Company WellnessCompany wellness programs and company wellness consulting

It’s clear to virtually every American (particularly those of us in business) that healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control.

No one doubts that either the market will solve the problem OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective.

Organizations have reached the point where the cost of providing health insurance is nearly as burdensome as government regulation. It is time for some new thinking on health care and its impact on company and vice versa.

Employee wellness as an operational perspective in lieu of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising health care costs.

The Insurance Problem

The first step in correcting the problem is to realize that an staff member’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting employers to provide unlimited health insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable.

It’s time for employers (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing medical insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all personnel through group plans, businesses should start to shift the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here’s the approach. Provide catastrophic medical insurance as a group benefit to all staff members with a big enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost inexpensive for the organization.

Then, allow workforce to buy their own medical insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings.

There are numerous insurance corporations that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Workers can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Businesses win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans.

And when individuals become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health.

Besides, if an staff member is interested in working for you ONLY because your business offers excellent insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they’re going to cost you more money in the future?

Create a “Health Promotion Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the health care crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health problems in lieu of on having a healthy worksite and performance culture.

Also, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, instead of compensated sick days, staff members might  be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus.

Staff Members would be reimbursed for successful completion of tobacco use cessation and weight-loss programs. Companies would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every worker can participate.

Staff Members would be offered in-house wellness programs on a variety of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, businesses would commit to hiring and retaining healthful workers.

Simply put, healthful workforce cost less and are more productive than unhealthful ones. Applicants ought to be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productivity and increase the likelihood of future expense.

While this may seem harsh, it rewards those workers whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the corporation committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in major medical journals reveal that person who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are ordinarily healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the typical American.

Since these person look for ways to stay healthy without drugs and surgery, they end up being a net benefit as for attendance and productivity. Old prejudices in this area must be discarded in order for corporations to improve productivity and increase profitability

Conclusion

Health Care costs are increasing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an awful failure. Companies are buckling under the pressure of providing health coverage to their personnel.

American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for amazing solutions. It’s time for American organizations to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the healthcare crisis.

Employee health promotion is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options must be considered while we still have a chance.

Research spanning more than a decade has consistently shown health promotion programs to be financially effective and that every dollar invested on a health promotion program can return $2.30 and $10.10 by lowering absenteeism, sick day usage and by decreasing insurance costs.

In addition it’s noted that there are marked improvements in staff member performance and productivity in organizations that start a wellness program.

Healthful businesses enjoy increased staff member morale and an improved ability to attract and retain key individuals . In addition, employees are more alert and productive.

For  instance, Coca Cola reports that they save almost $500 a year per employee once they implemented a fitness program in which 60 percent of their employees participate.

Coors Brewing Business reported that employees who participated in their health promotion programs reduced their absentee rate by 18 percent.

Staff Members enjoy their share of benefits from wellness programs too. A healthful lifestyle affects every part of a person’s life, including their work environment.

Health promotion programs lead to fewer injuries, less human error and a work environment that is more harmonious and relaxed. Also, workforce who work at a corporation that starts a wellness program know that their corporation is concerned about their wellness.

Workers often report a reduction in their stress levels as a result of wellness programs.

As workforce feel better, more relaxed, more valued and more human to their company; they enjoy an increase in productivity. This increase in productivity, while advantageous to the organization, is also essential to the staff member as it increases their own sense of self worth and confidence levels.

Employees who feel successful and who feel that they accomplish objectives are overall happier and in a better frame of mind.

The advantages of health promotion programs, both tangible and intangible, are evident. It is a wise move for a corporation to implement a health promotion program, especially when they incorporate some form of psychological health aspect into it.

This also has social benefits as domestic violence and child abuse is shown to be decreased in areas where wellness programs are implemented. These days, an organization can almost not afford to have some sort of wellness program to offer to their workforce.

Some of the top health promotion programs currently in use today include –

Health Risk Assessments (HRAs)

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) is a top wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that start it determine the safety and health concerns of staff by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the staff.

It can, for instance, guide the company into determining how the air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem.  An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure staff have to certain hazardous or hazardous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This is not always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Nevertheless, it has also become an important component of the top staff member health promotion programs in many businesses in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for instance, are offered to workforce for free.

Employee Assistance Programs

Staff Member Assistance Programs consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to personnel regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many corporations, 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 businesses use, specifically 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 wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that businesses can start is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign.

