Workplace Health PromotionWorkplace health promotion and workplace wellness program blog

Workplace Health Promotion Program Study Shows Millions Lost Due to Illness

Workplace Health Promotion Program was shown to be a huge economic boon for companies in a recently-released joint report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly three million productive employees in labor markets worldwide add up to a lot of money. The Workplace Health Promotion Program study estimates that China will lose $558 billion, India $237 billion, and Russia $303 billion in national income from 2005 to 2015 due to only three chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Lack of Workplace Health Promotion Program A “Huge Expense”

The U.S. Center for Disease Control also reports that chronic disease accounts for approximately 75 percent of yearly worker medical care costs in the U.S., which constitutes a huge expense for companies. And the Public Health Foundation of India estimates that its country will lose 18 million potentially productive years of life by 2030, a statistic no nation can afford, let alone a developing one.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs the Answer

A sustainable solution to these challenges cannot be solved by medical benefits alone. Workplace commitments to Workplace Health Promotion Program are also crucial. Companies are advised to implement worksite Health Screening and Biometric Testings for their employees, as well as look into a comprehensive health management program. These and other precautions are good secret weapons against the economic pitfall of unhealthy employees.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs – Staff Engagement Strategies

Workplace Health Promotion Programs without staff engagement are of no use to a organization. How do you get employees to enroll in Workplace Health Promotion Programs – and stay engaged in the programs?

The brochures for these programs discuss the benefits to employees and businesses. Workplace Health Promotion Program statistics show that there are tangible benefits to a organization for offering such programs. Workplace Health Promotion Programs actually do save lives by getting workers to take their health seriously, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and more.

However, St. Louis, Missouri-based Maritz Inc., the world’s largest incentive organization, has applied their own invigorating twist to health management by providing gift rewards to employees who participate in Workplace Health Promotion Programs. The wellness incentive reward program is Maritz’s own Exclusively Yours® plan. Health management participants earn points, which can be then redeemed for merchandise, electronics, restaurant vouchers and travel, much like a frequent-flier program.

Enrollment incentive rewards in Workplace Health Promotion Programs?

Undoubtably companies that don’t work in the incentive rewards industry will be tempted to cry foul about using such a rich carrot to incentivize health program enrollments. Not every organization can throw that kind of money at health management resources – and not every organization has the built-in cost savings as a business that specializes in providing incentive reward programs.

For certain rich incentive rewards like Maritz’s will break through the glaze that appears over many employees’ eyes when they’re encouraged to do something new, different or challenging. For many employees uncomfortable with health management and physical activity, “new, different and challenging” would apply to Workplace Health Promotion Programs. So where does that leave businesses who are unwilling or unable to provide incentive rewards for health management program enrollment?

Successful Workplace Health Promotion Programs motivate employees – before and after signup

Workplace Health Promotion Program administrators should keep the long-term view in mind when trying to get employees to take that critical first step. Even the best incentive rewards can fail in the face of faltering organization, badly-designed Workplace Health Promotion Programs and wavering support. Make sure to run good Wellness surveys before you build your Workplace Health Promotion Programs so worker input and needs are being met by your Workplace Health Promotion Programs. The goal is positive outcomes, not high enrollment numbers.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs cannot survive managerial apathy. If executive and managerial participation is widespread and heartfelt, employees will follow their leadership. The potential rewards and Wellness benefits are clearly worth reaping, for both your business and your co-workers.

Wellness might be the fatal flaw in your Workplace Health Promotion Program. Is Wellness part of your strategy? Does worksite wellness stop when your employees leave the office?

Wellness Continuity

If employees don’t have the tools to pursue health and wellness on a Individual level, then it becomes easy for them to “fall off the wagon” and slide back into a unealthy lifestyles. If you have a walking program, for example, it should encourage employees to build walking routes near their homes, perhaps with the cooperation of the neighborhood association or coworkers who live in the neighborhood.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs: Always on Your Mind

Your Workplace Health Promotion Program coordinator should have “vacation wellbeing” as part of their job description. In other words, you don’t want a Workplace Health Promotion Program to stop at the boundaries of the worksite campus. Instead, integrate Individual health and wellness with your Workplace Health Promotion Programs.

This can benefit your Workplace Health Promotion Programs in two ways:

it lowers the chance that the worker will come back to the office feeling unfit, overwhelmed and unable to resume their Workplace Health Promotion Programs; and
it shows that their business is just as invested in their Individual health and wellness as they are

Like a marathon, Individual health and wellness is a long-term venture and it’s challenging for anyone to do in isolation. Simply put, it’s easier to maintain your state of health when you know others are depending on you and watching your Individual performance. It’s easier to maintain to an fitness program when you have a jogging partner who wakes you up when you oversleep, or spots you when you’re lifting weights.

Similarly, it’s easier to maintain to your Workplace Health Promotion Program when you know your business is supporting you and wishing you the best.

