Controlling and elimination corporate costs are an absolute in business. We must carefully evaluate and consider the best ways to cut expenses and remain competitive and profitable. To accomplish this, however, we may sometimes need to investigate and look "behind the numbers alone" to see what, if anything, we may be failing to consider. Cutting all items deemed unnecessary may sometimes lead to increasing, not decreasing expenses.
My office has determined that employees who use the Fitness Center have saved the company money through lower health costs and lower rates of absenteeism. Our calculations show that employees who use the Center compared to those who do not saved our company approximately $60,000, in health care costs. Moreover, these employees were absent from work due to illness half as often as employees who do not use the Center.
For these reasons alone, the Center appears to be self-supporting given that it appears to save the company through lower health care and absentee rates as much money as it costs the company to operate it. In effect, even if not currently a money producer for the company, it is certainly not losing money and may, if we allow it to continue to operate increase profitability as well as the amount of cost savings it provides. In the next few years this may very weill become a profit center for the Company.
The Fitness Center has been open for three years and is currently used by 35% of our employees. At this time these employees are able to regularly use the Fitness Center and, because the Center is located in our building, do not arrive late or take time away form the office to visit an exercise club away from the office.
Though it is certain an employee responsibility to arrive on time, it is also true that employees who need to travel far from the office to obtain services they want are not always able to control the times or speed with which they can return to the office. Eliminating the Fitness Center can lead to...