A Employee Health Promotion Program is an organized program to help and support workers in instituting healthier lifestyles. This can include rising employee awareness on health issues, scheduling behavior modification programs, and/or instituting corporation policies that support health-related objectives. Programs and policies that encourage increased physical exercise, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy diet selections are a few examples.
Dimensions of Wellness
Wellness is more than just physical fitness alone. In addition to physical fitness, the scope of optimal health include:
• Spiritual Wellness,
• Emotional Wellness,
• Social Dimension of Wellness,
• Intellectual Wellness
These ranges are frequently illustrated as a “life wheel” with examples of health dimensions that include fitness, diet, purpose in life, financial planning, social connections & backing systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and continued learning. The key behind individual health is keeping the “life wheel” in allignment. A accross the board workplace wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these ranges.
Why Workplace Wellness Programs?
employees spend a great deal of time on the job, and the fact of the matter is that our traditional work-week is growing. In fact, the average American now works about 47 hours per week. Additionally, technologies such as modems, laptops, cellular phones, voice and email have made vague the work-life boundary. These realities decrease the amount of time that the average person is able to spend on health and wellbeing pursuits, and yet employees are predicted to be top of their game when at work.
A new study from the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses observed that workplace wellness or Corporate Health Promotion Programs are successful in supporting workers to make beneficial 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 have the potential to make a big difference on employee wellness AND impact the company’s bottom line. Studies show that for each dollar invested by employers in Employee Wellness Programs/wellness programs, there were savings from $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*. In company vocabulary, that’s more than a 3:1 minimum ROI – a number that is difficult to overlook, and a best practice that should draw serious consideration from employers. In fact, a Employee Wellness Program literature review published in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal saw:
• 19 research studies found a 28.3 percent reduction in sick time
• 16 studies determined a 5.6:1 return on investment
• 23 showed a 26.1% decrease in healthcare expenditures
• 4 observed a 30% decrease in direct medical and workers’ compensation claims
There is little doubt that a all-inclusive wellness program designed to meet an enterprise’s specific needs can save money by reducing absenteeism, decreasing health care costs, decreasing employee turnover, and building productivity.
• The United States Department of Health & Human Services, 2003