Employer’s are learning that Corporate Health and Wellness Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve employee health, reduce health care costs and reduce rates of absence.

A report published in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for employers to incorporate Corporate Health and Wellness Programs as part of their corporate strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on business, 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 U.S. could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, physical fitness, cancer testing and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Corporate Health and Wellness Programs initiative serves the best interests of staff members and employers alike.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Return On Investment (ROI)

Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the field of health management, information analysis and applied research, said in a recent interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per employee per year in Corporate Health and Wellness Programs, an employer can expect an average return on investment (ROI) of approximately $3 for every $1

invested ($300 to $450 savings per employee per year).  Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically found until two to three years into the Corporate Health and Wellness Program.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks

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

“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping workers after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy workers 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 employee health and grants for small business.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started

Implementing a Corporate Health and Wellness Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.

•         Offer incentives for participation.

•         Establish a wellness informational campaign.

•         Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, physical fitness and cholesterol.

•         Establish programs such as fitness, sleep diary, tobacco use cessation and injury prevention.

•         Offer onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.

•         Change vending machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.

•         Actively promote employee participation in all Corporate Health and Wellness Programs.

A successful Corporate Health and Wellness Program can boost business morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and reduce the rate of employee turnover. The case for starting a Corporate Health and Wellness Program is well worth the effort.

To promote the health of school age children, prevention specialists have found that an integrated broad-based approach is the most effective strategy. Relying solely on health education or Physical Education programs to foster children’s health has demonstrated limited effectiveness. Consistent health messages delivered by numerous agents increases the possibility of attaining health goals and objectives. A similar model is essential if Corporate Health and Wellness Programs are to impact positively on the health and performance of all staff members.

A broad-based model of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs includes the following components; Health Education Initiatives, employee Health Services and Benefits, nutrition and physical fitness Initiatives, Corporate Health and Wellness Program Policies and Procedures, Counseling and Employee Assistance Programs, a Safe and Healthy Work Environment, and the Integration of Company and Community Resources. This model can be used to evaluate and plan for Corporate Health and Wellness Programs that are truly broad-based in nature, focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies for staff members.

One value of a truly broad-based model is that it is possible to promote a holistic philosophy of employee health. A healthy, productive employee is one who is given the opportunity to develop physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. In addition, this model supports the ideals of wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond programs designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities. Design and implementation are dependent upon the cooperation and motivation of qualified – and ideally – credentialed professionals throughout the administrative structure of a business. Such a model requires consistent communication between health educators, medical staff, human resource managers, physical therapists, industrial hygienists, physical fitness physiologists, ergonomic engineers, dietitians, occupational therapists, psychologists and independent consultants. Planning must also incorporate active involvement of workers, administrators, family members, and business retirees at all stages of the development, implementation and evaluation stages. All must be committed to the development of a healthy organization where staff members are happy and proud to work.

Various professional groups are working to advance the science of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs. Health educators have the expertise and training to be leaders in this field. On the basis of theoretical foundations of behavior and the results of empirical research, we must start to articulate a clear vision of what optimal programs should consist of. Components of this model are included below for reference and will be discussed individually in coming posts.

• Health Education
• nutrition and physical fitness Initiatives
• employee Health Services and employee Benefits
• Counseling & Employee Assistance Programs
• Health and Safe Work Environment
• Health Related business Policies and Procedures
• Integration of business and Community Resources

A broad-based approach to Corporate Health and Wellness Programs will maximize the impact of all initiatives by increasing communication between administrators, staff members, and employee families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite climate and culture. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of employee wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond programs designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Corporate Health and Wellness Programs by various departments and individuals inside and outside the company. As the structure of the worksite continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Corporate Health and Wellness Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.

A Comprehensive Model For Corporate Health and Wellness Programs

According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81 percent of employers in the U.S. with 50 or more staff members have some form of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85 percent by the year 2000. Why are employers getting into the business of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Corporate Health and Wellness Programs are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a means of boosting the morale of staff members and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).

As the motivations for Corporate Health and Wellness Programs differ, so do the extent of a Corporate Health and Wellness Programs efforts. A program may consist of distributing the occasional health pamphlet on the warning signs of cancer to staff members, or it may comprise an elaborate and strategically planned Corporate Health and Wellness Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its staff members. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Corporate Health and Wellness Programs have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Corporate Health and Wellness Programs consist of?

Close your eyes and imagine yourself working for the healthiest business possible. What characteristics or Corporate Health and Wellness Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that business do to enhance the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of employee health? How does that business develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all staff members? Finally, how does that business demonstrate its belief that workers are the business’s most valued asset?

It is unlikely that any one single of a Corporate Health and Wellness Program will be responsible for the positive health outcomes of all staff members. Corporate Health and Wellness Program have evolved from the occasional fitness facility for the exclusive use of business executives, or the sporadic employee safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and programs. Corporate Health and Wellness Program professionals frequently speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Corporate Health and Wellness Programs in today’s worksite. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.

As a first step to beginning your Corporate Health and Wellness Program, we recommend that you have a designer draw up an attractive map of your corporate campus or vicinity. Plan out and test a few short walks of varying distances, and using a pedometer and watch, figure out how long each walk is in time and distance. Have a little fun with your walking Corporate Health and Wellness Program by equating each walk with a common office activity of the same duration, like a writing a one-page status report or filling out a common form. Post the map in the office and make sure people know about walking Corporate Health and Wellness Programs by using your office communication channels – newsletters, announcements, corporation meetings. Keep it fun by building weight-loss teams, setting up races or organizing healthy picnics and athletic activities around the walking Corporate Health and Wellness Programs route.

