Promoting employee wellness
What are wellness initiatives?
Wellness initiatives can take many forms—ranging from employer-sponsored flu shots, online newsletters, and healthy food options in cafeterias/vending machines, to health screenings and risk assessments for chronic disease, to subsidies for health and fitness clubs. They are efforts taken by employers to support the health of their employees and improve productivity, while reducing absenteeism and costs.
How can they affect the business community?
Many CEOs view employees as a company’s greatest asset; healthier employees are more likely to be happy and more productive. In addition, wellness programs can help moderate the cost of benefits. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis of wellness initiatives, there is a strong business case for these programs because:
- Chronic disease drives healthcare costs.
- Productivity losses associated with chronic disease are even greater than the medical costs themselves.
- Workplace wellness efforts can positively impact workers’ health and productivity.
- Business sustainability is threatened by growing levels of chronic disease.
According to the Small Business Wellness Initiative, research suggests that for every $1 invested in health promotion, a company can save up to $3 to $5 in health and safety costs, such as medical expenses, absenteeism, and workplace accidents.
Implementing wellness programs may seem daunting, but real-world experience and research-based toolkits exist to help employers implement successful programs, such as the Worksite Wellness Resource Kit developed by the Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition (COPAN) Program. Click here
Recent Developments
At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in 2008, 15 international CEOs appealed to business leaders “to strengthen their commitment to employee wellness in the workplace on a global scale”. The Anschutz Foundation recently responded to this call to action by donating $15 million to build a Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora to "translate research into programs and tools to help all people in Colorado improve their diet and physical activity patterns.”
In addition, three Colorado companies – Colorado Springs Utilities, Penrose St. Francis Hospital System in Colorado Springs, and TRANE (a heating and air conditioning service and supply business in Pueblo) were named to the American Heart Association’s 2008 Fit-Friendly Companies list. Employers who receive this prestigious wellness award are recognized for creating a workplace conducive to physical activity. The Colorado Springs Utilities wellness program is credited in part for reducing their employee’s health risk factors in 2006, relative to 2005. (Risk factors are associated with higher costs and can be anything from a family history of disease to not wearing seatbelts).
According to the recently completed WHO/World Economic Forum joint report on workplace wellness, obesity remains a significant cost-driver and reducing obesity levels and sustaining them over time represents the next major hurdle for wellness programs.
Resources
Employers Engaged in Managing Diabetes, Colorado Business Group on Health
Reviews steps Colorado employers are taking to control costs related to diabetes. Preventing or managing diabetes in a workforce is one of the most financially significant things an employer can do to control health care.
Doing Well through Wellness, Business Roundtable
Surveys wellness programs at the Business Roundtable member companies
Small Business Wellness Initiative, Department of Health and Human Services
Describes a wellness initiative targeted to small businesses
Worksite Wellness Resource Kit, Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition Program
Provide tools and advice for large and small employers