Employee Health and Wellness

Advantages of Employee Health Promotion Programs: Easy to Find

Employer’s are learning that Employee Health Promotion Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve worker health, decrease healthcare costs and reduce rates of absence.

A report published in 2003 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for employers to incorporate Employee Health Promotion Programs as part of their corporate strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on employer, including lower productivity and higher medical insurance costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on medical care in 2003 and it attributes a majority of those costs to chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. Sadly, the money allocated for preventing or controlling these conditions is negligible.

In a recent article, American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin reported two thirds of cancer deaths in the United States could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, cancer testing and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Employee Health Promotion Programs initiative serves the best interests of employees and employers alike.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Return On Investment (ROI)

Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the science of health management, information analysis and applied research, said in a recent interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per worker per year in Employee Health Promotion Programs, an employer can expect an average return on investment (ROI) of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per worker per year).  Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically found until two to three years into the Employee Health Promotion Program.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has been an outspoken proponent in seeking legislative solutions for a strained healthcare system.

“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping staff members after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy staff members healthy,” he says.

Harkin introduced the Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention (HeLP) America Act of 2004. One of the initiatives under Title II – Healthier Communities and Workplaces, provides tax credits to employers that offer broad-based programs to promote worker health and grants for small employer.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started

Implementing a Employee Health Promotion Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.

• Offer incentives for participation.
• Establish a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, exercise and cholesterol.
• Establish initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, smoking cessation and injury prevention.
• Offer onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.
• Change snack machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.
• Actively promote worker participation in all Employee Health Promotion Programs.

A successful Employee Health Promotion Program can boost employer morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and decrease the rate of worker turnover. The case for establishing a Employee Health Promotion Program is well worth the effort.

Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages still aren’t self-evident to some executives, even though the research, real-world evidence and cost-benefit analyses are demonstrative. With careful planning, almost every organization can reap Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages.

Part of the problem is that some executives erroneously believe that the Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages are mostly on the employee side. The truth is that Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages both the employer and employee – and according to Employee Health Promotion Program statistics , the employer stands to gain $2.30 to $10.10 in cost savings per dollar spent. Employee physical fitness saves businesses money.

At the same time, medical care and insurance costs continue to skyrocket. Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages are one of the only ways to cut those costs while helping staff members at the same time. As Karen Roberts, senior vice president with Aon Consulting, said about Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages in her address at the 2006 WorldAtWork Total Rewards Conference & Exhibition, “If you can’t afford to invest in wellness this year, you’re never going to afford it.”

Employee Health Promotion Program Advantages include helping to prevent cancer, obesity, heart disease and hypertension. It’s rare that companies can cut costs and assist struggling staff members, support families and even arguably save lives. Isn’t that a good thing?

Employee Health Promotion Programs are crucial to improving the health of our nations. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a excellent venue for promoting healthful habits. The worksite organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use as a means of assisting employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Advantages to Employee Health Promotion Programs include:
• Weight reduction
• Improved physical fitness
• Increased stamina
• Lower levels of stress
• Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem

Employers can also benefit from Employee Health Promotion Programs. According to recent research, employers’ benefits are:

• Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Decreased rates of illness and injuries
• Reduced worker rates of absence
• Improved worker relations and morale
• Increased productivity

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report revealed that at worksites with physical activity initiatives as components of their Employee Health Promotion Programs have:

• Reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent
• Reduced short-term sick leave by six to 32 percent
• Increased productivity by two to 52 percent

Thanks to modern medicine, life expectancy for Americans has continually increased. How much we enjoy these additional years, however, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives. If our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these extra years, we must practice good eating habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products.