The work below has been written by another student. Please point out either 2 weaknesses with their post or add 2 additional supporting points. I will need a total of at least 300-350 original words, apa and at least 2 sources. Thanks

Robert Holmes chronic illness chronic illness

Unlike illnesses that can be overcome in a matter of days or weeks, chronic health issues present a continuing cost to criminal justice organizations. These conditions do no-t just present themselves in actual lost days of work and productivity and tangible dollar costs to the employee or employer,

they are also expensive in terms of placing burdens on health insurance coverage plans and increased investment in time and resources to finding reasonable responses to the disruption they cause (Riccucci, 2012). In addition, some chronic health issues can be viewed, or are viewed, as disabilities according to law (Riccucci, 2012). These disabilities, then, must be accommodated for by the organization within reason (Riccucci, 2012). It is estimated that chronic health issues cost nearly $800 billion annually in actual cost and loss of productivity (Riccucci, 2012).

Among the highest costs are those associated with Cardio-vascular disease and stroke, diabetes, and smoking (Riccucci, 2012). Though we think of chronic illness in the form of physical attributes, mental health also plays and important role as a reoccurring issue. It is estimated that 26% of Americans in the workforce suffer from at least one form of mental impairment or another (Riccucci, 2012). Like other chronic conditions, mental health issues eat into the productivity of an organization and end up costing the organization in the form of loss of work hours, loss of man hours, and an overall monetary loss.

It is, therefore, important to not overlook these conditions when looking at a means of controlling productivity and actual loss in an organization. If asked to design a package to help manage the costs of chronic illness, I would have to start with minimizing the risk of current employees from developing those illnesses in the first place. A good number of chronic conditions can be attributed to obesity and overweight employees or simply employees who are not adequately active during the day (Riccucci, 2012). In addition, workplace stress can greatly increase some conditions; especially mental health issues (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2012).

So the first step would be to initiate some form of physical activity time, a time that could be set aside so employees could get out of cubicles and offices and actually do some physical activity. This does not need to be extensive, increasing a lunch hour by 15 minutes a day could make a world of difference. If not possible to do that during a work day, then offer a reduced cost membership to a gym. Second, initiate a smoking cessation workshop or support group. Again, this small step costs very little as employees could volunteer to simply be a support person for a person looking to quit. As for dealing with mental health issues,

providing training in stress management and relaxation techniques can help some of the issues from forming or getting worse (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2012). For those who already suffer, make sure there is a portion of the health coverage that covers counseling or therapy. Small steps is really all it would take to help control the loss of productivity in an organization and those steps would be of minimal cost to the employer, certainly they would be less than the $800 billion currently loss annually.

References More, H., Vito, G., & Walsh, W. (2012). Organizational behavior and management in law enforcement. Upper Saddle: Pearson. Riccucci, N. (2012). Public personnel management. Glenview: Pearson.