Here are some other walking Corporate Health and Wellness Programs tips from Tom Weede, author of The Entrepreneur Diet: The On-the-Go Plan for Fitness, Weight Loss, and Healthy Living:

• Make sure to link the walking Corporate Health and Wellness Program to work objectives. Employees need to be reassured that these walks are part of their responsibility to be healthy and productive. They’re not personal errands that need to be compensated for by longer days at the office.
• Keep healthy snacks in the office.
• Reinforce the walking Corporate Health and Wellness Program message by regularly mentioning it during worker meetings
• Set up a health-related benefit that walking Corporate Health and Wellness Programs participants can use for health-related expenses.

You should take note of these interesting Corporate Health and Wellness Program Statistics:

Some 25 percent of U.S. corporations were running Corporate Health and Wellness Programs in 1996.
Corporate Health and Wellness Program Statistics depict a savings of $2.30 to $10.10 for every $1 spent on Corporate Health and Wellness Programs.
Coca-Cola’s physical fitness program recouped $500 per year per worker, despite the fact that only 60% of their staff was enrolled.
A Ipsos-Reid Corporate Health and Wellness Program statisics paper in 2004 found the three major preventable causes of staff absenteeism to be mental health (anxiety and/or depression), stress and a bad relationship with a supervisor.
Corporate Health and Wellness Program Statistics from Prudential Insurance reveal a benefit expense of $312 per individual enrolled in their wellness system, but $574 per non-enrolled worker.
At the Coors Brewing Co., Corporate Health and Wellness Program Statistics illuminate a savings of $5.50 per $1 spent on physical fitness, with a positive side-effect of participant absenteeism dropping by 18%.

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

At the same time, medical care and insurance costs continue to skyrocket. Corporate Health and Wellness Program Advantages are one of the only ways to cut those costs while helping workers at the same time. As Karen Roberts, senior vice president with Aon Consulting, said about Corporate Health and Wellness 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.”

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

“Corporate Health and Wellness Programs” – what does that phrase mean to you? To many of us, it evokes an array of ambivalent thoughts — the health club membership we barely used, the nagging ankle injury from last year’s corporation picnic, the backaches, the bratwurst we had for lunch, the love handles and of course, the fad diets that failed us or that we failed. Usually, Corporate Health and Wellness Programs is a guilt trigger that causes us to feel remorse about our bodies and the health management we know we should be doing for them.

Unfortunately we live in a society where our survival is dependent on sitting at a desk, not hunting game, picking berries and sprinting away from wolves. We also live in such luxury, nutritionally, that we can gain weight steadily without being wealthy. Cardiovascular disease, obesity and poor dietary habits cause most of the heath issues that weigh down worker attendance and erode a company’s productivity.

Ironically the poorest societies in the world – the ones furthest from the conveniences of modern life – often boast the healthier, most physically hardy members. And as for the animal kingdom — don’t look there for commiseration. In the wild, it is extremely rare to find an animal that suffers from our kind of wellness issues.

Pharmaceutical dependency degrades Health and Wellness

It doesn’t help that U.S citizens are descending into a deadly love affair with drugs — and drug testing won’t help you with these drugs.

For example, Greg Critser’s book Generation RX details how U.S citizens spend about $180 billion dollars on Pharmaceuticals each year, with the estimated 2011 tally at a whopping $414 billion. The average number of Pharmaceuticals per United State citizens in 2004 stood at twelve.

Twelve! That means that your average worker is taking 14, 18, or even more than 20 medications in an attempt to improve their Health and Wellness.

Is this effective, though? Critser is not convinced that the drugs help U.S. health. In fact, he points out a bevy of negative consequences for America’s legal prescription medication addition, which include prescription medication interactions, liver damage, and the legions of people who now depend on drugs to deal with ordinary trials and stresses.

An business has the potential to improve Health

It’s not all bad news, though. Occupational Health Screenings and well-designed Corporate Health and Wellness Programs can help you fight the downward spiral for you and your workers. In fact, good Corporate Health and Wellness Programs – like a strong walking Corporate Health and Wellness Programs initiative – can literally save lives and reduce the symptoms that cause workers to turn to drugs in the first place.

Corporate Health and Wellness Program: Prevention is the Key

Prevention is the key to maintaining good health in the workplace and increasing overall Corporate Health and Wellness Program. Fighting infection after the cold and flu epidemics hit is a losing battle and can best be combated with early action, such as implementing a Corporate Health and Wellness Program Program in the office for good health all year long.

Keeping the Office Germ-free During Cold Season

The typical office is the perfect breeding grounds for influenza or the cold virus. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that there are higher chances for the spread of infection during winter because people spend more time indoors. In an office, this risk is increased by cubicles, bringing many people into a close space. Worksite Health Screenings conducted regularly as part of an overall health management program will increase the chances of Corporate Health and Wellness Program year round, and especially during Cold Season.

Education Can Increase Corporate Health and Wellness Program During Cold Season

Educating workers about various ways to stay healthy during Cold Season may help prevent the spread of any sickness to the entire office. Hand washing is a crucial component in maximizing Corporate Health and Wellness Program, as bacteria collects on keyboards, mouses, around the water cooler and next to the community coffee pot. As workers shake hands, infection may be passed, multiplying the chance of getting a cold or coming down with the flu. Hand washing and anti-bacterial cleaners for surfaces can help reduce the spread of sickness.

Corporate Health and Wellness Program is possible during Cold Season. With Corporate Health and Wellness Program, your office can reach one step closer to immunity from sickness during Cold Season.