The campaign might  be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, like use of tobacco hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.

The newsletter in itself could be an effective means to deliver information to staff or members of an organization but it’s far from perfect.

Some workers, for example, might not read the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it’ll be easier to maximize positive results.

Exercise and Physical Activity

Another top wellness program for organizations is one that involves physical activities. Businesses often sponsor exercise-related events like marathons and corporation sports programs to encourage workers to remain fit or lose excess weight.

In mid- to large-sized corporations, corporations may even pay for fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Health Promotion Incentives

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by businesses involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored wellness programs that reward workforce for achieving specific wellness-related goals.

Participation in health campaigns and signing up for health promotion programs are two of the most widely rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time obtained points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In several cases, cash might also be used.

Nevertheless, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be among the top options among businesses who are willing to modify it to fit their unique needs.

Coworker Pressure

In many companies, companies take advantage of colleague pressure to encourage employees to take part in health promotion programs. This is currently one of the favorite worker health promotion programs currently in use today and growing in popularity.

Colleague pressure is usually leveraged to help promote competitions referring to employee health promotion and to persuade staff members to be active in company-sponsored health fairs.

Health Promotion is a great concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a indeed holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthful balance of the mind-body and spirit that causes an overall feeling of wellness.

It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you begin to talk about company wellness, or company wellness, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management and medical screening do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.

They begin from the assumption that ailment is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.

The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Wellness guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.

On the one hand there are the small corporations – people  working from home or in small centers selling all types of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating quickly.

On the other hand company wellness is also exploding but in a very different direction.

The baby boomers who are driving the well-liked wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.

They’re actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthful into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.

The corporations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make corporations liable for stress-related illness in their staff.

It is also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the enormous costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new life choices the companies are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, like doctors, nurses, insurance and screening systems.

The problem is that the traditional health system doesn’t have solutions for the problems that people  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a doctor to get happy, because a doctor does not have any clue how to make people  happy.  And many stress-related medical problems are described as chronic conditions, which means that they last for a very long time – or maybe for the rest of your life – because there’s no medical cure.

Counseling is a common offering in corporations for emotional problems, but whilst it may provide a useful pressure valve it is not a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.

Imagine walking into a organization where the workforce are happy, healthful, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.

That type of company would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people  would be working to their optimum capacity.

So can we create a system of true wellness that’ll serve the development of the businesses and their employees and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?

First of all we’ve to face the fact that we can’t place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, have not been solved by the current system.

If they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we’d all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

We also cannot rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, such as the onsite massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most people  unaffected. They’re easy to organize but have little or no real effect on worker health promotion.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness organizations that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

However it’s in the best interest of both organizations and staff members to find and develop systems of wellness that really work – that benefit people  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home after the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the theory of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It’s time to raise the vision and find out how to make in truth healthy, happy worksites where people  thrive.

High rates of staff member turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits.  The high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in total cost the typical corporation.

A lot of businesses are locating the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of health promotion programs that yield a reduction in these costs.

It’s become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.

Management’s objectives for a productive health promotion program should be viewed through the perspective of increased employee productivity, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved employee morale, lowered utilisation of corporation subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.

It’s obvious that an improvement in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an employees point of view could be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, reduced body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and worksite.

To be most productive a wellness program needs to achieve both managements and staff members goals, and this can be accomplished through a wellness program that’ll provide the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and well-being, and the benefits of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that’ll allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that can be applied in their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Health Promotion Programs

Lowered Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5 percent over six years for the participants of their employee fitness initiative, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Lowered Health Care Costs – Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55 percent for corporate fitness program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an average of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Reduced Turnover – Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Company was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross Blue Shield  of Indiana found that its corporate exercise initiative had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 companies to consider making workforce health a CEO issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.

After several years of double-digit rate increases for health insurance, corporations are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have staff take more responsibility for both costs and health choices.

A majority of companies surveyed feel that the best way for decreasing costs is financial incentives to encourage workers to adopt healthier life choices.

Almost 100 percent of businesss surveyed say that medical costs will be a crucial or significant concern over the next five years, as reported by a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.

More corporations are adopting higher deductible healthcare plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, health promotion programs, and broader disease management programs for control ever-increasing health care costs.

