Posted by admin | Posted in Health Program Ideas, Screening and Intervention Programs, Wellness Program Incentives | Posted on 08-03-2009
Employer Exercise Programs Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness
Instituting a Workplace Health Promotion Program improves the health of staff members, decreases employee absenteeism and saves the employer money, too. Learn more about initiating an Workplace Health Promotion Program in the office.
Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs
• A company investment of $100-$150 per employee each year to take part in an Employee Wellness Program can save businesses $300 to $450 for each employee every year, according to Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies. The savings have the potential to take a few years to actualize, says Goetzel, and are seen in reduced health expenditures.
• The Wellness Councils of America reported a $24 return for every $1 spent on a Company Health Promotion Program for small organizations.
• According to a 2005 survey by The Art of Health Promotion, businesses who adopted Worksite Wellness Programs realized a 30 percent reduction in health care and absenteeism expenditures in less than 4 years.
A efficacious Corporate Health Promotion Program begins with Senior Management. Organization owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their company’s physical activity program and working closely with a wellness coach. Senior Management ought to make sure workers are well knowledgeable about their wellness efforts, displaying weight loss results or smoking cessation results on company intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.
Worksite Wellness Programs that Truly Work
• Encourage staff members to kick start their own wellness programs by visiting their doctor. A complete physical ought to include information about blood glucose, blood lipids levels and general health.
• Target specific health-related concerns in a corporate exercise program. Information about how to fight obesity, smoking, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse ought to be at the forefront of an Worksite Wellness Program, along with related conditions.
• Hire a wellness coach to instruct employees on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Reward staff members for taking part in employer wellness plans. Let staff members accrue health & wellness points that they can redeem for prizes. Make the prizes healthy, too- a no cost massage, personal training session with the employer’s wellness coach or health meal gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle choices.
• Acknowledge employee health and wellbeing leaders in employer newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the employer intranet.
Workplace Wellness Programs Provide Big Results
For business owners who want to broaden employee participation in a Workplace Wellness 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 care insurance expenditures if they completed a health risk profile. The number of employees participating in the Johnson & Johnson business exercise program jumped after they offered the incentive — to more than 93%.
Ron Goetzel encourages those looking to pitch a corporate exercise program to Upper Management to use basic facts about the advantages of Employee Wellness Programs as part of their argument. Keep it simple, and share results from other company’s employee wellness plan success stories.