Posts from — March 2009

The first step in beginning your wellness/Corporate Health Promotion Program is to know your corporation and how Corporate Health Promotion Program will fit into the current structure. By researching your organization’s history with similar programs and eliciting feedback from co-workers, you can learn the best solution for your corporation.

Workplace Wellness Program: Research Questions

• Find out if Workplace Health Promotion Program has been done in the past. If so, what worked and what did not?
• Was it widely accepted?
• Was programming thriving? Why or why not?
• What does your business hope to gain from launching a Worksite Health Promotion Program?

Answers to these questions will help you start the process of creating a culture of wellness within your corporation. It is imperative that you assess the environment before starting a program.

The expenditures of medical have been rising more than 10 percent each year for several years. A substantial amount of the money spent in the medical system treats costly illnesses and diseases.

• Approximately 95 percent of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical care services, while about 5 percent is allocated to preventing disease and promoting health.
• Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are avoidable as they are associated with potentially-modifiable health risks.
• In an effort to optimize employee health, decrease avoidable medical care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower medical care expenditures and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many companies are planning, or are interested in planning, Corporate Wellness Programs for workers.

The advantages of worksite wellness are well documented. Greater than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some primary findings include the following:

• Savings of $3.48 in reduced medical care expenditures per dollar invested.
• Savings of $5.82 in decrease absenteeism costs per dollar invested.
• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.
• Lifestyle behavior modification programs: $3 to $6 return on investment within 2 to 5 years.
• Self care, decision reinforcement programs: $2 to $3 ROI within a year.
• Disease Management (DM) programs: $7 to $10 return on investment within a year.

By offering health improvement programs, companies are not only offering an additional service for workers, but they are also gaining monetarily. Furthermore, the impact of a health improvement program goes beyond diminished medical care cost and return on investment. A health improvement program can affect productiveness, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical care expenditures.

• Source: Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement: A comprehensive guide to starting, implementing and evaluating worksite programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.

According to the American Journal of Health Promotion, “Health promotion is the science and art of helping people alter their lifestyle to move toward a state of good health. Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle modification can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, alter behavior, and set up environments that support great health practices. Of the three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest influence in producing lasting change.”

Employee Wellness Program: Action Steps

The process of building a Company Health Promotion Program involves:

• Identifying the current health status of your workers
• Determining the appropriate programs and interventions to offer
• Promoting and implementing the programs
• Building in motivational incentives
• Measuring the influence
• Revising programs based on evaluation outcomes

It may even include developing policies and procedures that support employee participation in wellness activities at your workplace (such as flextime).

Steps to Starting a Employee Health Promotion Program

• Conduct an employer assessment
• Obtain upper management reinforcement
• Establish a Company Health Promotion Program Committee
• Get employee input
• Establish goals
• Design and start program activities
• Select incentives and rewards
• Evaluate outcomes

One of the ways the government plans to better the nation’s health is through comprehensive Employee Wellness Programs. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, these programs may help staff members live healthier lifestyles by creating supportive work environments and offering awareness, education and behavior change programs. In fact, one of the objectives and goals of Healthy People 2010, a set of health objectives for the nation to achieve by the year 2010, is to improve the proportion of staff members that participate in a comprehensive Employee Wellness Program at their workplace to 75 percent.

5 Ways to Review and Improve Your workers’ Health

Emotional health is a state of wellness that comes from understanding and acknowledging our emotions and finding appropriate ways to express them. As employees, we frequently bring emotional issues from our childhood or current family life into the worksite because we haven’t dealt with them effectively outside of work. This can seriously damage worksite relationships and lead to poor achievement and harmful feelings all around.

Many tools and techniques exist for helping us better our emotional health. Some of the most common are given below, with real-life case histories illustrating their use. If an unpleasant mood or feeling persists over a length of time, don’t hesitate to seek out a qualified professional. Workplace Wellness Programs usually have professional backing already in place as part of their services.

1. Wellness Coaching / Wellness Counseling:
One of the hallmarks of emotional health is the willingness to ask for help when we need it. Confidential professional help, the coaching and counseling given by employee assistance or wellness programs, can support an external source of strength and insight for “working out” emotionally-based issues instead of “working them in” to your job.

2. Self-help Groups:
Self-help groups are designed to aid people in emotional situations in which they feel alone. The purpose of these groups is twofold: to allow people to safely feel and express their emotions, and to help break their isolation at work and/or in society at large and reintegrate them into society with the backing of a peer group.

The classic self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous, but thanks to technology, it’s possible to associate with others that have common health challenges, no matter how unique the situation. People are taking advantage of tele-conference groups and social websites, such as sparkpeople.com and revolutionhealth.com. Workplace Wellness Programs frequently have such groups available through internet based or phone support. Progressive corporate wellness provider Exan Wellness, for example, offers teleconference cell groups and moderated wellness forums for interacting with others in a supportive, confidential and anonymous environment. People with shared challenges get together and discuss the emotional challenges they are facing at work or in other areas of their lives and work through shift together.

