Wellness Program Blog

Establish a Business Company Wellness for Your Workers Today

The advantages to starting a workplace health and wellness program are abounding.

A few corporate health and wellness tips to get workers started on the path to a healthier lifestyle:

1. Look around, and determine if workers lead a healthy lifestyle before launching an Company Wellness . How many workers dash outside at lunchtime for a tobacco break? Would a smoking cessation program help? How often do the junk food-laden vending machines must be replenished? Is anyone exercising or taking advantage of local walking trails as part of their healthy living objectives? The answers to these questions will give employers a clearer idea of the Company Wellness  that’s right for them.

2. Survey workers to evaluate their healthy lifestyle habits. Are they exercising regularly? Eat three square meals a day? Have regular physicals? Really? Then what planet are they on? Because we would love to visit! A corporate wellness program benefits most employers because workers don’t have the time or energy to stay on top of health and wellness problems at work or when they leave the office to go home.

3. Give Company Wellness Programs a tremendous kick-off with a healthy living “fair.” Provide workers no cost flu shots, Blood Pressure (BP) checks, blood lipid screenings, body/fat ratio assessments, smoking cessation programs and no cost mammograms- and contact the local hospital, because there’s plenty more where this came from. Companies keep their workers hopping during the week. Give workers a chance to amp up their healthy lifestyle on the company dime. A corporate health and wellness program is an additional benefit that workers get for working for the company!

4. Incent to live- offer cash money for workers to lose weight, commit to a smoking cessation program and generally enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Encourage humankind’s innate competitive nature by offering prizes for health and wellness employee “winners.” And, bolster a healthier lifestyle by sponsoring workers who want to enter a local 5K for charity race, run a marathon or play a sport.

• childcare Initiatives and information

• family planning information

• parenting classes

• elder care Initiatives and information

• retirement planning

• personal responsibility leave

• alternative work arrangements such as telecommuting, job sharing

• work-family-life transition support

• anger management and family violence

• family counselling initiatives

• budgeting and financial counselling

• understanding credit reports

• money safety tips – ATMS, credit cards

• advertising and promotion of community support groups

• cafeteria take-out program

• tax preparation initiatives

• will, power of attorney, and estate experts

• vacation planning and safe travel

• interpersonal relationship presenters

• motivational presenters

• bereavement information

• shift work and lifestyle Initiatives

• limit overtime

• balance on-line suggestions such as SC Johnson

• family days – bike rodeos, BBQ, picnics

• swimming pool safety

• charity information – United Way, MADD

• other information sessions on: 

• chemical free lawn and garden care,

• menopause,

• infertility,

• lice prevention,

• poisoning,

• fire safety initiatives

• seat belts and booster seats,

• playground safety,

• internet safety,

• home safety and energy efficiency

Employee Health and Wellness Programs are crucial to improving the health of our nations. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a excellent venue for promoting healthful habits. The worksite organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use as a means of assisting staff members to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Benefits to Employee Health and Wellness Programs include:

• Weight reduction
• Improved physical fitness
• Increased stamina
• Lower levels of stress
• Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem

 

Employers can also benefit from Employee Health and Wellness Programs. According to recent research, employers’ benefits are:

 

• Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy staff members
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Decreased rates of illness and injuries
• Reduced worker rates of absence
• Improved worker relations and morale
• Increased productivity

 

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report revealed that at worksites with physical activity initiatives as components of their Employee Health and Wellness Programs have:

 

• Reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent
• Reduced short-term sick leave by six to 32 percent
• Increased productivity by two to 52 percent

 

Thanks to modern medicine, life expectancy for Americans has continually increased. How much we enjoy these additional years, however, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives. If our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these extra years, we must practice good eating habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products.

 

Dr. Moore of Nationwide maintains that immunization is the most cost-effective treatment in medicine. For example, vaccinating children against the influenza virus averages a savings (including healthcare costs, parents’ missed work, etc.) of up to $35 per vaccine recipient. And experts predict that estimate is low, because it doesn’t take into account the rapid spread of the flu.

