The influence of the worksite environment on the wellness of workers is profound. First there’s the physical look, feel, smell, and sounds of the place. Then you’re affected by the policies, like whether others are allowed to smoke around you.

After awhile, more subtle factors begin to affect you. Do your attempts to adopt a healthier lifestyle get recognized at work, or are they sabotaged? Are your managers inspiring you by being healthy role models? Do you get regular opportunities to learn healthier behavior?

In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the business they work for provides them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy life choices.

And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Employees who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.

The following ideas will help you transform your worksite environment into one that in truth supports the wellness of your workforce and organization.

Health Promotion Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments

Health Promotion Friendly Facilities

When you enter a workplace, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? is there enough light and clean air? Are there pleasant work areas, places to eat decent food, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. Just how does it smell? Sound? Do the personnel have enough space?

There’s no doubt that our physical environment affects us, from basic safety matters to subtle factors that can cause  or reduce stress. Healthful environments often have these features -

o  Vending machines with healthy food choices like low-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks

o  Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other exercise opportunities on-site or nearby

o  Cafeteria offers healthy foods including a salad bar with low-fat dressing

o  Natural light is used whenever possible; all lighting is appropriate and adequate

o  Heating and ventilation is adjustable, comfortable and healthy

o  No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas on-site

o  Noise levels are safe and conducive to concentration

o  Be sure to work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards

o  Safety hazards have been eliminated

o  Lockers and showers are available for employees who workout before work or during breaks

o  Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use

Familiarity can make it hard to evaluate a workplace. Individuals  get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them.

It may be useful to ask people  who are unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Specialist consultants can also help.

Proactive Health Promotion Policies

One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. When nurses aren’t permitted to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be fewer medication errors.

If parents are allowed flextime to attend to their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If workforce can apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up instead of calling in sick to use them all.

Supportive corporate policies could include -

o  Seatbelt use required in corporation cars

o  Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry

o  Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced

o  Flexible work schedules allow workforce to exercise, attend children’s school conferences, etc.

o  Nonuse of tobacco policy is enforced

o  Excessive overtime is discouraged

o  Membership at workout facility is partially reimbursed

o  Shift workforce are scheduled to allow adequate rest

o  Medical care coverage rewards good health

o  Absenteeism policy rewards staff who don’t use sick days

o  Staff Member assistance program available to help personnel with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems

o  Meaningful consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthful, prohibited behavior.  Your business may have a policy against alcohol use during work hours, but when everybody looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch smelling like beer, the culture is one that authorizes drinking at lunch-and one in which written policies could be safely ignored.

Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies become mere lip service instead of springboards to health.

Consistent Recognition and Rewards for Success

Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.

You can show you value wellness by celebrating your wellness programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in corporation newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, meetings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to show appreciation, too.

Health Promotion mentors are sought and applauded, too. Workers who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Coworker modeling and mentoring classes can encourage those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.

Managers Model and Support Healthy Behavior

Nothing could say “We encourage you to exercise often” better than a manager going on a bike ride during the lunch hour–or your supervisor sitting next to you in a weight control class.

Health Promotion activities promote relaxed interaction between people  from different departments and at different levels in the chain of command. That promotes relaxed communication and a feeling of solidarity that is pure gold.

Managers can also provide support for personnel who are working on bettering their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “good job” or “nice to see you at the health and fitness center” can put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.

Managers can also help by allowing staff the flexibility to attend wellness events.

Ongoing Wellness Programs

It is imperative that you give staff members the sense that the health promotion program is a permanent and important part of the corporation, not a corporation fad. That can begin as soon as a new worker is hired.

New workforce are oriented to the wellness program as among the employee benefits. Information about the wellness program must be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable individuals who invites the new employee to participate.

The staff are familiar with the ongoing health promotion programs.

The wellness programs and wellness staff are well known in the business. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.

