Employee Health Promotion

A Employee Health Promotion is an accross the board program to help and support
employees in implementing healthier lifestyles. This can include growing employee
awareness on health subject matters, scheduling behavior modification programs,
and/or implementing organization policies that support health-related objectives.
Programs and policies that reward increased physical exercise, tobacco use prevention
and cessation, and healthy meal selections are a few examples.

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is much more than fitness alone. In addition to physical fitness,
the scope of good health include:

• Spiritual Wellness,
• Emotional Wellness,
• Social Wellness,
• Intellectual Wellness

These dimensions are often portrayed as a “life wheel” with examples
of health dimensions that include fitness, nutrition, purpose in life, financial
organization, social wellness & support systems, stress management, mind-body
health, career planning and continued learning. The key behind personal health
is keeping the “life wheel” in allignment. A accross the board wellness
program addresses most, if not all, of these dimensions.

Why Employee Health Promotion ?

employees spend much time on the job, and the reality is that our traditional
work-week is increasing. In fact, the typical American now is at work about
47 hours every week. Additionally, items such as modems, laptop computers, cellular
phones, voice and email have blurred the line between life and work. These realities
diminish the amount of time that the average person is able to devote to health
& wellness pursuits, and yet employees are predicted to be at top performance
when at work.

A current study from the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
found that workplace wellness or Employee Health Promotion are successful in
helping employees to make positive health changes due to several factors such
as convenience, environmental support, and co-worker or social acceptance.

What’s the Association between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that reward healthy behaviors can make a sizable difference
on employee wellness AND have an influence on the organization’s bottom line.
Studies have shown that for every dollar invested by employers in Employee Health
Promotion /wellness programs, there were savings from $1.49 to $4.91 with a
median savings of $3.14*. In organization vocabulary, that’s more than a 3:1
minimum return on investment – a number that is difficult to ignore, and a best
practice that must warrant serious consideration from employers. In fact, a
Employee Health Promotion literature review published in Health Promotion Practitioner
Journal found:

• 19 different studies found a 28.3% reduction in sick time
• 16 different studies demonstrated a 5.6:1 return on investment
• 23 showed a 26.1% decrease in healthcare costs
• 4 found a 30% decrease in direct healthcare and workers’ compensation
  claims

There is little doubt that a accross the board wellness program designed to
meet an enterprise’s specific needs can save money by decreasing absenteeism,
decreasing health care costs, decreasing employee turnover, and building work
rate.

• The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2003