 

The American Association of Family Physicians’ Web site, www.aafp.org, offers a recommended adult immunization schedule created by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This schedule, tiered by age and chances of exposure, recommends diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, pneumonococcal, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, measles, mumps and rubella, varicella and meningococcal vaccinations.

 

Ideas to incorporate prevention and early detection:

 

• Hold a wellness fair and invite organizations that provide testing services for such conditions as blood pressure, blood iron, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and diabetes.
• Offer educational materials about well-baby care and vaccinations.
• Choose healthcare coverage plans that include wellness check-ups and vaccinations.
• Offer onsite mammograms for staff members.
• Sponsor onsite flu vaccinations to coincide with flu season.

Benefits of Stress Reduction Programs

 

While stress cannot be eliminated from life, or even from the workplace, coping skills can be developed with relative ease. Stress management skills lead to decreased rates of absence and more effective, more productive staff members. Because stress has been shown to contribute to such physical conditions as ulcers, high blood pressure and stroke, stress reduction has a direct impact on improving physical health.

 

Studies have shown that heart patients who attend stress management initiatives have 42 percent lower healthcare costs. Other studies have documented a 50 percent reduction in medical services use when stress management initiatives are employed. Further, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) experts estimate that 20 percent of any workforce is affected by personal problems that can influence work performance.

 

Stress reduction tactics to consider:

 

• Offer onsite yoga or meditation classes.
• Organize support groups among staff members.
• Sponsor stress management classes during the workday.
• Offer an employee assistance program that includes both counseling and referral.
• Offer onsite counseling for staff members in the case of a work-related trauma, such as the death of a co-worker.

Benefits of Prenatal Care and Breastfeeding

 

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is particularly relevant to when applied to preventive measures taken during pregnancy, when a few extra ounces of birth weight can save a child’s life. During pregnancy, simple precautions can help avoid catastrophic results; giving up smoking, for instance, drastically reduces the risk of miscarriage and pre-term labor.

 

The March of Dimes reports that if all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, the number of babies born with a neural tube defect could drop by as much as 70 percent. The physical and emotional benefits of proper prenatal care to a mother and child are underscored by a strong company case for offering prenatal wellness benefits. Nationwide’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Michael Moore, estimates costs to care for one baby delivered prematurely could approach $500,000.

 

First steps in fostering a prenatal program:

• Invite the March of Dimes to present information about prenatal health at an worker brownbag lunch or breakfast meeting.
• Hold prenatal care information classes for interested staff members at lunchtime.
• Offer educational materials about the effects of alcohol, drugs and smoking on an unborn child.
• Offer incentives for adopting healthy lifestyles during pregnancy.
• Offer prenatal initiatives and education as part of the company healthcare package.

Benefits of smoking Cessation Programs

 

Instances of respiratory diseases, cancer and other illnesses can be decreased through smoking cessation efforts. smoking cessation initiatives can provide huge opportunities for improved health.

 

The American Cancer Society reports that smoking staff members cost businesses an average of $1,429 per smoker per year in increased healthcare costs over non-smoking staff members. Implementing a smoking cessation program costs an average of $45 per worker per year, saving businesses an average of $1,383 per year for each worker who quits smoking. Additionally, the American Cancer Society reports that smokers are absent from work 50 percent more often than nonsmokers. They are also 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized and have 15 percent higher disability rates. smoking decreases onthe- job productivity as well. Employees who take four 10- minute smoking breaks a day work more than a month less per year than workers who don’t take smoke breaks.

 

Places to start with smoking cessation initiatives:

 

1. Start a company policy prohibiting tobacco use anywhere on the property.
2. Offer prompts/posters to support no tobacco use policy.
3. Policy supporting participation in smoking cessation activities during duty time (flex-time).
4. Offer counseling through an individual, group, or telephone counseling program onsite.
5. Offer counseling through a health plan sponsored individual, group, or telephone counseling program.
6. Offer cessation medications through medical insurance.

Stress continues to drive staff members’ work-related health concerns, which is probably why most respondents (78 percent) in a recent survey claim they would participate in a Employee Health and Wellness Program to help their overall health and wellness.