A broad variety of awareness courses are offered. There are topics of interest for everybody.

o  Create a sub-committee of enthusiastic staff who’ll help promote the fitness program by offering ideas, suggestions and encouragement to fellow workers.

o  Create monthly mailbox flyers to promote a contest or provide fitness-related education/encouragement information.

o  Send a weekly voicemail on each participant’s telephone with stimulating wellness messages.

o  Give regular cumulative health progress reports.

o  Give low-fat or heart-healthy lunch selections once a week in your cafeteria or have workers bring a healthy snack to share, with a recipe book compiled after the contest or specified time (like a National Nutrition Month in March).

o  Distribute worker gifts (pedometers or other novelty item related to some aspect of your contest theme) as registration begins.

o  Allow employees “Fitness15-Minute Walk Breaks;” company time to walk, exercise, etc. When appropriate, you could use a space not currently used to set up a treadmill, elliptical bicycle, some free weights and meditation music.

o  Hold a T-shirt design contest.

o  Develop posters to map contest (or fitness) progress and to serve as reminder of your objectives -

o  Use push pins or other identifiers for each individual to put up in the office showing how they have progressed â.” personnel can get very creative with this and design pins that reflect their personalities.

o  Use a bar graph to compare progress.

o  Use a “thermometer” type graphic and color in progress â.” consider a different, fitness-related graphic all together and color it in as you progress.

o  Provide aerobic dance or walking videos in your conference or break rooms.

o  Compile a list of organized events in the community that offer opportunities to get workforce exercising by participating as a team (below are just a few) -

o  Race for the Cure

o  March of Dimes Walk America event

o  Juvenile Diabetes Research

o  Foundation Walk to Cure

o  American Heart Association’s Heart Walk

o  American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life

o  American Lung Association’s Lung Run

o  Local marathons or special community walks or runs

o  Develop or attend a health-and-fitness retreat or workshop.

o  Hold a soup-and-salad luncheon followed by a hula-hoop contest!

o  Use the mall as an alternate walking location during inclement weather.

o  Designate “Move it Mondays” â.” allow workforce to take an additional 10 minutes at lunch for exercise.

o  Designate “Tasty Tuesdays” â.” provide staff members with low-calorie treats/snacks.

o  Designate “Walking Wednesdays”â.” allow staff members to take an additional 10 minutes at lunch to walk, or “Wacky Wednesdays” that allow staff members to explore new exercises.

o  Designate “Thirsty Thursdays” â.” make healthy smoothies or juice drinks for staff.

o  Designate “Fresh Fruit Fridays” for staff â.” offer seasonal fruit treats.

o  Send weekly exercise tips to personnel via the most effective communications automobile in your workplace.

o  Partner with another corporation representative for local media events coordinated through your marketing or communication department.

o  Be certain to encourage departmental teams to challenge each other (examples – Customer Service, Marketing and Advertising, Medical Support).

o  Launch walking clubs with executive/supervisory leadership.

o  Seek out local aerobic opportunities or classes through churches, community groups, college, YMCA, etc.

o  Contact a few local area health clubs and ask if they can or will offer group discounts for exercise programs, waive enrollment fees, or set up a 12â.”week program as opposed to signing an extended contract.

o  Hold a Frozen Yogurt Social â.” “Reap the Advantages of Fitness.”

o  Map out a walking track around the building including the number of laps required for one mile.

Some qualified sources include -

o  Hope Health

o  Sound Ideas, Inc.

o  Centers for Illness Control and Prevention

o  National Institutes of Health

These e-mails may be sent daily, weekly or monthly. Our experience indicates weekly is the best frequency.

When the majority of your staff members do not have e-mail, consider providing the information to them through -

o  Bulletin boards

o  Check stuffers

o  Mailbox stuffers

o  Newsletters

SAMPLE #1 Company Wellness E-mail Messages

From – Wellness Program

To – Health Promotion Team

Subject –  Layering for Exercise

One way to help ensure enjoyment of a winter walk (or run) is to be certain you’re dressed properly for the weather.  And the secret to that, for a winter workout, is to dress in layers.

Layer 1 — Avoid 100 percent cotton in the first layer, next to your skin. Cotton holds perspiration. Wear underwear made from manmade fabrics to wick perspiration away from skin.

