Corporate Health and Wellness Programs: Supporting Scientific Research and Wellness Statistics

(Adapted from The Health Promotion First Act prepared by David Anderson, Ph.D., StayWell Health Management)
 
Worker Lifestyles Impact Worker Health
 
•         Approximately 40 percent of all deaths in the United States are premature (at least 900,000 deaths annually) and are due to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, misuse of alcohol and [...]

Corporate Health and Wellness Program: Conditions for Success

1.      Senior management involvement in the Corporate Health and Wellness Program- Evidence of enthusiastic commitment and involvement of senior management helps workers understand their companies’ serious commitment to health.  Employees need to perceive that their senior management, supervisors, and coworkers have positive attitudes toward health since these factors have all been associated with improved employee [...]

Benefits of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs

Benefits of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs
 
Introduction to Corporate Health and Wellness Programs
 
Risky health behaviors by workers cost a company. Changing those behaviors can save the employer money and raise the worker’s productivity.
 
Because work gives an worker a stable environment and support system, Corporate Health and Wellness Programs can have a great impact on lowering [...]

Gathering information on worker health behaviors

If your organization is interested in measuring the impact of your Corporate Health and Wellness Program efforts in future years, you’ll want to gather relevant baseline data on the health and health behaviors of your worker population.
 
Corporate Health and Wellness Program Data on your worker population
 
Health Risk Assessments
 
Some health plans offer companies free internet-based health [...]

Assessment of workplace culture and environment

In addition to looking at the health behaviors of workers, take a good look at your organization. The following questions can help you identify opportunities for your organization to support and encourage healthy behaviors among workers.
 
A strong foundation for employee health improvement
 
1.      To what extent does the senior management in your organization actively and visibly [...]

Effective Corporate Health and Wellness Program communication

Corporate Health and Wellness Program communication is important to all aspects of Wellness and preventive medicine and is relevant to:
• Healthcare provider-patient relationships
• An individual’s exposure to, search for, and use of Corporate Health and Wellness Program information
• Effective counseling and patient education for behavior change
• Content of public health messages and community campaigns
Effective health communication should have these [...]

Starting a Corporate Health and Wellness Program vision and brand for your organization’s Corporate Health and Wellness Program

Why it’s important and how to do it
 
The Corporate Health and Wellness Program Vision
 
A Corporate Health and Wellness Program vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and objectives of your organization’s commitment to creating a Corporate Health and Wellness Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your organization’s Corporate Health and [...]

Employer Wellness Committee

Sample Corporate Health and Wellness Program meeting agendas and topics for discussion
 
Is your organization’s Corporate Health and Wellness Program Wellness Committee new?  Has it existed on paper but been inactive for a while?  In either case, some of the following may be appropriate agenda items for your first Corporate Health and Wellness Program meetings.   You [...]

Starting a Wellness Committee

A representative Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Corporate Health and Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the organization.
 
Membership of your Wellness Committee
 
Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your organization’s size). Your Wellness Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time [...]

Determining a budget for creating a Corporate Health and Wellness Program

Starting a Corporate Health and Wellness Program need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Corporate Health and Wellness Program in your organization’s annual business plan and budget as you do for other efforts important to your organization’s success.

How much to budget for the Corporate [...]