Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

Corporate Health Promotion Programs first became popular during the economic boom of the late 1980s and early 90s. Programs featured on-Site gyms and massages, and were used as recruitment tools for young workers searching for nontraditional work environments. However, when the tech bubble burst, so too did the willingness to spend money on perceived perks, and corporations returned to a more traditional benefit structure focused on managed medical care.

In recent years, as Medical Care costs have spiraled out of control, corporations have explored the potential of Corporate Health Promotion Programs as a cost-saving strategy. Organizations such as Johnson and Johnson, General Motors, Motorola and Union Pacifi c Railroad have all seen a signifi cant return on investments in employee health (See Case Studies, p.20). Corporate Health Promotion Programs can help reduce the costs associated with:

Health Care premiums – The cost a corporation pays for health care insurance: According to a 2005 study by Hewitt, the Health Care cost per employee in the United States in 2006 will average $8,046, with companies absorbing nearly two-thirds of that cost.

Prescription costs – The price of a prescription drug plan: According to a 2005 study by Mercer, the average annual prescription drug costs for sizable businesses grew 11.5%, making it nearly a decade straight of double-digit growths in cost.

Short-term disability (STD) – The price of offering STD insurance to employees: According to a 2004 study by insurance provider Cigna, the average STD claim results in $13,094 in direct disability payments and healthcare costs. The report also found that 26% of claims related to healthcare events were a result of chronic conditions that could likely be mediated through Workplace Health Promotion Programs, and that these cases amount for 56% of the STD-related healthcare costs.

Rates of Absenteeism – The cost of missed work: Rates of Absenteeism cost employers $660 per employee in 2004, with nearly one-third of employers characterizing the trend as a somber problem.

Presenteeism – The cost associated with workers who work at decreased productiveness levels: Sixty percent of the total cost of employee diseases come from presenteeism, according to a 2004 study by the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Cornell University.

The evidence is clear that strategically designed Workplace Wellness Programs can lower both direct and indirect Health Care costs. A 2004 review of Workplace Wellness Programs revealed that, in total, an investment of $1 by a business in Wellness Programming returned a median cost savings of $2.05 to $4.64.

Employee Engagement is the level at which workers are aligned with and working toward organization goals. Employee Engagement is effected by a wide range of factors that comprise of internal talks, organization structure, benefits and recognition.

Companies that have high levels of employee program engagement advance from greater productiveness, retention and execution than peers with disengaged employees.  Levels of engagement among employees in the U.S. have been declining over the past several years as individuals have become disillusioned with the treatment of employees by businesses. The inability to engage employees is one of the reasons why, despite steady increases in hours worked, America lags behind several other nations in terms of employee productivity per hours worked.

Company Health Promotion Programs may increase employee engagement in several ways. First, when communicated properly, they confirm to employees that the business cares about their well-being. This can improve retention and turnover as well as supply more of a discretionary effort from employees. During a period of significant downsizing, Motorola found more of an interest in its Company Health Promotion Programs as managers recognized the value of providing for the health and well-being of employees.

In addition, the health improvements will lower absenteeism and presenteeism (when employees continue to work despite decreased productiveness), allowing for more time spent at full productiveness. Lastly, healthier employees are more likely to have increased morale, which translates into a more enjoyable and more effective work environment.

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports interprets wellness as “a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of wellness.” Wellness looks beyond the current model of treating disease and focuses on preventive actions and healthier lifestyles. Workplace Health Promotion Programs, also generally referred to as Workplace Health Promotion Programs, serve as a complement to existing insurance-based health benefit programs and can take many forms and address a myriad different potential health conditions. They are a powerful strategy to promote positive lifestyle changes that can result in significant cost savings for companies.

Examples of potential elements of a Employee Wellness Program comprise of:

Health Risk Assessments / Employee Health Screenings – Health Risk Assessments (aka Health Risk Appraisals), evaluate the most prevalent lifestyle-related risks of an individual. HRAs frequently include screenings for Blood Pressure (BP), cholesterol, glucose levels and other health indicators. These analyses support significant benchmarking measures that ideally will allow workers to prevent or lower their risk of illnesses. Finding Wealth Through Wellness, As noted by Kathryn Krivy, director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago, “Medically based Health Risk Assessments are a necessity because in order to affect change in your employer, you need to know what the concerns are, and you just don’t know until you get the data.”