Layer 2 — A zippered sweatshirt and sweatpants will keep you warm. Just open the zipper when you get too warm.

Layer 3 — When needed, over the sweatsuit, you can add a waterproof and windproof jacket. When it is very cold, you may want to wear a jacket made with goose down.

Hands — Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves.

Feet — Wear socks made from wool or manmade fabrics that keep your feet dry and warm. Prevent 100% cotton socks. Do not wear sneakers or boots that fit too tightly …  This will restrict blood flow and your feet will end up feeling colder.

Head — About 40 percent of your body heat is lost through your head. Wear a hat and cover your ears.

Lips — Do not forget lip balm with sunscreen … even in winter!

SAMPLE #2 Company Health Promotion E-mail Messages

From – Wellness Program

To – Wellness Team

Subject –  Energy Improves

Need an energy boost? Here are some ideas for tapping into your own energy sources — and most require little effort.

o  Get an extra hour of sleep. No surprise here — it can make a big difference in your energy level the next day.

o  Eat less more often. Have small, balanced meals or snacks throughout your day for a steady supply of fuel and energy. Make note of which foods seem to increase your energy level.

o  Drink plenty of water. Dehydration contributes to fatigue, which you can offset by drinking water throughout the day.

o  Prevent alcohol and caffeine. Both could contribute  to dehydration and fatigue. They also tend to disrupt sleep patterns.

Depending on your budget and goals, personnel can brown bag the lunch or you might provide the meal. Meetings may be mandatory or elective, your choice.

Experience tells us the most success are going to be achieved if these Wellness Workshops are elective and if the company provides lunch.

Goals for Health Promotion Seminars

Education on a specific medical problem. You could want to pick one of your group’s top diagnoses. Examples are -

o  Diabetes â.” diabetes prevention and care by a qualified diabetic educator

o  Heart disease â.” cardiovascular health (individual counseling sessions with a nutritionist)

o  High blood pressure

o  High cholesterol

o  Flu and pneumonia

o  Breast cancer â.” breast health or breast self-exam sessions can be taught by a trained instructor

Education on health insurance benefits -

o  Diabetes â.” what are the covered benefits, where to buy diabetic supplies, support groups for workers with diabetes.

o  Wellness Program Benefits

o  Well baby/child care.

Education on the importance of enrolling in your medical plan or local health department’s health education programs or disease management (DM) programs. Example programs -

o  Diabetes

o  Respiratory

o  Low-Back Pain

o  Cardiovascular

o  Tobacco use

Community Resource Speakers for Wellness Seminars

o  Local medical plan office

o  Local heart association

o  Local cancer society

o  Pharmacies â.” many pharmacists are available to speak on pharmacy-related issues.

o  Pharmaceutical Organizations â.” many organizations have standard presentations developed for corporations that are provided free of charge to use at your own direction. Some examples are -

o  Know Your Numbers (high cholesterol) â.” Pfizer

o  Respiratory Wellness (flu and pneumonia) â.” Pfizer

o  Men’s and Women’s Health â.” Pfizer

o  Local gyms/personal trainers/YMCA â.” can discuss walking safety, advantages of walking, swimming and aerobics.

o  Yoga and/or Pilates instructors

o  Running, cycling club representatives

o  Local hospital nutritionists

o  Stamp Out Use of tobacco â.” Tobacco Coalition representatives

Topics for Wellness Seminars

o  Biking â.” benefits and opportunities for cycling

o  Nutrition and health (Heart Healthy lunch for all attendees)

o  Cardiovascular health

o  Women’s health issues

o  Exactly how to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke

o  National Employee Fitness Day within the office establishing â.” Governor’s Council on Fitness representatives can promote event

o  Exercise tolerance and healthy heart issues

o  Starting an exercise plan â.” include the importance of seeing the physician prior to the starting of any new exercise program

o  Self-defense

o  Domestic abuse

o  Safety in general

o  Exercise safety

o  Walking/running benefits and safety tips Tobacco dangers and avoidance

It’s a concentrated effort in which to engage them in physical activity for a specific time period that, hopefully, will help them start a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.