 

In a recent study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN), 500 full-time staff members nationwide were interviewed telephonically.

 

“Today’s staff members are clearly dealing with a lot of pressures such as the effects of 9/11, an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues. There is a real opportunity for employers to serve as an ally to their staff members by providing them with resources to better manage their physical and emotional health – anything from stress management lunch and learns to nutrition and exercise counseling,” says Deborah V. DiBenedetto, president of AAOHN.

 

Nearly 80 percent of respondents believe their health would improve if they were offered the right information and tools through a viable Employee Health and Wellness Program.

 

Topping the list of most interesting Employee Health and Wellness Programs cited by staff members is stress management (85 percent), closely followed by testing initiatives (84 percent), exercise/physical fitness initiatives (84 percent), medical insurance education (81 percent) and disease management lunch and learns (80 percent).

 

More than half of staff members (61 percent) would prefer to receive health and wellness information from a healthcare consultant or worksite nurse, compared to pamphlets or brochures (18 percent) or human resources staff (15 percent).

Effective Employee Health and Wellness Programs include the use of data sources in support of Employee Health and Wellness Program planning, implementation, and evaluation. Information sources can be used to complete a community needs assessment, develop realistic Employee Health and Wellness Program goals and objectives, and gain Senior Management support.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Information and statistics

• http://www.cdc.gov/DataStatistics/

• Information and statistics are available by topic (i.e., asthma, injuries, MRSA).

• Information access tools are available to customize information tables and query datasets (i.e., Healthy People DATA2010, smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs).

• Nationwide survey information is available (i.e., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)).

 

CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

• http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm

• BRFSS is the world’s largest, ongoing telephone health survey system. BRFSS has been tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the US yearly since 1984.

• Chronic Disease Indicators are divided into seven categories: physical activity and nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, overarching conditions, and other disease and risk factors.

• Prevalence information is also available (i.e., weight classification by Body Mass Index and age).

Keeping Employee Health and Wellness Program information organized is essential in order to be able to determine Employee Health and Wellness Program impact and participant progress. Use the simple steps below to keep your information organized.

 

Manage Employee Health and Wellness Program information electronically.

• Storing Employee Health and Wellness Program outcomes information electronically is the best way to manage that information.

• An electronic system will enable you to review and analyze the information more efficiently.

• Scan old surveys and other Employee Health and Wellness Program information that exist only on paper into .pdf format for permanent storage.

 

Find the Employee Health and Wellness Program system that works best for you.

• Some individuals are more comfortable with spreadsheet applications; others prefer to work with database applications.

• You will be more likely to use a Employee Health and Wellness Program that you are familiar and/or comfortable with.

• Standardize information collection and organization. Keep information columns/fields in the same order for all Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

 

Keep the Employee Health and Wellness Program as simple as possible.

• You do not have to be a Wellness Programming wizard or use complicated data entry interfaces in order to manage Employee Health and Wellness Program outcomes information.

• A simple spreadsheet is an excellent way to keep your information organized.

 

Store all Employee Health and Wellness Program data numerically.

• Using numbers (instead of words) will make the information much easier to enter and analyze. For example: use “1” for yes; “0” for no OR “1” for male; “2” for female.

• Number survey responses that contain strings of words. For example: instead of entering the responses: “patient education videos”, “news,” or “no TV,” number the responses so you only have to enter “1,” “2,” or “3.”

 

Label all Employee Health and Wellness Program data clearly.

• Ensure that all the data columns, rows, or fields are labeled. The information is worthless if you don’t know what information is in which column.

• The spreadsheet/database should include an explanation for column, row, field, and data abbreviations and a key for numbered responses.

 

Use consistent Employee Health and Wellness Program data units.

• Ensure that all information entered into a given column is expressed with the same unit of measure. For example, enter all heights as total inches, not as a combination of feet and inches.

Putting your data in order by using a simple system that works for you will enable you to track participant accomplishments. Keeping your information organized also makes it easier to communicate Employee Health and Wellness Program impact to leadership and make Employee Health and Wellness Program improvements as needed.