Physical Activity and Weight Management – One of the most popular Corporate Wellness Programs is for organizations to support access to a exercise facility, often onsite. Other potential measures include offering healthier snack machines and cafeteria options, weight management support groups and fitness challenge programs. Some organizations, like hospital group Baptist Health South Florida, will even pay for workers to go to weight-loss courses such as Weight Watchers.

Awareness and Education Programs – A lot  organizations have events discussing the benefits of nutrition, safety or physical fitness, among other topics. Other options are to host a health & wellness fair or conduct a disease-awareness campaign.

Behavior Modification – This covers issues like smoking, wearing seat belts, and alcohol use. While many employers will supply assistance for workers looking to change behavior, some employers, like medical benefits administrator Weyco, Inc., mandate changes, such as quitting smoking, as a condition of employment.

Alternative Treatments – Other Workplace Health Promotion Programs can cover absorbing some or all of the costs for massages, stress-reduction activities like yoga or even herbal medicines.

A more progressive and systemic solution may include employers starting Workplace Wellness Programs, which allow employers to be proactive in preventing illness and promoting healthier lifestyles for workers. When implemented effectively, this approach can guide to decreased direct costs from claims, a reduction in Healthcare premiums and increased employee productivity.

Yet while Employee Wellness Programs potentially offer companies tremendous cost savings, the success of the program is dependent upon the ability to involve employees in them. In Addition, companies must navigate the legal and cultural challenges posed by Employee Wellness Programs: Corporations really should be careful that initiatives respect protected classes and the privacy of employees. Moreover, companies must battle resistance from employees wary of their organization regulating off-the-clock actions.

Over the next 6-12 posts we’ll layout the case for Workplace Health Promotion Programs in today’s employment environment, arguing that the cost savings and increased employee engagement outweigh potential restrictions. We will investigate the considerations a business must make before beginning a Workplace Health Promotion Program and the communication necessary to create successful engagement from workers. Finally, we will discuss several successful Workplace Health Promotion Programs and provide a list of resources that companies can use for guidance.

Over the past several years healthcare insurance costs have risen at a steady pace. This is taking a toll on the bottom-line of organizations, cutting into earnings, limiting growth and forcing a reevaluation of a once sacred employee benefit system. According to a projection by McKinsey & Co., at the present rate, by 2008 health benefits will eclipse earnings at the average Fortune 500 company.

Companies, through private healthcare insurance organizations, are the leading provider of medical services in the United States. In 2004, 59.8% of Americans were covered by a business-based healthcare insurance program, accounting for 88% of all private healthcare insurance. Yet the growing costs of Healthcare, ever-increasing drug prices and a steady rise in chronic illnesses have brought the corporate culture to a breaking point.

For many businesses the growing burden has become too difficult to carry. During the past five years health care insurance premiums have raised an average of 11.6 percent annually, more than four times the average rate of inflation and employee earnings over that time.3 Not surprisingly, this exponential growth in premiums has caused the number of businesses offering Medical Care services during that time to drop from 69 percent to 60 percent.4 In addition, in 2005,  health care insurance premiums jumped 9.2 percent, more than three times the rate of inflation – and that was the lowest increase in the past five years.

In this environment businesses need to find innovative ways to mitigate the increasing costs of Healthcare coverage. Seemingly, the easiest strategies to accomplish this goal would be to cut benefits coverage or pass on agrowing burden to staff members and retirees. Greater than 80 percent of businesses have chosen one or both of these options in the past few years and almost half of all sizable businesses are likely to increase the amount staff members pay in 2007.5

Nevertheless, these methods do nothing to mitigate the fundamental causes of increasing costs, one of which is a population that requires increased medical care. To make a lasting and meaningful influence on costs and overriding health, organizations need to look beyond a antiquated reactive-based approach.

Coordinating corporation fitness and Worksite Health Promotion Programs is not about creating a grand scheme that is so complicated it is underutilized.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are about beginning an environment that encourages fitness and healthy living. The program must be accessible and make sense to the people it is directed at throughout the day.

The outcomes will be a plan that gives plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper diet and stays current on health topics advantageous to the staff members.

The outcomes will be a plan that provides plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health concerns beneficial to the staff members.

Structuring Business Physical Activity Programs and Workplace Wellness Programs – Making a Proposition

Designing organization fitness and Workplace Wellness Programs means understanding there are many directions the program can take. For starters, it must be of interest to staff members at all levels.

