Posted by Health Wellness | Posted in Health And Wellness In The Workplace | Posted on 08-05-2009
25% Jump in Employer Interest in Employee Health and Wellness
Job Site wellness for their employees, companies are discovering, is wonderful for the health of their companies as well. Employee Wellness Programs help to cut the expenditures associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of work rate and poor work quality.
A current Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 U.S. corporations indicated a valuable paradigm shift in how corporations view health benefits for their staff members. Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to instituting long-term medical assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their staff members, with the goal of boosting the health and productiveness of their workforce. This represents a 25% rise in interest in Worksite Health Promotion Programs over 2007.
A strong offering of Workplace Wellness Programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors. Programs look to predict chronic disease in their workers and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Companies also demand a way to measure the effectiveness of their health care spending.
“Self-care is our motive,” says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive health and wellness provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving staff members tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the advantages, while giving people resources to reach out for help is the key to thriving lifestyle modification. Corporations are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver Corporate Health Promotion Programs. The sort of program we have developed over years delivers the highest healthcare return on investment.”
Combining workplace wellness promotions, internet based assessments and health trackers, internet based health information, phone conferences and self-help groups, and access to a wide variety of health professionals, is behind the success of the Exan program. “Having internet based statistics about staff members’ health also makes it easier to track the bottom line – ROI” says Vic Lebouthillier.
“Companies are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of healthcare benefits to foster holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior modification and eliminate barriers to healthcare,” says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.
However, in a separate survey of 30,000 staff members, 74 percent said that, although they felt their company had an obligation to help them be aware of how to use their health benefits program, only 12 percent felt the company had any right to tell them how to be healthy. Based on these results, businesses need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their staff members as well as the company. It’s a win-win situation.
Employers and workers did discover common ground when it came to future healthcare. Both surveys indicate that 95 percent of workers be aware of that their taking care of their health today will influence future medical care payments. A similar percentage also be aware of the important of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on medical care expenditures.
Cost is significant for most businesses as well. Over 80% of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts did not involve shifting responsibility for medical care onto employees. Although 64% of businesses have transfered expenditures to their employees, only 17% aim to do so in the next 3-5 years. Similarly with health reimbursement accounts, 20% now offer these, but only about 5% aim to use them in 2008.
These survey results indicate employers are getting more proactive in helping their employees to modify behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously good for the wellness of employees, but also for the wellness of the employers they work for. Almost half the employers surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productiveness and lower absentee rates. Over 60% plan to institute programs that help employees shift and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle. Almost of these employers will also use data and measurements to ensure their medical care strategies meet their medical care objectives?