Nevertheless, it’s crucial that you practice wellness year-round. This section provides a robust list of Wellness Program ideas that have been implemented within health promotion programs.

All ideas presented in this section have been successful for one or both of the entities. Each activity/idea could be used as a stand-alone event, even when you don’t conduct a fitness contest, or could be held combined with your Employee Fitness Contest.

You may want to select some of the ideas you think will work for your employees or think of others and start your initiative to create a better state of health.

Other benefits demonstrated in studies include improved ability to attract and retain key personnel, greater worker allegiance, and improved public image of the corporation.

Healthcare and Insurance Costs

A number of studies provide evidence of lower medical and insurance costs for participants in health promotion programs, particularly health promotion programs involving exercise.

For $30 per person, the Bank of America conducted a health promotion program for retirees using a risk assessment questionnaire, self-care books and other mailed materials. Insurance claims were reduced an typical of $164 per year in this group while they increased $15 for the control group.

Since they were able to document significant changes in risk behavior, they anticipate greater savings in future years.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks participants claim $300 less per case for a one-year savings of $700,000. Savings for conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle are $722 per case.

Coca Cola announced a reduction in health care claims with a workout plan alone, saving $500 per staff member a year for the personnel (60%) who joined their HealthWorks fitness program.

Prudential Insurance Company reports that the organization’s major health care costs dropped from $574 to $312 for each participant in its wellness program.

Lowered Absenteeism

Absenteeism has been shown to be impacted by corporate health promotion and health promotion programs.  The evidence indicates a significant reduction in absenteeism and resultant dollars saved so of staff member exercise programs.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks wellness program reduced absent days .8 percent to save $2 million in one year. FitWorks members also spent 3.3 days less on short-term disability for an additional savings of $4.7 million.

Focusing wellness efforts on high-risk staff members can lead to better results. A national manufacturing business reports a decrease of 12.2% in disease days for these staff members.

A two-year study by the DuPont Corporation of the effect of its robust wellness program on absences among workers reports that blue-collar workers at intervention sites had a 14% decline in disability days vs. 5.8% decline for controls. There were a sum of 11,726 fewer net disability days.

Enhanced Performance, Productivity and Morale

A number of employers with health promotion programs report documented betterment in job attitude, work performance, energy level, and/or overall morale among health promotion program participants–all vital factors in enhancing productivity.

A Johnson and Johnson study found that employee attitude changes were greater at wellness intervention sites with significant positive attitude changes noted in the categories of organizational commitment, supervision, working conditions, job competence/security, and pay/benefits.

In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Corporation experimental group realized a 4 percent increase in productivity after beginning an worker fitness program, compared to the control group.

Furthermore, 47 percent of health promotion program participants reported that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their peers, and usually enjoyed their work more.

Swedish investigators found that mental performance was significantly better in physically fit staff members than in non-fit employees. Fit staff members committed 27 percent fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the performance of non-fit employees.

The Bottom Line

The following sample of employee health promotion health promotion program results have been stated by individual businesss -

Company –  Dollars Saved/Dollars Spent

o  Bank of America (Fries) –  $5.96/$1

o  PacBell –  $3.10/$1

o  Wisconsin School District Insurance Group –  $4.47/$1

o  Prudential Insurance –  $2.90/$1

o  Bank of America (Leigh) –  $4.73/$1

o  General Mills –  $3.50/$1

Summary

There’s compelling evidence that a sizable portion of the billions of dollars currently spent by businesss on health-related costs is preventable by means of health promotion programming.

Well-planned, extensive health promotion programs (health promotion programs and employee health promotion programs) have been proven to be cost-effective, especially when the health promotion programming is matched to the medical problems of the specific employee

Start a free health promotion program or run a successful health promotion program in the office for little or no cost to your corporation.  The benefits of employee health promotion at work are many.

The articles on wellness program have generated a variety of questions, mainly from wellness providers but also from corporations trying to begin their own wellness programs. There are a number of things to do to begin a successful wellness program at work.

