Wellness Programs are excellent for waistlines and your bottom line
In today’s hectic world, most of us are spending more time at work, and have increasingly less time to look after our health. for a long time, employers have understood the benefits associated with keeping employees well – increased productivity from lowered absenteeism and lowered disability claims.
For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many corporations realized double-digit health care costs last year, corporations should consider Wellness Programs as a way to keep workforce healthy.
But just how important are these wellness programs to employees? Exactly how often are they willing to participate in wellness programs designed to positively impact their wellness? Who do workers trust to provide them with important information about their health?
Answers to these questions and more were recently garnered from a research study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. (AAOHN).
The AAOHN survey questioned 500 workforce nationwide about their perceptions of Wellness Programs. More than three-quarters of all participants indicated these wellness programs are a good way to improve their overall health, and nearly 60 percent consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their current employer.
Staff Member retention and turnover impact the bottom line, so building health promotion programs into the work site culture is a valuable way to help retain talented workforce also to enhancing personal health and worksite productivity.
Wellness wish list
Staff Members appear to have their own agenda when it comes to their health. With new pressures resulting from an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues, it’s not surprising that 85 percent of survey respondents cited stress management as a priority topic for work site wellness.
In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include health screening programs (84 percent), exercise/physical fitness programs (84 percent), health insurance education (81 percent) and disease management (DM) workshops (80 percent).
In addition to lifestyle and personal health issues, those asked expressed concern about work-related health issues, including strains and injuries resulting from lifting or task-oriented muscle repetition, exposure to harmful substances, personal injury, vision changes due to computer work and worksite violence.
Beginning a Wellness Program
With such a wide range of health concerns, a key goal for employers is locating a way to proactively address the health needs of the biggest number of employees, and effectively change unhealthful behaviors, promote wellness and ward off illness and illness.
Printed materials like pamphlets, posters, fliers or pamphlets present an easy solution. But it is important to remember that different people require different formats for learning.
A good rule of thumb – provide information in a selection of learning formats like videos, flyers, health-related quizzes, display boards, lunch and learn presentations and reimbursement or incentive programs.
This assumes you’ve overcome the first hurdle – getting individuals to sign on to a health promotion program. While survey respondents indicated health promotion programs are important, just six out of 10 (60 percent) reported that they participated in the health promotion programs at their businesses. The other 40 percent cited lack of interest and lack of time as deterrents.
This points to the need for a robust, structured wellness program using a creative approach, with an incentive for participation and effective wellness program advertising.
By investing in an organized health promotion program headed by a qualified health care specialist such as an onsite nurse, organizations can give workforce the access to the health information they want, and increase participation and generate interest at the same time.
The result – staff become savvier healthcare consumers who feel more in charge of their personal health. And healthier staff make for a healthier bottom line.
