Employee Health Promotion

As the science behind Employee Health Promotion Programs continues to evolve, so will the need to define and articulate the dimensions of a broad-based model of Employee Health Promotion Programs. A representative model includes the following Employee Health Promotion Program components; health education initiatives, worker health services and benefits, nutrition and physical fitness initiatives, Employee Health Promotion Program policies and procedures, counseling and employee assistance programs, a safe and healthy work environment, and the integration of company and community resources.

A broad-based approach to Employee Health Promotion Programs will maximize the impact of all interventions by increasing communication between administrators, workers, and worker families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite culture and climate. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of worker wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond initiatives designed to only reduce healthcare costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.

A Comprehensive Model For Employee Health Promotion Programs

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

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

Imagine yourself working for the healthiest business possible. What characteristics or Employee Health Promotion 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 worker health? How does that business develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all workers? 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 Employee Health Promotion Program will be responsible for the positive health outcomes of all workers. Employee Health Promotion Program have evolved from the occasional fitness facility for the exclusive use of business executives, or the sporadic worker safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and initiatives. Employee Health Promotion Program experts often speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Employee Health Promotion Programs in today’s worksite. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.