Suggestions for Starting a Free or Low Cost Wellness Program

Before starting a low cost or free health promotion program for your organization, learn more about what personnel want. Survey personnel to learn more about their wellness concerns.

Keep the survey confidential to protect employees’ identities. Normally the most popular employee health promotion topics are use of tobacco cessation, weight loss concerns and heart and cholesterol health.

Look for Employee Wellness Freebies

Find out who’ll come in for free to speak to staff and explore partnerships with outside agents related to corporate health promotion.

For  instance, consult a local branch of a well-known weight reduction business and ask when someone can come in and talk to workers. Look for agencies that are willing to come in and talk about topics related to wellness at no cost to workers, in exchange for something from you.

Find Employee Health Promotion Partnerships

Working with a weight reduction company to set up a speaking engagement for workers is the perfect opportunity to explore a potential wellness partnership.

The weight reduction corporation may say that when 10 workforce join the wellness program, they will hold weekly meetings at corporation headquarters for the people  who joined.  The weight reduction group also may offer corporation workforce a discount when a few people  join the wellness program.

Nonprofits an Untapped Health Management Resource

There are also plenty of nonprofit agencies who’d be thrilled to visit a business to discuss health management. But it is up to you to offer them something in return.

For  instance, if the MS Society came in and talked about the signs of MS, the company could offer to organize an MS walk (in keeping with company health management goals, right?), or an auction with employee and company-donated items where the proceeds go to MS.

The people  at the nonprofit agencies would be happy to open a dialog with your business and to talk about what they’d want in return for a speaking engagement. In many cases, they will not need anything at all for a first meeting.

Gathering Data and Reviewing Health Promotion Program Results

Accumulating data and assessing  results of a health promotion program may be tricky because of HIPPA laws. Nevertheless, if at least 10 staff joined the weight loss program, or 20 individuals  participate daily in the all-new “Let’s Walk a Mile at Lunch” program, that sort of progress can speak strongly to senior-level management.

And, organization successes will potentially give management more incentive to provide money for more health management and health promotion programs in the future.

The beauty of it is that you’re simply helping staff members to make smart choices so the costs of starting a wellness program are minimal compared to the benefits.

Staff Member health is a major concern for small corporation owners. In a small shop, even several sick staff members can disrupt the flow of the worksite and bring the operation to a standstill.

Instead of sitting back and hoping for the best, some owners are taking the matter of worker health into their own hands by starting worker wellness programs. Here’s how they work . . .

Overview of staff member wellness programs

Employee wellness programs are programs initiated by the employer to enhance the overall health of their labor force and to help individual workforce overcome specific health-related hurdles.

These health promotion programs can be offered in a variety of formats –  In mandatory staff training sessions, as voluntary seminars, or through a third-party provider offering a wide-range of worker assistance programs.

In every case, however, the employer foots the bill for the wellness programs because an investment in staff member health is a company investment that directly impacts the company’s bottom line.

Why offer staff member health promotion programs?

Apart from the obvious concern for the health of your employees, there are a few other reasons why staff member wellness programs make sense for small businesses. Right off the bat, your company will benefit from the reduced level of absenteeism that goes hand in hand with a healthful workforce.

Health promotion programs will also reduce the number of injuries that occur in the workplace, not just from accidents, but also from repetitive motion and other recurring sources.

Since even a minor blip in staff member attendance can have a big impact on a small corporation, a more reliable workforce will inevitably translate into a smoother work cycle and a more extensive bottom line.

Health Promotion Program Features

Health promotion programs can cover a broad range of health-related topics. Based on your employees’ needs, it is entirely up to you to determine the type of health promotion programming you want to offer.