The company’s proposal to the employee is this: you take better care of yourselves and we will help you accomplish your mission. To be effective, the Worksite Wellness Program must be pervasive.

In other words, it must address the needs of the top executives as well as the warehouse workers. The variety of jobs within a employer usually indicate wide differences in stress and strain levels on the body and differences in mental and emotional stress.

The program must also take into account employee habits at work and at home. A company with a company fitness and Company Health Promotion Program in place sends the message to its employees and customers is that the company takes health seriously.

Designing employer fitness and Employee Health Promotion Programs involves determining the types of exercises that will be most effective for the postion.

Every company will need a different plan. A company fitness plan can comprise of a lot more than just an physical activity program and dietary planning.

It can offer real opportunity to improve the entire company environment. A Workplace Wellness Program can comprise of the following:
• Health intervention for existing health problems
• Recreational programs that engage staff members and their families
• Ergonomics to lower work strain and resulting injuries
• Specialized programs that target staff members with physical conditions interfering with work execution
• Approaching health and fitness problems related to an aging work force
• Beginning exercise programs specifically designed to broaden employee job-specific strength

The advantages of carefully planning organization fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs are obvious. Employees get access to the exercise program either onsite or through organization membership at the fitness center.

Designing organization fitness and Worksite Wellness Programs means including those components essential to good health.
• Meal designing and healthy eating choices
• Sessions instructing on the food pyramid and how the body processes nutrients
• Instruction on exercising safely
• Weight loss and weight management

The advantages for the company are endless.
• Savings on Healthcare costs
• Less employee sick days
• Staff Members with a sense of health fitness
• Lowerincidences of chronic illnesses
• Attracts new workers dedicated to fitness

Coordinating Company Fitness Programs and Corporate Health Promotion Programs – Closing the Deal

Implementing and structuring organization fitness and Workplace Wellness Programs nets big rewards for workers and the organization.
staff members are happier, feel better, are more satisfied with their work, are healthier and have more vitality.
Stress is reduced which positively influences the attitudes of employees, reduces injuries and makes employees more productive.
Closing the deal on a exercise program means the company and employees sign on the dotted line of health. Do not let Health Care care costs continue to rise. Begin now designing company fitness and Corporate Wellness Programs.

Corporate Health Promotion Program proposals must be designed so that they meet corporation intention.

Workplace Wellness Programs for employees are the newest attack on employee unhealthy lifestyles that are equating to exorbitant medical care expenditures.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Proposals for beginning a program must take into consideration the type of corporation, the budget and the makeup of the employee population.

Employee Health Promotion Programs for office employee will be different than programs for construction employees

The goal will be same, but the approach to reaching those goal will be different. For a program to be considered successful, outcomes must be measurable.

• workers achieve better overriding conditioning
• Medical Care claims lower
• Productiveness increases
• staff members experience less sick days
• Number of injuries declines
• Physical problems like high Blood Pressure (BP) are decreased
In general, Company Wellness Program proposals must target the fitness topics at the business and offer plans for improvement.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposals – Going the Distance

There are many different kinds of wellness proposals.

• One-one-one employee evaluations by a  professional healthcare provider
• Outside specialist assistance for program design and implementation only
• Ongoing program monitoring by a personal trainer
• In-house program design
• Fitness Center memberships
• Corporate Health Promotion Programs
• All-inclusive Employee Health Promotion Programs including nutrition and fitness
• Programs that address a specific problem like injury at the worksite

These are just a few forms Employee Health Promotion Program proposals can take. A Wellness program can be very basic or elaborate depending on the organization budget. A program can cover up to 4 components.

• Education on health topics
• Assessment programs with follow-up assessment
• Organization culture of health improvement

• Fitness and nutrition programs – supervised and unsupervised programs can cover a myriad of health and fitness information and exercises. The rewards for implementing a Worksite Health Promotion Program are unlimited.

Workplace Health Promotion Program proposals provide a way for management to invest in their employees with a promise of returns in the form of productivity and cost savings.

Wellness Proposals – Healthy Alternatives

Worksite Health Promotion Program proposals offer staff members alternatives to specific health issues. Proposals can address particular topics in addition to central fitness.

These concerns comprise of stopping smoking, increasing flexibility for job performance, preventing back injuries, preventing repetitive motion strain, improving loss of functionality due to age and prenatal programs.

