Company Wellness Programs

Strong and visible upper management support for the Company Health and Wellness Program encourages health and is essential to securing needed Company Health and Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

1. Establish a Company Health and Wellness Program champion

 In a small organization, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Corporate Health Promotion Program. In a larger organization, look for an executive with the authority to influence others in the highest levels of the organization regarding the Corporate Health Promotion Program. The Company Health and Wellness Program champion need not be the fittest member of upper management. Rather, look for a Company Health and Wellness Program leader with the disposition to be a visible and vocal supporter of worksite policies that encourage healthy behaviors. Organizations with multiple sites can consider whether it would be useful to have an executive Company Health and Wellness Program champion at each site.

2. Find existing Company Health and Wellness Program allies

 There may already be a number of individuals within your organization who recognize the value of a Corporate Health Promotion Program. Think about who those individuals are in your organization; consider areas such as occupational safety, union representatives, risk management, health officers, and human resources when looking for a Company Health and Wellness Program ally. Capture their stated support for the Corporate Health Promotion Program. Company Health and Wellness Program support could include contributions of staff time or expertise, financial resources, agreement to endorse/support policy and environmental changes, or agreement to participate in, and voice their support for, changes in the worksite that will help to build a culture of wellness.

3. Build a business case for the Company Health and Wellness Program

 There is a reason that more and more businesses are finding a way to promote employee health via a Company Health and Wellness Program and policies: A Company Health and Wellness Program makes good business sense. staff members with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism)1 and incur lower health care costs than employees with less healthy behaviors.2,3  As a result it would be foolish not to have a Corporate Health Promotion Program.

4. When developing a Company Health and Wellness Program use what you know about leadership styles and the decision-making process within your organization

 Every organization is different. Build upper management support for the Company Health and Wellness Program in the way that makes the most sense for your organization. Think about the following as you plan how to approach upper management for Company Health and Wellness Program support:

  • What are the current priorities and pressures facing executives? How could a Company Health and Wellness Program and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
  • How do the leaders prefer to receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
  • What kinds of Company Health and Wellness Program information are likely to influence decisions? Do they want data and Company Health and Wellness Program statistics specific to your organization, or are state or national data sufficient? Are the leaders more influenced by internal factors or by what competitors are doing?
  • Who would the leaders see as a credible messenger for this Company Health and Wellness Program information? Does someone from the risk management area carry more clout than someone from the human resources area?
  • How do decisions really get made in your organization? Informal committee meetings? Formal or informal meetings between executives? Plan accordingly and you improve the odds that the Company Health and Wellness Program will become a reality.

5. Maintain Company Health and Wellness Program support once you have it

 Once you have appropriate Company Health and Wellness Program support, ensure that you maintain it by regularly updating the leaders on employee health and progress toward starting a culture that encourages health. Ask upper management how often they want to receive Company Health and Wellness Program progress reports.

Source Information:
 1 Bunn, JOEM, 2006, 48:10.
 2 Foldes, Bland, An et al. Modifiable Health Risks and Short-Term Health Care Costs. BC/BS of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.
 3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

Wellness programming means different things to different companies. Effective wellness initiatives can be as simple as bringing bushel baskets of fresh fruit into break rooms to encourage better eating. They can be as extensive as building fitness facilities onsite or paying for obesity treatments.

A driving factor behind the push toward wellness spans companies of all types, sizes and cultures: that is, health care expenses are spilling over the business belt buckle. The annual cost of medical services in the United States is rising at seven times the rate of inflation. And the rise in medical costs is one boom pundits expect our economy to sustain.1

This trend makes it increasingly challenging for companies to maintain current levels of insurance coverage. In 2003, health care inflation forced 65% of companies to increase workers’ share of health costs.

Seventy-nine% of large firms said they will increase workers’ share of health costs in 2004.2 But with lost benefits and increased financial burdens come lost morale and productivity.

Employers are searching for another way. While companies cannot control many of the supply-side elements contributing to rising health care costs—malpractice insurance rates, the nursing shortage—they can help curb demand. That’s why efforts are being redirected from illness to wellness.

The case for Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives is supported by an ever growing body of evidence demonstrating the high costs associated with controllable health risks:

• One research study reports that obesity raises health care costs by 36% and medication costs by 77%. 
• Michigan officials estimate physical inactivity cost the state nearly $8.9 billion in 2002, a cost estimated to be largely borne by companies through insurance premiums and lost productivity.
• The not-for-profit National Committee for Quality Assurance reports that the estimated average cost for postnatal care for women who did not receive prenatal care was $2,341 more than for women who had. And the indirect costs of unhealthful behavior can be just as high.

Data shows that healthier workers are more productive, spending more time at work and showing increased “presenteeism,” or productivity, while there. Further, healthier workers use fewer medical services. The five leading causes of death in the United States — heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes —  are directly linked to unhealthy lifestyles. Clearly, encouraging healthful habits presents an opportunity to improve workers’ well being, reduce the need for health care services and help control costs.

Offering staff member wellness benefits — large or small — represents an intersection between business social responsibility and responsibility to stakeholders. Between staff member health and corporate health. It’s often the right thing to do for workers and companies.

Research by Traveler’s Corp. shows a $3.40 return for every dollar invested in Corporate Health Promotion Programs. For many companies, the choice to offer staff member wellness benefits is easy—one where conscience and pragmatism align.

The challenge arises in selecting the initiatives that will deliver the most impact based on trends in your workers’ health risks and medical claims costs. From large companies to the corner deli, business owners welcome ways to boost productivity, reduce rates of absence and cut costs. Likewise, Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives can range from modest to elaborate.

In determining where to focus a business’s limited resources, looking at benefits, costs and best practices is a good starting point. This section profiles six aspects of wellness and explores their benefits to workers and companies

Why use small steps toward behavior change?

Small steps give participants immediate feedback on the changes they make towards better health. Measuring these small steps is also an excellent way to collect interim Company Health and Wellness Program effectiveness data.

Company Health and Wellness Program small steps make a big difference

Small steps for Company Health and Wellness Program participants
• Walk to work.
• Use fat free milk instead of whole milk.
• Each day think of two things you are grateful for.
• Do sit-ups while you watch TV.
• Drink water before a meal.
• Take 10 deep breaths to relieve tension.
• Eat half your dessert.
• Skip second helpings and buffets.

Measuring small Company Health and Wellness Program steps
• Use short pre- and mid-point surveys to ask:
• How many glasses of water do you drink a day?
• How often you do eat fast food?
• How often do you skip a meal?
• How often do you engage in physical activity?
• How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you eat each day?

Use the results to show participants how their health behaviors are changing for the better.

• Ask participants to rate their health status and/or stress levels before and after an intervention.
• Add up individual (or team) steps and mark the progress on a map towards a far away destination.
• Be creative! Do not rely only on weight loss, BMI, or cholesterol tests as health status progress indicators or behavior change feedback.

Wise words for taking small Company Health and Wellness Program steps
 
• The first wealth is health. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• We are what we repeatedly do. (Aristotle)
• The victory is not always to the swift, but to those who keep moving. (CDC)
• There are 1440 minutes in every day…schedule 30 of them for physical activity. (CDC)