Employee Health Promotion

Major benefits of healthy employees include:

• Lower Health Care expenses
• Lowered Injuries
• Lowered Absenteeism
• Increased Morale and Loyalty
• Increased Productivity
• Lowered Use of Health Care Benefits
• Lowered Workers’ Comp/Disability
• Positive Image in Community
• Lowered Turnover
• Better recruitment for skilled employees

What is NOT Having a Employee Health Promotion Costing Your Employer?

Consider the health risk factors that are exacerbating chronic diseases
for adults:

• 59% of American adults are overweight or obese
• Greater than 60% of adults do not get regular exercise
• Greater than 75% of adults do not consume the minimum recommendations for
  fruits and vegetables
• Heart disease is the leading common cause of death and the primary cause
  of death in smokers
• 26% of employees stated they were often or very often burned out or stressed
  by their job

Health Care expenses are Increasing: Health Care costs are at a record level
of $1.7 trillion with no signs of holding steady, let alone going down. The
average expense of yearly health care spending is over $5,000 per person and
with dependents almost $10,000. Recent data shows that health care expenses
now cost North Carolina organizations thousands of dollars per employee, per
year.

Most Illnesses Can Be Prevented: Although it sounds unrealistic, experts insist
that preventable illness makes up 60% – 70% of the entire burden of illness
in the U.S.. In North Carolina, it is estimated that more than 53% of all deaths
are preventable, and that 2/3 of all preventable deaths are due to tobacco use,
physical inactivity, and poor nutrition.

Stress Levels are Rising: As organization resources become less and organizations
adopt leaner work practices, the effects of absenteeism and productivity lost
have a more powerful influence. In a current nationwide poll, 78% of American
citizens described their jobs as stressful, and most believe that stress levels
have worsened over The previous decade. To make matters worse, high levels of
organization stress can negatively affect a organization by growing injuries,
absenteeism, and healthcare costs while decreasing work rate. Simple solutions
such as stress management education, flexible work schedules, quality social
interaction, and increased participation in organization decision-making can
improve stress levels in the workplace.

What is the Initial Cost and Time Investment for a Employee Health Promotion
?

The cost depends on the type of Employee Health Promotion implemented. There
are several options to reward employee health with pros and cons of each. The
program design depends on the goals/objectives of the wellness program, the
organization resources, and the neighborhood resources available.

Enhancing dietary practices, building physical exercise levels, managing stress
or addressing work life balance problems, and decreasing/eliminating tobacco
use, are primary strategies for preventing many of the most common preventable
chronic diseases. The possibilities of how your organization addresses these
problems are endless and can range from building employee awareness, which may
include purchasing a few pamphlets on a variety of topics, and quantifying walking
distances around your facility, to implementing organization support such as
funding a full-time occupational health consultant or building an onsite fitness
center.

When well-planned and based on your goals/objectives, any of these programs
can help you succeed. Refer below to Employee Health Promotion Design Options
for additional ideas.