Failure to deal with these issues could be disastrous for an corporation. Wayne Sensor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alegent Health lately stated, “I think that we’ve built a healthcare machinery we can’t afford. I think we’re choking the economic engine of America.”

In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California corporations billions of dollars each year.

Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect healthcare costs, employee’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced among the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it’s an economic crisis.” What’s frightening is that most individuals don’t even realize that they are obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight.

There is a great need for additional education on weight and resulting diseases, and the worksite is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can result in a significant return on investment and, when structured properly, can produce results in a very short period of time.

Despite the fact that many businesss have attempted some form of health promotion program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.

In many cases, the healthier staff members participated for incentives, such as gym memberships, but those who needed it most did not take benefit of the health promotion program in a meaningful way.

Businesses are looking at ways to encourage more workforce to purchase into the wellness movement.

A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource (HR) Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line –  Engaging Employees is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home.

This session provided actionable advice on how corporations are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on staff member engagement. It also highlighted how you can create an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your company.

Corporations can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to reduce health care costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Workers also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives.  The alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the corporation.

A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal staff member Wellness Committee.

Nutrition Category

• Low-fat campaign/food groups

• Team salad bars

• Vending machine changes

• Diet analysis by a nutritionist

• Produce on parade

• Consuming disorder support group

• Restaurant education

Exercise/Exercise Category

• “Elevoiders” – stair climbing

• Poker walk

• Mall walking program

• Facilities – showers, bicycle lockers, exercise space, etc.

• Team treks

• Walk-a-block trails

• Recreational tournaments

• How-to-select equipment talks

• Running maps

• Bicycling maps

• Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)

• Fit-over-forty club

• Tennis shoe Tuesday

• Walk 100 miles in 100 days

• Walking “buddies”

• NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category

• House calls

• Meet your benefits providers

• Dental health

• Fire safety

• Ergonomic assessments

• Self-help learning

• CPR/first aid course

• Hearing test

• Hand washing campaign

• Cancer screenings

• Back class

• Passports to health

• Vision screenings

Stress Management Category

• Comedy hour

• Stress Pest

• Humor newsletter

• Money management seminars

• Time management seminars

• Relaxation class

• Better sleep campaign

• Relaxation room

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other HR (HR), employee motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which might  be coordinated together.

• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains –  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of medical insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Health Promotion and safety efforts can focus on –

• Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Provide training to work groups so they may start a stretching program. These groups can then continue their own.

• The wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness professional to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for worker groups throughout the year.

• Make available body mechanics training each year or more frequently if possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

• Partner with your company’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which can help workforce work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Be sure to encourage personnel to report safety and/or injury concerns. Be sure to help senior management to establish policy to recognize and reward personnel who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

• Partner with executive management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

• The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workforce volunteers. These individuals can then assist other workforce to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

• It’s often more effective to have an observer evaluate workers for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it is for individuals to assess themselves.

• One suggestion is to have workers remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make large comfort changes.

• Partner with the company’s workers’ compensation carrier to help create ergonomic policies and practices and to provide staff member training.

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy commonly used to create interest and participation. However, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can create issues.

Your workplace may have policies and guidelines already in place about issues such as appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Make certain to check with executive management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Do not forget to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is normally safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others may feel left out.

In fact, acknowledging diverse holidays, when done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

Several topical ideas for holiday themes include –

• Health Promotion committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.

• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Workers who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local supermarket or donated).

• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up workplace introductory tai chi class offering.

• Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.

Each individuals can say several words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food doesn’t have to be low fat or namely healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps staff members monitor their weight during the holiday season.

• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident before Thanksgiving.  The weigh-ins could  be conducted on the honor system, but weight should be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You could invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

• Workers set an individual goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

• Provide weekly weight control hints. These must be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in pamphlet form.

• Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthful recipe choices.

• Remind personnel of the necessity to continue exercise during the busy holiday season.

• Weigh everybody the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.

• Staff Members that have maintained their weight or that have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

• Employees who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which could either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.

Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in larger events. Health observances are tied to nearly every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider –

• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and companies to coordinate bigger events and celebrations.

• A wellness message is more likely to stick with individuals if the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on television.

• National Staff Member Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to start.

• A word of advice – don’t go overboard in trying to tie a health promotion program into these national observances, as there are so many. Select one to three events per year and stick with these.

Develop and promote events well ensuring that personnel will come to expect and anticipate these health promotion programs each year. It’s best to do several wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.