Nonetheless, most staff member health promotion programs offer some at least some health promotion programs in the following areas -

o  Nutrition. Diet can significantly impact an employee’s ability to do their job effectively. Nutritional programs educate staff about food options and equip them to make healthful dietary options.

o  Fitness. In addition to diet, exercise is an important factor in a healthy lifestyle. Wellness programs frequently provide employees with opportunities to incorporate exercise into their daily lives.

o  Tobacco use Cessation. Statistics prove that smokers tend to fall ill more frequently than their non-tobacco use peers. Since sick staff disrupt the workplace, tobacco use cessation programs are a no-brainer for both corporations and staff.

o  Physiological Testing. Many companys offer physiological as a regular part of their wellness programs. Cholesterol tests, blood pressure screenings, and other simple exams can provide early warning signs for additional serious problems.

o  Stress Management. Stress itself takes a toll on staff. Notwithstanding, stress is also linked to other health problems such as depression, cardiovascular illness, diabetes, and obesity. Health promotion programs that help staff deal with stress improve not only the psychological health of your staff, but their physical health as well.

The benefits to starting a health promotion program are many.

Several company health promotion tips to get personnel began on the path to a healthier lifestyle -

1. Look around, and determine if staff members lead a healthful lifestyle before beginning an employee wellness program.

o  Exactly how many staff dash outside during lunchtime for a smoke break?

o  Would a use of tobacco cessation program help?

o  Exactly how often do the junk food-laden vending machines have to be replenished?

o  Is whoever exercising or taking advantage of local walking trails as part of their healthful living goals?

The answers to these questions will give businesses a better idea of the staff member wellness program that is right for them.

2. Survey staff members to determine their healthful lifestyle habits.

o  Are they exercising regularly?

o  Eat three square meals a day?

Have regular physicals? Really? Then what planet are they on?

Because we would love to visit! A health promotion program benefits most organizations because workers don’t have the time or energy to stay on top of wellness concerns at work or when they leave the office to go home.

3. Provide health promotion programs a big kick-off with a healthful living “fair.” Make available staff members free flu shots, blood pressure (BP) checks, cholesterol screenings, body/fat ratio assessments, smoking cessation programs and free mammograms- and contact the local hospital, because there’s plenty more where this came from.

Corporations keep their workers hopping during the week. Give workers a chance to amp up their healthful lifestyle on the corporation dime. A health promotion program is an added benefit that workers get for working for the company!

4. Incent to live- offer cash money for employees to lose weight, commit to a smoking cessation program and generally enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

Make sure to encourage humankind’s innate competitive nature by offering prizes for wellness employee “winners.” And, encourage a healthier lifestyle by sponsoring staff who want to enter a local 5K for charity race, run a marathon or play a sport.

The last ten years has brought major changes in employer attitudes toward wellness programs. Interest in self-help and self-care programs has increased as growth in healthcare costs have encroached substantially into profits.

Changes in the organizational structures of health care facilities, specifically the growth of the for-profit health care sector, and the need to contain costs are changing the ways in which purchasers of health care plans are viewing their own efforts toward provision of worksite health care programs and facilities.

Projections for the next decade indicate that health promotion programs will continue to become important factors in the provision of health care, including prevention activities, for both government and private industry.

In organizations with existing health promotion programs, administrative rationale for sponsoring these activities ranged from bettering worker health (28%) to bettering worker morale (9.7%).

Programs include interventions associated with safety, health risk assessment, use of tobacco cessation, blood pressure control, nutrition programs and stress management. Benefits cited range from improved health and productivity to reducing health care costs.

Demographics of the U.S.  Workforce

o  110 million American Citizens were in the civilian labor force in 1981; by the year 2000 the civilian labor force is expected to be almost 140 million.

o  44 percent of the 1984 labor force was female; 10 percent was Black.

o  The median age of the workforce is 32 years and is expected to increase to 32 years by 2030.

o  57.9 percent of all personnel work in companies with between 2 and 500 employees; 45 percent work in companies with fewer than 100 personnel.  An additional 7.5 million American Citizens are self-employed and 3 million are farmers.

o  18% of all wage and salaried staff members in 1985 were union members.            

o  45% of all personnel are employed in offices.            

Prevalence of Corporate Wellness Activities            

Based on a 1985 survey, almost 66 percent of worksites with 50 or more staff had company health promotion activities in 1985.  The frequency of worksite-based activities by selected categories in 1985 was –             

Wellness Program Activities            

Use of tobacco Control          35.60%   

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA)    29.50%         

Back Care             28.60%

Stress Management       26.60%      

Exercise             22.10%

Off the Job Accidents    19.80%         

Nutrition             16.80%

Blood Pressure (BP) Control    16.50%         

Weight Control          14.70%   

Worksite size is the strongest indicator of wellness program prevalence.            

