07/8/09

Employee Health Promotion Programs

Research spanning more than a decade has consistently shown Employee Health Promotion Programs to be monetarily effective and that every dollar invested on a corporate wellness program can return $2.30 and $10.10 by reducing absenteeism, sick day usage and by lowering insurance costs. Additionally it is noted that there are marked improvements in employee performance and productivity in organizations that enable a Employee Health Promotion . Healthy organizations enjoy better employee morale and an improved ability to attract and retain key people. Additionally, employees are more alert and constructive. For instance, Coca Cola reports that they save an estimated $500 a year per employee once they implemented a exercise program in which 60% of their employees participate. Coors Brewing Corporation reported that employees who participated in their Employee Health Promotion Programs reduced their absentee rate by 18%. employees enjoy their share of benefits from Employee Health Promotion Programs too. A healthy lifestyle impacts every part of a person’s life, including their work environment. Employee Health Promotion Programs result in fewer injuries, less human error and a work environment that is more harmonious and relaxed. Additionally, employees who work at a business that implements a Employee Health Promotion know that their business is concerned about their health & wellness. Workers often report a decline in their stress levels due to Employee Health Promotion Programs. As employees feel better, more relaxed, more valued and more human to their business; they enjoy a rise in productivity. This rise in productivity, while constructive to the business, is also important to the employee as it increases their own sense of self worth and confidence levels. Workers who feel successful and who feel that they accomplish goals/objectives are central happier and in a better frame of mind. The benefits of Employee Health Promotion Programs, both tangible and intangible, are evident. It is a wise move for a business to enable a Employee Health Promotion , particularly when they incorporate some form of mental health aspect into it. This also has social benefits as domestic violence and child abuse is shown to be lowered in areas where wellness programs are implemented. These days, a business can almost not afford to have some sort of wellness program to offer to their employees.

07/7/09

Popular Employee Health Promotion Programs

Some of the top wellness programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments or HRAs

Health Risk Assessment is a top corporate wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that enable it determine the safety and health problems of employees by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the employees. It can, for example, guide the business into determining how the air quality within an office room impacts the users and then help the assessment group to come up with the measures crucial to correct the issue. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure employees have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. However, it has also become an valuable component of the top Employee Health Promotion Programs in a myriad of organizations in North America. Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are available to employees for no cost.

EAP

EAPs consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to employees regarding health problems to sponsoring health services and healthcare. In a myriad of organizations, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet and nutrition drives

This is another wellness program that organizations use, particularly those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

In-house employee wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that organizations can enable is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to encourage wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking risks, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the worksite, etc. The employee wellness newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to employees or members of a business but it is far from perfect. Some employees, for example, may not read the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the problems outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Exercise and physical activity drives

Another top wellness program for organizations is one that involves physical activities. Organizations often sponsor exercise-related programs such as marathons and business sports programs to advocate employees to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized organizations, organizations may even pay for gym memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Rewards and Incentives

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by organizations involve Rewards and Incentives. This involves business-sponsored programs that reward employees for achieving specific wellness-related goals/objectives. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most generally rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time acquired points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used. However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among organizations who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Peer Pressure

In a myriad of organizations, organizations take advantage of peer pressure in order to advocate employees to participate in wellness programs. This is currently one of the favorite Employee Health Promotion Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help encourage competitions referring to worksite wellness and to persuade employees to be active in business-sponsored wellbeing and health fairs.

07/7/09

Has Wellness Been Hijacked?