Don’t Dictate Individual Health

Just as Wellness surveys serve a vital function in building a Workplace Health Promotion Program, it’s critical that you involve employees in designing an off-site wellness strategy. No one enjoys being told what to do, but everyone enjoys having assistance in tacking tough problems. Make it clear that employees are in charge of their own health and wellness. Your role as their health management partner is to support, advise, counsel, provide resources and information.

Of course, don’t forget that part of Individual health and wellness responsibility is to provide good health risk assessment baselines so employees can proceed safely on the road to better fitness.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs: An Attainable Goal

Was Wellness on your organization’s new year’s resolutions list? Here we are a little over midway into the third month of 2008, the time when resolutions start to falter if they haven’t lost momentum completely. Has your Worksite’s wellness resolution fallen by the wayside? If so, there are still ways to get back on track.

One Wellness tip comes to us from the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, reported from the Jersey Shore. Rod Shirk, the YMCA’s chief financial officer, participated in the organization’s first executive Workplace Health Promotion Program, which registered his cholesterol as higher than normal. That prompted him to get a physical, which showed high levels of a prostate-specific antigen that often indicates prostate cancer. The outcome? His doctors caught a life-threatening illness just in time.

Thanks Workplace Health Promotion Program.

So of course, Shirk is a huge proponent of Workplace Health Promotion Programs. He says, “For us here at the YMCA, if we are telling people to be healthy, we had better set a good example for our employees.”

Wellness Decreases Health Care Costs

Though cases like Shirk’s dramatic cancer save are the most desirable effect of Workplace Health Promotion Programs, it isn’t the initial draw for businesses. They do it to reduce medical care costs, and there’s no doubt that Workplace Health Promotion Programs do just that. Workplace Health Promotion Program Statistics show that Workplace Health Promotion Programs return anywhere from $2.30 to $10.10 per dollar spent on wellness. “Health care costs should go down as people think about changing their diets and getting more active,” Shirk says.

The Workplace Health Promotion Program savings aren’t just in the Medical Insurance department. Human resource departments report that Workplace Health Promotion Programs also reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.

Still, companies have been loath to invest that elusive Wellness dollar despite the well-documented returns. A Principal Financial Group and Harris Interactive survey found that only 10% of small- to medium-size businesses have made worksite Health Screening and Biometric Testings – like the one that saved Shirk’s life – available to their employees.

Is It Necessary to Incent Corporations to Initiate Workplace Health Promotion Programs?

Wellness incentive rewards may seem like an effective way to get employees excited about Workplace Health Promotion Program – but is it wise?

This helps and encourages businesses to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy workforce, not only for the welfare of its employees, but as well as the welfare of the corporate bottom line … then, yes, it could be necessary.

Tax Breaks as Wellness incentive rewards

In 2007, two senators decided to band together to create the “Healthy Workforce Act.” This act is designed to encourage businesses to keep employees healthy and prevent disease. The senators believed that having a country focused on “well care” versus “sick care” would decrease the overall costs of medical care for everyone. They decided to start with America’s workforce.

The legislation, introduced by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, states that companies would receive a Wellness incentive reward – a fifty percent tax credit – if they provide to their employees a Workplace Health Promotion Program that meets the following criteria:

1) A health education and awareness component, which could include Health risk assessments and Health Screening and Biometric Testings.
2) A behavioral change component – such as counseling, seminars, or self-help materials to empower employees to lead healthier lifestyles.
3) A supportive environment component – including providing meaningful incentive rewards to taking part in employees, such as a reduction in medical premiums or allowing employees to engage in walking Workplace Health Promotion Programs during the workday.
4) The creation of an worker engagement committee – which would tailor the Workplace Health Promotion Program to the needs of the workforce at a particular organization.

If this law gets passed, many businesses will be scrambling to provide Workplace Health Promotion Programs in hopes of receiving the Wellness incentive rewards.

What is a Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposal?

You probably have seen the term many times and wondered what exactly does it mean. A Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposal is a proposal put together by a wellness consultant that makes suggestions for what type of Workplace Health Promotion Programs you should choose, what tools you will need to accomplish your corporation’s wellness goals, and costs associated with it.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposals Assist Human Resource Departments

A Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposal is a great thing to have in hand when HR Departments go to upper management to request funding for a Workplace Health Promotion Program. It will provide necessary stats and trends, background information, and costs that will enable the HR Department to fully present their case. Upper management will appreciate the preparedness and the research that has gone into your wellness request.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposals Lead to Better Workplace Health Promotion Programs

A well thought out Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposal can lead to a better Workplace Health Promotion Program, because the building blocks will already be in place. Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposals will guarantee that your corporation gets the proper Workplace Health Promotion Program established. Workplace Health Promotion Programs can vary greatly, but when your employees ask, you can tell them that they generally include the following:

Walking programs which provides employees with incentive rewards to take their walking breaks at their worksite.
Company teams, worksite yoga classes and massage therapists at the worksite.
Nutrition advice, weight-loss and healthy cooking classes, stress management sessions, and either a Workplace Health Promotion Program resources column in the worker newsletter or a wellness newsletter.
Stairwell initiatives to show how stair-walking can enhance health.

