KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Employers should prioritise weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose management in workplace health programmes, rather than spend money on screenings without ensuring employees receive follow-up care, doctors said.
Senior consultant gastroenterologist at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur Dr Mahendra Raj said these three measures were relatively easy and inexpensive to monitor, and could indicate whether workplace health programmes were improving employees’ health.
“The proportion of overweight staff and the percentage who achieve weight loss over an intervention period are easily measurable. If you reduce excess weight, chances are you’re also bringing down the prevalence of diabetes and probably high blood pressure,” Dr Mahendra said at the Industry Leadership Summit 2026 on October 28, 2026.
Basic measurements, including weight, height, waist circumference, and blood pressure, require little investment, he said.
“Doing things like measuring the blood pressure, putting someone on a weighing scale and measuring the weight and height, calculating BMI, knowing whether or not they smoke, measuring waist circumference requires almost no investment. It costs next to nothing.
“But collecting the data alone is not enough. The intervention is what counts,” Dr Mahendra said.
National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) managing director Assoc Prof Dr Murallitharan Munisamy similarly identified body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and mental health as workplace health priorities.
“The lowest hanging fruit is BMI, blood pressure, and maybe mental health – these three things. Figure out something that you can measure and then make sure that you have a plan to intervene as well, because we’re really good at measuring and doing nothing about it,” Dr Murallitharan said.
He said employers should prioritise evidence-based interventions, including diabetes and hypertension management, weight reduction, and smoking cessation, rather than indiscriminately screening workers for multiple conditions.
Sick Workers Cost Companies More Than Medical Claims, Employers Told
Dr Murallitharan said companies were generally more willing to pay for hospitalisation and surgical coverage through employee medical benefits than invest in primary prevention.
But the cost of an unhealthy workforce extends beyond medical claims to absenteeism and presenteeism, when employees turn up for work but are too unwell to perform effectively.
He cited the example of a senior sales employee whose poor health could result in missed client meetings and lost business opportunities.
“In a competitive sales environment, missing even a few client calls could mean losing a deal to a competitor,” Dr Murallitharan said.
Employers should therefore consider the productivity losses when employees are absent for five to seven days or continue working while unwell, he said. Preventive measures such as annual influenza vaccination could help reduce workplace disruptions and the costs associated with staff falling ill.
For hospitals, workforce health is also a business continuity issue, said Saravanan Desigamanie, chief risk and sustainability officer at KPJ Healthcare Bhd.
“Hospitals operate around the clock and cannot easily replace staff with the necessary clinical skills when employees fall ill,” Saravanan said.
He said employers should assess whether workers receive appropriate follow-up care, rather than simply count participation in wellness activities. Workforce health could also be incorporated into corporate performance indicators, Saravanan said, with sustainability reporting providing a means for companies to demonstrate accountability.
How Far Should Employers Go In Managing Workers’ Health?
Dr Murallitharan cautioned against workplace health programmes becoming a form of employee surveillance or coercion, saying employers should respect workers’ privacy and autonomy.
He advocated partnerships, incentives, and behavioural approaches rather than imposing health requirements, particularly for employees with chronic illnesses who may fear discrimination or losing their jobs if they disclose their diagnoses.
Employers should create an environment where workers can discuss their health needs and seek workplace support without being compelled to disclose more personal medical information than necessary, Dr Murallitharan said.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of workplace health programmes depends not on the number of screenings conducted or wellness activities organised, but on whether employers address identified health risks, facilitate access to appropriate care, and support employees over time.