Wellness is a great concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a truly holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an central feeling of well-being. It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you begin to talk about corporate wellness, or worksite wellness, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management and health assessment do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full. They begin from the assumption that sickness is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed. The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Wellness guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces. On the one hand there are the small organizations – people working from home or in small centers selling all kinds of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating rapidly. On the other hand corporate wellness is also exploding but in a very different direction. The baby boomers who are driving the popular wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death. They are actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthy into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering. The organizations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with a myriad of countries introducing laws to make organizations liable for stress-related sickness in their employees. It is also monetarily motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the enormous costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well). Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the organizations are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, such as doctors, nurses, insurance and screening systems. The issue is that the traditional health system does not have solutions for the problems that people are handling. Nobody ever went to see a doctor to get happy, because a doctor doesn’t have any clue how to make people happy. And a myriad of stress-related health problems are described as chronic diseases, which means that they last for a very long time – or perhaps for the rest of your life – because there is no medical cure. Counseling is a common offering in organizations for emotional problems, but whilst it may offer a useful pressure valve it is not a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression. Imagine walking into a business where the employees are happy, healthy, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their area. That kind of business would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people would be working to their optimum capacity. So can we create a system of true wellness that will serve the development of the organizations and their employees and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain? First of all we have to face the fact that we can’t place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, have not been solved by the current system. If they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we would all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions. We also cannot rely on makeshift feel-great wellness offerings, such as the on-Site massage group which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a modest amount of while but leaves most people unaffected. They are simple to organize but have little or no real effect on employee wellness. Corporation needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness organizations that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market. However it is in the best interest of both organizations and employees to discover and cultivate systems of wellbeing and health that really work – that benefit people to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have sufficient energy to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their family and social life. So far the corporate world has hijacked the concept of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It is time to raise the vision and find out how to make truly healthy, happy workplaces where people thrive.

07/6/09

Investment in Employee Health Promotion Programs Pays Big Dividends

High rates of employee turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into business profits. The high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in total cost the average business. Many organizations are finding the solution to these challenges by improving job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of programs that provide a decline in these costs. It has become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness program / exercise program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need. Senior Leadership’s goals/objectives for a constructive wellness program must be viewed through the perspective of increased employee productivity, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved employee morale, lowered utilisation of business subsidised health benefits, enhanced group cohesion and performance and a reduction in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction. It is obvious that an improvement in any of these areas will have a positive influence on the financial status of any organisation. The benefits from an employees point of view can be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, lowered body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle work related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social associations at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and worksite. To be most constructive a wellness program needs to achieve both upper management’s and employee’s goals/objectives, and this can be accomplished through a program that will offer the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and wellness, and the benefits of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that will allow them to achieve the crucial changes to their physical condition that can be applied in the context of their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Employee Health Promotion Programs

Reduced Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5% over six years for the participants of their business fitness program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992). Reduced Healthcare Expenditures – Steel case showed a decline in healthcare claim costs of 55% for corporate exercise program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an average of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Health Promotion, Sept/Oct, 1991). Reduced Turnover – Turnover among exercise program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Corporation was 32.4% lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988). Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Indiana reported that its business exercise program had a 250% return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Health Promotion, March, April, 1991).

07/6/09

Corporation Wellness Becomes CEO Delimma – How to Reduce Workplace Health Expenditures

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to advocate Fortune 1000 organizations to consider making workforce health a CEO issue and adopt strategies to encourage prevention and wellness. Following several years of double-digit rate increases for medical insurance, organizations are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have employees take more responsibility for both costs and health choices. A majority of organizations surveyed feel that the best way for reducing costs is financial incentives to advocate employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. Nearly 100% of organizations surveyed say that health costs will be a vital or valuable issue over the next five years, according to a survey by United Benefit Advisors. More organizations are adopting higher deductible health insurance plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and expanded disease management programs in order to control ever-growing healthcare costs. Failure to deal with these problems might be disastrous for a business. Wayne Sensor, Chief Executive Officer of Alegent Health recently stated, “I think that we have built a healthcare machinery we can’t afford. I think we are choking the economic engine of America.” In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California organizations billions of dollars each year. Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect healthcare costs, worker’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced one of the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state. According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis.” What is frightening is that most people do not even realize that they are obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight. There is a great need for additional education on weight and resulting diseases, and the worksite is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can result in a valuable return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce results in a very short period of time. Although a myriad of organizations have attempted some form of wellness program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing. In many cases, the healthier employees participated for incentives, such as gym memberships, but those who necessitated it most did not take advantage of the program in a meaningful way. Organizations are looking at ways to advocate more employees to buy into the wellness movement. A current webinar hosted by Human Resource Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing Group titled, “Healthier employees; Healthier Bottom Line: Engaging employees is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home. This session provided actionable advice on how organizations are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on employee engagement. It also highlighted how you can create an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential influence for your business. Employers can not ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to decrease health costs, absenteeism and lost productivity. employees also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives. The alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the business.

07/5/09

Employee Health Promotion Ideas: More Wellness Topics and Ideas

A listing of potential wellness issues and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal employee Employee Health Promotion Committee.

