By: Tia Walton

Taking note of how your employees feel can play a significant role in keeping your organization healthy. Prioritizing employee wellbeing by providing healthy eating options, gym memberships, mental health resources, yoga classes, and more can boost job satisfaction, reducing absenteeism while helping productivity skyrocket. 

The same goes for making your employees’ physical health a great concern—but, as with wellbeing, they’ll appreciate it even more if you go beyond what’s usually covered by company healthcare plans.

That’s why you’ll want to consider looking after employee eye health. When left undiagnosed and unmanaged, vision issues cost the global economy over $411 billion in productivity losses while taking away from a sense that many people cherish in and out of the office. By simply promoting better eye care in the workplace, you can help employees preserve a key aspect of their physical health so they can work better—and your business can achieve better outcomes. 

Here’s what prioritizing eye health can look like for your company:

Affordable eye health resources

Potential vision impairments aren’t limited to industries that work with dangerous materials, like construction. The average American now clocks in four full days of screen time a week just at work. As a result, 43% believe their eyesight has worsened due to issues like strain. Despite that, many avoid availing of eye care due to perceived costs. However, the truth is that there are plenty of affordable means of looking after one’s eye health. Just like how you can connect your employees to more accessible mental health resources, then, it can help to show them how they can care for their eyes for cheaper.

For example, you can direct them to get eye exams—a crucial preventative eye care measure that can also detect other chronic conditions—from Walmart. Here, they can cost as little as $50, a far cry from national averages of up to $200 without insurance. If your employees get a prescription through these exams, you can similarly tell them where to get cheap glasses online. As seen on the Glasses website, clearance sales are an easy way to get corrective lenses on designer frames at more affordable prices, like the Arnette Flamengo for $53.50 instead of its original price of $107. That way, they can easily invest in eyewear that lasts longer without breaking the bank. By debunking the myth that eye care has to be expensive, you can help your employees better protect their vision for improved work outcomes. 

Comprehensive vision insurance coverage

If you wish to play a more direct role in prioritizing employee eye health, consider adding vision insurance to your benefits package. By covering the costs of eye care where typical health insurance plans don’t, you can help give your employees more confidence to avail of the products and services they need to maintain healthy vision both at home and in the office.

When shopping for a provider, it’s ideal to get one that covers all the basics: annual comprehensive eye exams, eyeglasses lens and frame purchases, contact lens purchases, and contact lens fittings. You can also consider working with providers widely accepted by mass merchants that also sell glasses and contact lenses. This move may be especially popular now that more Americans prefer getting affordable eyewear from retailers like Costco. The chain also accepts vision insurance from providers like Avesis and Davis Vision, which can serve to cut costs for your employees even further.  

Education on ideal eye care practices

However, simply giving your employees the eye care resources and benefits they need may not be enough. A 2023 poll finds that though they want vision benefits just as much as dental insurance, many employees leave them on the table because they don’t know how to take advantage of them. That’s why educating them on the ideal eye care practices can help them better leverage what you’re offering while allowing them to more effectively preserve their eyesight in the workplace.

Starting can be as simple as promoting more screen breaks during the day, such as by asking employees to observe the 20-20-20 rule. This practice will see them looking away from their screens every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, and it’s designed to prevent eye strain. If your business operates in more hazardous work environments, provide the necessary protective eyewear—like safety goggles—and hold regular eye safety seminars. More importantly, walk your employees through the vision benefits you’re providing and their importance for establishing healthy habits, like getting regular eye exams and updating prescription eyewear when needed. 

Be sure to clearly explain the processes that go into availing of those benefits, so they fully understand how to use them to cover all the necessary eye care expenses. 

Published by: Khy Talara