Posted by Winston Salem | Posted in Wellness Tips, winston salem wellness | Posted on 12-08-2009
Organization Physical Activity Programs Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness
Instituting a Worksite Health Promotion Program improves the health of employees, lowers employee absenteeism and saves the business money, too. Learn more about starting an Worksite Health Promotion Program in the office.
Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs
• A business expenditure of $100-$150 per employee each year to take part in an Company Wellness Program can save companies $300 to $450 for each employee every year, according to Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies. The savings can take a few years to actualize, says Goetzel, and are seen in reduced health expenditures.
• The Wellness Councils of America published a $24 return for every $1 invested on a Company Wellness Program for small businesses.
• According to a 2005 survey by The Art of Health Promotion, businesses who adopted Employee Wellness Programs realized a 30 percent reduction in health care and absenteeism expenditures in less than four years.
A thriving Company Wellness Program starts with Senior Leadership. Organization owners should lead by example, taking part in their business’s exercise program and working closely with a wellness coach. Senior Leadership should make sure employees are well cognizant of their wellness efforts, displaying weight loss results or tobacco cessation results on business intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.
Worksite Wellness Programs that Really Work
• Encourage workers to kick start their own wellness programs by visiting their doctor. A complete physical should include information about blood glucose, cholesterol levels and general health.
• Target specific health-related problems in a corporate fitness program. Information about how to fight obesity, smoking, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse ought to be at the forefront of an Worksite Health Promotion Program, along with related conditions.
• Hire a wellness coach to instruct workers on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Reward workers for taking part in company wellness plans. Let workers accrue wellness and health points that they are able to redeem for prizes. Make the prizes healthy, too- a free massage, private training session with the company’s wellness coach or health meal gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle choices.
• Acknowledge employee wellness and health leaders in business newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the business intranet.
Company Health Promotion Programs Yield Big Results
For corporation owners who want to increase employee participation in a Company Wellness Program, consider Johnson & Johnson’s approach. Faced with only 26% of workers participating in their employee health and wellbeing program, Johnson & Johnson offered workers a $500 discount on health insurance costs if they completed a health risk profile. The number of workers participating in the Johnson & Johnson corporation exercise program jumped after they provided the incentive — to more than 93%.
Ron Goetzel encourages those looking to pitch a corporate exercise program to Senior Leadership to use basic facts about the advantages of Workplace Health Promotion Programs as part of their argument. Keep it simple, and share results from other company’s employee wellness plan success stories.