Worksite Wellness Program proposals must have mission that include improving employee morale, more work rate, reducing absenteeism, more employee vitality and netting Healthcare savings to the employer.

Corporate Health Promotion Program costs can significantly vary and many comprise of cost sharing between the employee and the employer to cover gym fees. The bottom line is that a employer can design a Corporate Health Promotion Program proposal that suits the employer budget, employee lifestyles, and employee and employer mission.

In any of the Worksite Wellness Program proposals, healthy alternatives to current company topics must be spelled out. Employee health is a top priority for any company that cares about its success.

Research internet-based the different Employee Health Promotion Program proposals that are available for employers. Then find the one that works as if your employees’ lives depended on it, because that very well may be the case.

Company Health Promotion Programs has become a vital component of companies. It has become apparent in a service oriented economy that employees are living more sedentary lives than ever before.

As a outcome, a myriad of healthcare ailments plague the workforce costing the employee quality of life, while the company faces increasing Health Care costs.

It is a circumstance in which no one wins. Waiting until the problem occurs is self-defeating for both the business and the employee. Workplace Wellness Programs only makes good sense by approaching the problem before it happens.

Corporate Health Promotion Program – Cease and Desist Order

Company Health Promotion Programs are like cease and desist orders. These particular orders are instructions on why employees should cease living unhealthy lives and desist from eating junk food.

Let’s face it – employee frequently eat unhealthy food throughout the day. Office staff members, line staff members, sales associates, and executives – they all fall prey to the temptations of donuts, vending machines food, office party snacks and so on.

The bad habits continue at home. Food that is bad for your health is staples in a lot of diets. These foods include too much white bread, cakes, alcohol, fast food picked up on the way home and unhealthy snacks like buttered popcorn and sugar rich soda drinks.

Poor diet and little or no exercise results in weighty chronic sickness eventually including heart disease and strokes.

Waiting until the ailments occur is expensive. Rising health care costs are taking a weighty monetary toll on employers. Every dime that is spent on illness recovery could have been spent on a employer preventive health and Workplace Health Promotion Program.

Prevention means establishing conditions such that illness and injury are minimized through diet and exercise and an awareness of what is a great fitness plan.

• employees are screened for potential for serious chronic diseases such as diabetes
• workers are taught the value of good diet and how to develop a dietary plan
• Individual job stress levels are assessed
• Fitness Programs are made easily accessible to encourage participation
• Frequent seminars are helpful on relevant topics of health and Employee Wellness Programs
• Company offers incentive programs to maximize participation

Many employees don’t understand the long-term consequences of living a life with little or no exercise. Employee Health Promotion Programs bring the information to the employees so they can make informed decisions.

The reduction in sick days, fewer injuries and lower stress increases manufacturing and cuts costs.

Worksite Health Promotion Program – Resuming New Health

Employee Wellness Programs can be elaborate menus of choices or simple plans that show workers how to enhance their quality of life.

The programs can cover all the problems that confront employees during their work day also. These kinds of topics include preventing injury, fitting exercise into a full schedule, making sound fast food choices or decreasing work related stress.

No matter what form the employer preventive health and exercise program takes the benefits will be rapidly incurred. It only takes a couple of weeks for workers to begin to feel the results of a more active life.

A physical activity program instructs on nutrition and provides the opportunity for exercises that tone, strengthen and improve flexibility.

Worksite Wellness Programs only make sense. It produces a employer culture that speaks volumes about the priority of a healthy lifestyle.

Once employees stop their old sedentary habits, they are left with the choice of resuming new active attitudes and practices.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs are here to stay.

Company health and fitness are not just words to be spouted so people think the corporation cares about its workers. Health and fitness are important concepts that are just as critical to a corporation as finance and sales.

That’s because the health of its employees is one of the big determinants of the health of the organization. Corporation employees labor long and tough hours and sometimes the price they pay becomes an unhealthy lifestyle.

A concerned corporation does not want its employees to be troubled with numerous genuine health concerns. A Employee Wellness Program is a merger of an employees desire to fit exercise into a hectic schedule and a company’s desire for a active crew.

It’s a takeover of poor health affecting organization production.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs – Benefits

Bearer bonds are owned by whoever has them in hand. Their value to the person who carries them is realized by ownership. Health operates under the same concept.

