Employee Health and Wellness

<h2>Employee Wellness Programs in Prevention of NCD’s</h2>

The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”

The report calls for Employee Wellness Programs to be promoted and implemented worldwide.

<h3>Importance of Employee Wellness Programs</h3>

The report states that NCD related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of NCD’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.

Unhealthy diets, excessive caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of NCD’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.

<h3>Employee Wellness Programs are Effective Tools</h3>

The report states that Employee Wellness Programs are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also states that Employee Wellness Programs will improve the health of employees, improve the corporate image, improve employee morale, reduce employee absences and sick leave, increase employee productivity, and reduce corporate health care costs.

<h3>Employee Wellness Programs Monitoring</h3>

Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Employee Wellness Program, monitoring and evaluation through health risk assessments and health outcomes are essential and should be included in the Employee Wellness Program implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Employee Wellness Program developed meets the proper needs of the employees. Staff Members should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Employee Wellness Program is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.