Most staff members believe the advantages of their employee wellness activities outweigh the costs, even though few formal evaluations exist.            

The most frequently cited reason for starting health promotion programs and perceived benefit from programs is improved employee health.

At most workplaces with activities (85.4%), all employees are eligible to participate. 30 percent of workplaces with activities offer them to business dependents, and an equal percent offer them to retirees.

When worksites seek outside health promotion program assistance, they turn to voluntary, not-for-profit businesses (57.1%), private for-profit providers-consultants (50%), local hospitals (44%), and insurance businesses (43%).

Use of tobacco Cessation Programs

Smoking related medical problems cost USA organizations $26 billion a year in lost productivity and $7 to $8 billion in tobacco use-related health costs.

Staff Members who smoke are 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized than nonsmokers, have 2 times as many job-related accidents as nonsmokers and have absenteeism rates approximately 50 percent higher than nonsmokers.

People  who smoked an average of one or more packs of cigarettes per day had 118 percent higher health expenses than nonsmokers.

76 percent of current smokers and 80 percent of former smokers and nonsmokers feel that businesses should restrict smoking to certain areas.

In 1985, 65 percent of smokers, 85 percent of nonsmokers and 78 percent of former smokers, felt that smokers should refrain from smoking in the presence of nonsmokers.

In 1986, 17 states had laws regulating tobacco use in offices or workplaces either in government-controlled offices or offices of private employees.

Examples of tobacco use cessation intervention program used by corporations include -

o  offering nonsmokers a discount of health and life insurance;

o  paying full or partial fees for smoking cessation programs;

o  providing cessation programs on organization or shared time;

o  offering cash payments to quitters after 6 of 12 tobacco-free months;

o  participating in national quit smoking days; and

o  Adopting a smoke free corporation policy and setting deadlines for beginning the policy.

Fitness Programs

An active 55-year-old man can lead as vigorous a lifestyle as a sedentary 35-year-old.

Differences in work-related activity has been shown to yield a two- to three-fold difference in cardiovascular deaths between active staff and their more sedentary counterparts.

In addition to bettering strength, balance, and flexibility, exercise plans can reduce  the probability of back injuries among certain occupational groups.

93 million workdays in the USA are lost each year as the result of back problems.

Research findings support the notion that worksite exercise programs improve fitness and help reduce other health risks, although results related to improved productivity are weak as a result of lack of methods for accurately measuring productivity.

A very small proportion of workplaces have onsite fitness facilities.

The majority of employees sponsored fitness programs involve skills training like aerobic dance, low impact aerobics, resistance training, preand post-natal exercise classes, and walking/jogging groups.

Many companies subsidize worker participation in community “Ys,” fitness clubs or other community programs if no on-site facilities are available.

Workplace fitness programs can reduce costs to companys by decreasing worker healthcare claims and expenditures.

People  whose weekly exercise was equivalent to climbing less than five flights of stairs or walking less than a half mile, spent 114 percent more on health claims than those who climbed at least 15 flights of stairs or walked 1 1/2 miles weekly.

Health care costs for obese people  are roughly 11 percent higher than those for thin people .

Nutrition and Weight Control

One-third of the USA  population is obese to the extent of decling their life expectancy.

Improvements in consuming habits could reduce  the risk of serious health problems such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and is instrumental in the control of non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

The workplace offers a few advantages for nutrition education; support and influence of colleagues and management, availability of a daily eating situation, and opportunities for follow-up and monitoring.

Worksite nutrition programs could be grouped in 6 wide categories -

o  cafeteria programs;

o  multi-component programs;

o  weight control programs;

o  cholesterol reduction programs;

o  programs for pregnant and lactating women; and

o  other nutrition education topics.

Men are less likely to take part in weight-loss programs than are female staff members.

