Study links worker safety and health to stock market success

Washington – Three recent studies suggest companies that excel at worker health and safety also thrive in stock market value.

In each study, researchers analyzed long-term stock market performances among organizations recognized for safety excellence. The findings included:

• Companies that won the C. Everett Koop National Health Award from the Health Project produced stock market returns about 235 percent greater than the overall gains within the Standard & Poor’s 500 index during the past 14 years, according to researchers.
• Companies that applied for or won the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Corporate Health Achievement Award produced investment returns from 204 percent to 333 percent during a 13-year period, compared with a return of 105 percent in the S&P 500, researchers said.
• From 2009 to 2014, companies that earned top scores on the Health Enhancement Research Organization scorecard increased 235 percent in value, compared with a 159 percent increase for the S&P 500.

Although the findings did not prove causation, a clear correlation existed between achieving safety and health excellence and increasing stock market value, researchers said.

“There is much to be learned about the connection between workplace health and corporate performance, but the pieces of the puzzle are coming together and we’re seeing that investing in employee health and wellness is a common thread between well-respected, high-performing organizations,” HERO Vice President of Research Jessica Grossmeier said in a press release.

All three studies were published in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.