Wellness Challenges Are Popping Up Everywhere

Wellness Challenges are definitely hot right now and they are encouraging more and more people to get healthy and live better. Whether it is a city or a school or a social group or even a whole state, competitive spirits are being ignited by the challenge to be the healthiest team. The Wellness Challenges are usually about a six months to a year in length and they are made up of several teams, these teams all get points for physical activity, selecting healthy foods, and just making better life and health choices overall.

The best part about Wellness Challenges is even though there really is only way “real” winner; everyone that participates in the challenge is a life winner.

Wellness Challenges provides incentive reward to Get Healthy

Establishing a Wellness Challenges in your office is a great way to get employees to participate in your established Workplace Health Promotion Program. Have employees form teams and receive points for everything from attending a corporate Health and Wellness Fair to getting a health risk assessment to starting an physical activity regimen. At the end of the year, the teams will win prizes based on the number of points they have accumulated.

Wellness Challenges Enhance Corporate Health

Not only will Wellness Challenges enhance the health of your employees, it will enhance the overall health of the corporation by providing benefits such as reduced injuries, reduced frequency of worker’s comp, reduced medical care costs, better worker attendance, and better corporate morale.

Like we said earlier, everyone is a winner in a Wellness Challenges!

The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”

The report calls for Workplace Health Promotion Programs to be promoted and implemented worldwide.

Importance of Workplace Health Promotion Programs

The report states that Non-Communicable Disease related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of Non-Communicable Disease’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.

Diet, caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of Non-Communicable Disease’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs are Effective Tools

The report states that Workplace Health Promotion Programs are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also states that Workplace Health Promotion Programs will enhance the health of employees, enhance the corporate image, enhance worker morale, reduce worker absences and sick leave, increase worker productivity, and reduce corporate medical care costs.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs Monitoring

Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Workplace Health Promotion Program, monitoring and evaluation through Health risk assessments and health outcomes are essential and should be included in the Workplace Health Promotion Program implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Workplace Health Promotion Program developed meets the proper needs of the employees. Staff Members should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Workplace Health Promotion Program is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.

Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI: Fact or Fiction?

Workplace Health Promotion Programs … do they provide a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever organization’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI is not an easy thing to do for companies because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the businesses that have taken the time to determine the Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI of their Workplace Health Promotion Programs have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Wellness program’s effect on the improvement of worker health and the slowing of the rate of their worker medical care costs.

Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI Alliance

Workplace Health Promotion Program ROI is such an important part of today’s corporate culture, that several large businesses have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Workplace Health Promotion Programs.

The alliance, formed by Henry Ford Health Systems, BMW of North America, Kraft Foods Global, Schlumberger Limited and MasterCare Worldwide, strongly believes in showing the value of Workplace Health Promotion Programs and want to develop a standard for how Workplace Health Promotion Programs are measured.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an corporate-provided worker Workplace Health Promotion Program:

Employee assistance Programs (EAPs)
Disease Management Programs (DM)
Fitness and physical activity Programs
Health risk assessments
Workplace medical care Programs
Individual wellness profiles
Preventive Health Screening and Biometric Testings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Programs
Telephonic Workplace Health Promotion Programs
Weight Management / Loss Programs
Self-Care Programs.

Wellness During the Summer Time

Wellness is important year-round; however if your employees haven’t gotten on the Wellness bandwagon, then now is the perfect time to get them there.

Summer Time is an ideal time of year to get back into shape and enhance overall Wellness. The weather is beautiful, employees can get outside and they are motivated by the thought of having to wear clothes with less coverage. Fitness, or lack of fitness, is apparent in the summer.

Wellness in the Summer Time has Advantages

There are many advantages to starting a Workplace Health Promotion Program in the Summer Time. Employees are more likely to get outside and walk or participate in group activities during the summer than they are in the cooler months of the fall and winter. The summer months are also a great time to establish a Wellness challenge with your employees and celebrate the completion of the challenge with a participant picnic or cookout. Finally, it always seems easier to eat healthy during the summer with all the fresh vegetables and fruits that are available during this time.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Kick-off

We recommend following these steps when starting a Workplace Health Promotion Program in your office.

Pick a wellness coordinator for the Workplace Health Promotion Program who is willing and able to see it through.
Ensure that you have the support of corporate leadership.
Start a Wellness committee
Use a Workplace Health Promotion Program survey to uncover the obstacles and goals of your Workplace Health Promotion Program
Provide Health risk assessments
Analyze the Workplace Health Promotion Program and changes as needed
Remember to stress that the Workplace Health Promotion Program is for the workers. Workplace Health Promotion Programs have been found to prevent obesity, cancer, heart disease and hypertension. Taking part in in a Workplace Health Promotion Program that provides all that should be an easy decision for the corporation and for the employees.