Stress Management

Estimates suggest that 50% to 80% of doctor visits can be attributed to psychosomatic or stress-related origins.

Company compensates many of the costs related to worker stress, both directly in the form of health care costs and in lower productivity.

Job factors which are associated with stress include -

o  not authorizing personnel to take part in decisions about the work process;

o  positions which require more or less skill than the staff member has;

o  changes in work demands;

o  lack of clarity about expectations and standards; and

o  conflict with coworkers or supervisors.

Most worksite stress management programs are implemented thus of requests from employees.

Stress management programs focus on three types of skills –  relaxation skills, coping skills, and interpersonal skills.

Workplace stress management programs are often delivered in one of three formats -

o  seminars conducted by trained specialists;

o  self-learning tools; and

o  personal teaching to assist with self-assessment, planning for changes, learning new skills and responding to life crises.

The two major techniques used in worksite stress management programs are -

o  Teaching individuals  to reduce the negative physical effects of stress; and

o  Teaching people  to recognize and control sources of stress at work and in personal life.

Seat Belt Usage

Motor automobile accidents are the largest single cause of lost work time and on-the-job fatalities of United States corporation.

Motor automobile accidents account for 27% of all work-related deaths and 45 million days of lost work annually.

More than 36 percent of the 11,300 accidental work deaths in 1983 involved automobiles.

Workers who routinely fail to use seat belts may spend up to 54 percent more days in the hospital.

Traffic accidents caused about 3 times as many days of restricted activity as any other type of disability.

Motor car crashes cost $15.2 billion in lost productivity, 88% of which is attributed to losses from workforce activities and future earnings.

In corporate establishings where safety belt policies, requiring use of belts by whoever riding in a company automobile or using a private automobile on company company, have been enforced, 60% to 90% use has been reported.

Incentive programs, accompanied by education and use requirement restrictions have resulted in 40% to 70% initial usage rates.

Factors influencing the sources of worksite seatbelt programs include -

o  Active commitment for management;

o  clearly defined and well enforced policy of required belt use on the job;

o  positive incentives; and

o  ongoing education and training programs.

Case Studies of Health Promotion Programs

Based on an comprehensive investigation of its comprehensive staff member wellness program, LIVE FOR LIFE, Johnson and Johnson stated the break-even point for the program occurs in year 3 and by year 5 they have a net benefit of $316 per staff member. Their year 9 projected benefit is $677 per staff member.

Workers at four Johnson and Johnson companies who were exposed to the health promotion program increased their daily energy expenditure in vigorous activity by 104% compared to an increase of 33% among staff at companies that were offered only an annual medical screen.

Participants in the United Methodist Publishing House’s wellness program submitted more claims (1.14 per participating staff member and .82 for the control in 1984, 1.44 and 1.3 respectively in 1985), but the average cost per claim was less for participants ($316 for participants and $567 for control, in 1984, $262 and $602 respectively in 1985, $270 and $566 respectively in the first four months of 1986).

The United Methodist Publishing House attributes some of the lower than projected use in healthcare costs for 1985 ($902,116 projected with actual costs $142,884) to the health promotion program even though the results are not conclusive.

In 1985, the Adolph Coors Corporation conducted a telephone interview of a random sample of its 10,000 employees to determine changes in health practices since the introduction of an staff member wellness program 4 years earlier.

The sample of 495 staff was stratified to match the business profile respecting age, sex and job description.

The survey reported that 65% of respondents began exercising in the last 4 years, 37% had improved their diets, 20% were regular users of the wellness center, 9% had stopped tobacco use as the result of the company’s tobacco use cessation program and regular participants of the wellness center miss an average of 1.96 workdays annually because of disease or injury compared to 3.08 days for non-participating staff.

The Coors Business also achieved a cost savings from a cardiac rehabilitation program that was implemented in 1981. In 1980 personnel were out of work 7.2 months after a heart attack or bypass operation.

In 1984, cardiac patients were out an typical 1.9 months saving $152,000 in lost work time and in 1985 cardiac patients missed an typical of 2.6 months, saving $125,000 that year.