Popular Employee Health Promotion Programs
Posted by Health Promotion | Posted in Employee Health Promotion | Posted on 07-07-2009
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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.

