Adam Lowe, Actuary at NMG Benefits
Employee health is often discussed in terms of what happens when someone becomes ill: the medical claim, the sick leave, the need to cover for an absent employee. Yet by the time a health problem reaches this point, there may have been earlier opportunities to identify and manage it.
South Africa’s burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) makes these opportunities increasingly important. The World Health Organization estimates that NCDs accounted for 37% of deaths in South Africa in 2021. In 2024, more than 5 million South Africans were living with hypertension, while 1.7 million had diabetes, according to Statistics South Africa. These figures only capture people whose conditions had already been diagnosed by a medical practitioner, highlighting the scale of chronic disease that is already known within the population.
For employers, these are not simply public health statistics. When NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer affect people during their working years, the consequences extend far beyond healthcare expenditure, and one of the most direct responses to this burden is facilitating access to early screening and preventative care through workplace health benefits.
When health problems affect work
A South African study of employees undergoing health risk screening found that health risk was associated with days affected by physical and mental health, as well as days away from work.
But, the workplace impact is not limited to absence. An employee can be physically present while struggling with fatigue, pain, anxiety or an unmanaged chronic condition, affecting concentration and productivity.
The wider economic consequences can be substantial. South African research estimates that diabetes, stroke, and coronary heart disease resulted in an estimated US$1.88 billion loss to GDP between 2006 and 2015, while NCDs impose costs on organisations through sick leave, reduced productivity, and personnel replacement costs.
Early detection cannot completely eliminate these costs, but it can create an opportunity to intervene before a condition becomes more difficult to manage, which should assist in lowering these costs through access to appropriate treatment and management.
Finding problems earlier
The value of early detection is particularly clear where a condition can progress without obvious symptoms. Identifying high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose, or certain cancers earlier can give an individual more time to seek treatment and manage their health.
For employers, facilitating access to appropriate screening and preventative care is therefore less about the possibility of a reduction in medical scheme claims and more about supporting a healthier, more productive workforce.
This support is easier to offer when an employee assistance programme (EAP) is in place. Bringing screening services into the workplace, facilitating vaccinations, communicating available benefits clearly, and using reminders can remove some of the practical barriers that prevent people from seeking care.
Convenience matters, too. Employees are more likely to act when accessing care does not require navigating unnecessary complexity, losing significant working time, or incurring personal cost.
Detection needs a pathway
Screening, however, is only the beginning. Finding a potential health problem has limited value if an employee does not know what to do next.
Effective health management connects detection with clinical assessment, treatment, and ongoing support. This is particularly important for chronic conditions, where diagnosis should ideally happen at the earliest possible point where long-term management can begin and the risk of deterioration can be addressed.
Privacy must remain fundamental. Employers do not need access to individual medical information to support better health. Their role is to create an environment in which appropriate care is accessible, and where employees understand how to use the benefits available to them.
For employers, the case for early detection is ultimately about protecting people’s ability to participate fully in work and in their lives. In a country carrying a substantial burden of NCDs, helping employees identify and manage health problems earlier is not simply a healthcare initiative. It is an investment in workforce health, productivity and, collectively, the economy.
ENDS
