to organisations:
- Access to health information and improves wellbeing
- A healthy employee means increased productivity
- Drop in absenteeism as employees don’t fall sick
- Greater employee satisfaction as the company gives them access to healthy living
- Positive and improved employee morale in the workplace
Do you know about the Free National Health Screening programme?
It is certain that not many of us are aware of this initiative.
In July, the Health Ministry launched a National Health Screening initiative to detect non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the country. Khairy Jamaluddin noted that this initiative aims to provide 1.5 million people above the age of 40 who never had health screenings with free health screenings, including faecal occult blood stool testing (FOCB) for colorectal cancer and breast cancer screening. You may do this at all public and private clinics.
Giving employees the incentives, they deserve will definitely guarantee the continuity of high production in the workplace.
Let’s begin living a healthy lifestyle!
Source: [1]
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