Nutrition Category

Low-fat campaign/food groups
Team salad bars
Vending machine changes
Diet analysis by a dietician
Produce on parade
Eating disorder support group
Restaurant education

Stress Management Category

Stress Pest
Humor newsletter
Money management classes
Time management classes
Relaxation class
Better sleep campaign
Relaxation room

07/5/09

Employee Health Promotion Ideas: Safety and Wellness

Other departments within a business will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other human resource, employee motivation, and safety programs. Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which may be coordinated together.

Soft Tissue Sprains & Strains: This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. Many medical insurance dollars are also invested on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Wellness and safety efforts can focus on
Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Provide training to work groups so they may begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.
The Employee Health Promotion Committee might consider contracting a fitness professional to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for employee groups throughout the year.
Provide body mechanics training on an yearly basis or more frequently if possible. These training sessions ought to focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.
Partner with your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventative services which can help employees work safer, smarter, and avert injury.
Launch a safety problems suggestion box. Encourage employees to report safety and/or injury problems. Help upper management to establish policy to recognize and reward employees who offer safety ideas, offer tips, and solution ideas.
A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider approaching such issues as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.
Partner with upper management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.
The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is valuable and applicable to every group.
Provide ergonomic training opportunities to interested employees volunteers. These people can then assist other employees to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.
It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate employees for helpful and friendly comfort ideas instead of it is for people to assess themselves.
One suggestion is to have employees remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.
Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to corroborate how small adjustment changes can often make sizable comfort changes.
Partner with the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help cultivate ergonomic policies and practices and to offer employee training.

07/4/09

Employee Health Promotion Ideas: Holiday Activities

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy generally used to create interest and participation. However, be aware that offering holiday activities in the worksite can create problems. Your worksite may have policies and guidelines already in place about problems such as appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be sure to check with upper management regarding all guidelines and policies. Remember to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is generally safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others might feel left out. In fact, acknowledging diverse holidays, if done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups. A few topical ideas for holiday themes include:

Employee Health Promotion Committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each employee for Valentine’s Day.
Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Workers who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a no cost turkey (can be purchased at the local grocery store or donated).
Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.
Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Participants of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions. Each person can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food does not have to be be low fat or particularly healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Display Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a big health challenge. This wellness program exercise is fun, low-key, and helps employees monitor their weight during the holiday season.

Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident prior to Thanksgiving. The weigh-ins may be conducted on the honor system, but weight must be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You might invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.
employees set a personal objective of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.Provide weekly weight management hints. These ought to be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or offered in handout form.
alternate the weekly hints with healthy recipe options.
Remind employees of the necessity to continue physical exercise during the busy holiday season.
Weigh everyone the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.
employees who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.
employees who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness exercise.

07/4/09

Employee Health Promotion Ideas: National Health Observances

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which can either be downloaded for no cost or purchased inexpensively. Monthly health themes, week long programs, and nationally recognized days of the year are also great ways to have fun while participating in larger programs. Health observances are tied to almost every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider:

National observances present opportunities to work with other area agencies and organizations to coordinate larger programs and celebrations.
A wellness message is more likely to stick with people if the information is presented at work, in local grocery stores, and on television.
National Employee Fitness Day/Week (April) is a great place to begin.
A word of advice: do not go overboard in attempting to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Pick one to three programs per year and stick with these. Design and encourage programs well ensuring that employees will come to expect and anticipate these programs each year. It is best to do a few Employee Health Promotion Programs very well than a myriad of promotions poorly.

07/3/09

Employee Health Promotion Ideas: Sports and Recreation

Many employees enjoy group related activities. These activities usually take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is completely voluntary in nature. Although the sports group is not part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the group or exercise is associated with the business, the business might be held liable in the event of an employee injury. If the exercise brings with it a risk of injury, it is crucial to address the possible risk and liability problems with the correct business department. Also consult with your organization’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

Design summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter smoke-free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.
Provide brochures and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so employee can take advantage of area leagues, trips and offerings.
Invite an official from one of the above organizations to speak at a business brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to offer a demonstration of a new class offering.

Family Friendly Activities

Periodically offer activities which can be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include:

TV Free Week (usually in April): Design a chart for the children to use to record their TV-free participation.
Provide a certificate to anyone who is TV-free for a week.If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, such as less than 5 hours of TV, no video games for a week, etc.
If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, such as less than 5 hours of TV, no video games for a week, etc.

Employee Health Promotion

Health and Wellness Programs, Resources & Quotes

Monthly Archives: July 2009