Watching Your Figure? Your Boss May be.

If you think that your weight is nobody’s business, try telling that to your employer. I have had several clients openly share their criteria on employee selection and performance with an eye on body size. “He is too heavy and I wonder about his energy to meet our work demands,” and “People who are too heavy, this reflects a lack of discipline,” are just a couple of statements I’ve heard reflecting a bias against size in the work place.

In addition to bias, ever soaring health insurance costs are driving more companies to focus on wellness and making employee health a part of their culture. General Mills has made “healthy weight” a cornerstone of a wellness mission statement, launching dozens of fitness programs for its workers. An Atlanta marketing firm launched a “Biggest Loser” style weight-loss contest that has morphed into workouts of up to five hours a day for the most zealous participants. In Indianapolis, one employer proposed $30 fines for overweight workers.

Perhaps the most dramatic move is where several companies have implemented a policy requiring that all employees, and their spouses, must submit to a physical exam at work to qualify for employer-sponsored insurance. Potential employees whose body mass index is too high are not offered positions and current employees are encouraged to hit the exercise mat.

Health care costs are a volatile subject for companies, individuals and political platforms. Double-digit percentage increases from a few years ago are being moderated as employers have passed along more of the bill to workers. But, costs are expected to spike 9 percent in 2008, which is up 5.3 percent from 2007, according to Hewitt Associations Consulting.

Consequently, employers are focusing on reducing the demand for health care by addressing their employee’s health. For a growing number of companies, this means using the workplace as a forum to preach the benefits of eating better, eating less and exercising more.

In my next blog, I will address how employees are responding to these changes.