Employer Wellness

A Corporate Wellness Program is an all-inclusive program to help and support employees in establishing healthier lifestyles.  This can include rising employee awareness on health topics, scheduling behavior change programs, and/or establishing company policies that support health-related objectives.  Programs and policies that encourage increased physical movement, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy diet selections are a few examples.  

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is more than physical fitness.  In addition to physical fitness, the scope of ideal health include:

   • Spiritual Wellness,
   • Emotional Wellness,
   • Social Wellness,
   • Intellectual Wellness

These dimensions are frequently illustrated as a “life wheel” with examples of health components that include fitness, diet, purpose in life, monetary planning, social well-being & reinforcement systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and constant learning.   The key for personal health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A accross the board workplace wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these dimensions.

Why Corporate Wellness Programs?

employees invest a great deal of time on the job, and the reality is that our traditional work-week is growing.  In fact, the typical American now is at work about 47 hours a week.  In addition, innovations such as modems, laptop computers, cellular phones, voice and email have confused the line between life and work.  These realities decrease the amount of time that the average worker is able to spend on health and wellness pursuits, and yet employees are predicted to be at top performance when at work.

A current study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses saw that workplace wellness or Employee Health Promotion Programs are efficacious in helping employees to make positive health changes due to several factors such as convenience, environmental support, and co-worker or social acceptance.  

What’s the Link between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that reward healthy lifestyles have the potential to make a big difference on employee wellness AND effect the employer’s bottom line.  Studies have found that for each dollar invested by employers in Corporate Health Promotion Programs/wellness programs, there were savings ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with a average savings of $3.14*.  In employer jargon, that’s more than a 3:1 minimum return on investment – a number that is difficult to disregard, and a best practice that should draw serious consideration from employers.  In fact, a Corporate Health Promotion Program literature review published in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal observed:

   • 19 studies saw a 28.3 percent decrease in sick time
   • 16 studies shown a 5.6:1 return on investment
   • 23 showed a 26.1 percent decline in health care expenditures
   • 4 saw a 30% decrease in direct health care and workers’ compensation claims

There is little doubt that a inclusive wellness program designed to meet a business’s specific needs can save money by decreasing absenteeism, reducing medical care expenditures, reducing employee turnover, and building productiveness.

• The United States Department of Health & Human Services, 2003