Employer Wellness : Workplace Wellness Programs
Business Fitness Programs Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness
Instituting a Corporate Wellness Program improves the health of employees, decreases employee absenteeism and saves the business money, too. Learn more about starting an Corporate Wellness Program in the office.
Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs
• A corporation investment of $100-$150 per employee each year to take part in an Company Wellness Program can save employers $300 to $450 for each employee every year, according to Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies. The savings are able to take a few years to actualize, says Goetzel, and are seen in decreased health expenditures.
• The Wellness Councils of America stated a $24 return for every $1 spent on a Employee Wellness Program for small organizations.
• According to a 2005 survey by The Art of Health Promotion, employers who invested in Company Health Promotion Programs realized a 30 percent decline in health care and absenteeism costs in less than four years.
A efficacious Employee Wellness Program starts with Senior Leadership. Corporation owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their employer’s fitness program and working closely with a wellness coach. Senior Leadership ought to make sure workers are well aware of their wellness efforts, posting weight loss results or tobacco cessation results on employer intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.
Company Health Promotion Programs that Truly Work
• Urge workers to kick start their own wellness programs by visiting their doctor. A complete physical must include information about blood glucose, cholesterol levels and general health.
• Target specific health-related issues in a corporate exercise program. Information about how to fight obesity, smoking, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse should be at the forefront of an Employee Wellness Program, along with related conditions.
• Hire a wellness coach to instruct workers on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Reward workers for being active in company wellness plans. Let workers accrue health and wellness points that they have the potential to redeem for prizes. Make the prizes healthy, too- a free massage, personal training session with the company’s wellness coach or health meal gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle choices.
• Acknowledge employee wellness and health leaders in corporation newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the corporation intranet.
Company Wellness Programs Give Big Results
For employer owners who want to broaden employee participation in a Workplace Health Promotion Program, consider Johnson & Johnson’s approach. Faced with only 26 percent of employees participating in their employee wellbeing and health program, Johnson & Johnson offered employees a $500 discount on health insurance costs if they completed a health risk profile. The number of employees participating in the Johnson & Johnson employer exercise program jumped after they provided the incentive — to more than 93%.
Ron Goetzel encourages those looking to pitch a corporate physical activity program to Senior Leadership to use basic facts about the benefits of Company Wellness Programs as part of their argument. Keep it simple, and share results from other company’s employee wellness plan success stories.