An employee and the organization must take ownership of the Employee Health Promotion Program concept. A organization has many choices as to how it implements a health and Employee Health Promotion Programs.

• A consultant employer writes a employer specific fitness plan
• A Worksite Health Promotion Program professional and the organization jointly create a fitness plan
• An internet based fitness consultant can be utilized
• A personal trainer at a gym develops a corporation program
• Employer can create its own plan without assistance from outside professionals.

A Worksite Wellness Program may center around a program at a fitness center. It can also be based at the workplace itself, making it easily accessible to employees.

Utilizing a professional provides means the corporation gets knowledge based assistance in evaluating staff members. Each employee gets an evaluation of basic health status. Customized fitness plans are instituted and progress is monitored.

A qualified professional can be available at the gym, or visit worksite as schedules. Some companies hire a fitness trainer to manage directly with workers on an ongoing basis at the workplace. Other companies pay for the services of a trainer at the nearest gym.

The corporation health and Worksite Wellness Programs vary. A corporation may institute a fitness plan that includes staff members and their families by paying for family membership at the fitness center.

The benefits of this plan is that the whole family can use the gym, which encourages participation. A lot  corporations pay for the entire cost of the Employee Health Promotion Program at a gym.

Some businesses pay a portion while the employee must pay the difference. Others only pay part and the employee pays the balance. Some corporation fitness plans are multi-layered and provide a wide range of exercise classes and seminars on diet.

There are group exercises and daily tips for improving health. Some plans are very simple in that most of the internal Corporate Wellness Program is mostly information. All exercise is done outside the corporation at the gym.

It doesn’t matter what form the plan takes. The point is that a Corporate Health Promotion Program is valuable for the success of the corporation and the health of the workers. Taking care of its most valuable assets, the workers, only makes sense.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs – Like Stock Options?

Corporations provide stock options, whereby workers can buy stock in the corporation. It is another form of ownership. Workers have many options when it comes to fitness.

Their health needs, genetics, work environment and current physical condition all play into the structure of the Worksite Wellness Program. It is up to the business to provide a program that involves all employees so that maximum benefits are realized on both sides.

In other words, employees have plenty of choices and the corporation realizes real dollar savings through a healthier labor force.

Employer Exercise Program – Group Effort

Corporations are expected to be socially responsible in today’s world. It used to be employees had few amenities, because the organization didn’t see any profit to the organization.

Times have changed drastically. Businesses now know that the health of its employee workforce is indicative of the health of the corporation itself. The corporation exercise program was introduced to encourage healthy employee lifestyles, even while on the job.

Half The Time

Stress is a huge factor in how we handle a heavy workload. Stress impacts our physical and mental well-being. It even generates a chemical that is processed into fat by our bodies. A company fitness program uses exercise and health information to educate employees how to stay personally healthy.

When fit, the body and mind is much better able to control stress. Stress has much side effects. It can cause inattention, sickness and high Blood Pressure (BP). These effects in turn cost the organization much money in absenteeism, poor productivity and higher health care costs.

A corporation physical activity program makes fitness a priority in the corporation among its employees. In return, a physical activity program provides many rewards to the corporation.

• Better work rate because of changes in health
• Improved employee concentration due to minimization of stress effects
• General improved morale
• Decreased absenteeism

You generally hear people who are under much stress say, “I do not know why I did that” when they make a mistake. The truth is they probably really do not understand that their concentration is misdirected because of stress.

I Want to Participate

A employer exercise program can take many forms.

• Physical Activity Program can be set up at the business’s facility and managed by an employee
• Corporation physical activity program  can have a corporation membership with a nearby health club
• Exercise Program can be under contract with a fitness trainer who comes to the employer’s facility and coordinates the program, including employee evaluations
• Fitness Program can be managed by an employee worksite using the services of a web based physical activity program

A organization exercise program can be modified in almost any way necessary to accommodate the organization and its staff members.

Usually, in any program, seminars are offered periodically also to inform workers of current health concerns and trends. As a minimum, a company program normally will provide the following:

• Aerobics for cardiovascular conditioning
• Abdomen strength building
• General muscle toning
• Exercises for improved flexibility

More elaborate programs will provide employee sessions, sessions and health club equipment. Business programs can be adapted to any company and any budget.

Why Will This Work

We spend much time at our job. It’s easy for employees to skip exercising, blaming it on lack of time. Using professional fitness services like those found here takes away the excuses that are costing the corporation money.