3. Journaling: Journaling is frequently recommended by counsellors as a way to help identify and process emotions. People record their emotions in writing as they experience them, in whatever form they wish. By helping the writer gain greater emotional clarity, journaling can help in making more emotionally informed decisions. In much the same way, letter writing enables people to identify and process the emotions they feel in relation to others. The letter need not be sent or its contents shared: it simply provides a place for the expression of feelings.

An 18-year-old “army brat,” Brent has always done well at school, academically and athletically. But in his last year of high school, something seems to have happened to him. He has lost all interest in school, becoming moody and withdrawn.

Brent describes to his guidance counselor all the times he had to move when he was growing up. Each move wrenched him from his friends and forced him to play the role of the “new kid on the block.” The counselor suggests that Brent write letters to the friends he has missed over the years telling them how he felt. Finally, he has a chance to say a proper goodbye.

4. Assess Your Emotional Wellness: Companies that seek to boost employees’ interpersonal skills, or emotional intelligence in the worksite are more thriving, according to ground-breaking journalist Daniel Goleman. And emotional intelligence is the buzzword in workplaces these days. Some Worksite Health Promotion Programs have information about emotional intelligence, or emotional health assessments. Seek out more information about emotional intelligence for better corporate wellness.

5. Friendships/Support Systems: Friendships allow people to feel supported in their emotional journeys. At the same time, they give people an opportunity to foster their empathetic skills. These skills are also important for workplace health. When we are empathic with fellow staff members, we help them resolve detrimental or unhealthy emotions. New friendships are made through hobbies, classes, clubs, or even through online groups. Many people are finding emotional satisfaction by finding friends through Facebook and other social websites.

At times worksite stress that is not dealt with in a healthy manner can be brought home. A 36-year-old mother of three, Sarah, wants to be a wonderful wife, a wonderful mother, and a success at her job. One day, drained after a long day at work, she shouted at her rambunctious children and threatened to hit her youngest son. Her behavior horrified her. To make matters worse, she believes she is a failure at her job as well as at motherhood. She watches with jealousy as younger co-employees advance much more rapidly up the corporate ladder despite having less experience than she has.

On the advice of a counselor, she decides to take time out for herself and take a course for amateur painters. It doesn’t take long before she strikes up a friendship with a single mom in the class. She once led a life very similar to Sarah’s before managing to achieve a better balance between work and family. Her new friend becomes a much-necessitated sounding board for Sarah and offers her perspectives on her life that she hadn’t considered before.

25 percent Jump in Employer Interest in Employee Health and Wellness

Worksite wellness for their workers, organizations are discovering, is good for the health of their organizations as well. Corporate Wellness Programs help to cut the expenditures associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.

A current Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 American corporations indicated a important paradigm shift in how corporations view health benefits for their workers. Of those surveyed this year, 88 percent are committed to instituting long-term medical assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their workers, with the goal of boosting the health and productiveness of their workforce. This represents a 25 percent rise in interest in Worksite Health Promotion Programs over 2007.

A strong offering of Worksite Health Promotion Programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors. Programs look to predict chronic conditions in their workers and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Companies also demand a way to measure the success of their medical care spending.

“Self-care is our motive,” says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive health and wellness provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving employees tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the benefits, while giving people resources to reach out for help is the key to successful lifestyle change. Corporations are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver Worksite Health Promotion Programs. The type of program we have developed over years delivers the highest health care return on investment.”

Combining worksite wellness promotions, web-based assessments and health trackers, web-based health information, phone conferences and self-help groups, and access to a wide variety of health professionals, is behind the success of the Exan program. “Having web-based statistics about workers’ health also makes it easier to track the bottom line – ROI” says Vic Lebouthillier.

“Organizations are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of healthcare benefits to cultivate holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior modification and eliminate barriers to healthcare,” says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

However, in a separate survey of 30,000 staff members, 74% said that, although they felt their employer had an obligation to help them be aware of how to use their health benefits program, only 12% felt the employer had any right to tell them how to be healthy. Based on these results, businesses need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their staff members as well as the employer. It’s a win-win situation.

Employers and workers did discover common ground when it came to future healthcare. Both surveys indicate that 95 percent of workers be aware of that their taking care of their health today will impact future health care payments. A similar percentage also be aware of the significant of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on health care costs.

Cost is valuable for most businesses as well. Over 80% of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts did not involve shifting responsibility for healthcare onto employees. Although 64% of businesses have transfered expenditures to their employees, only 17% plan  to do so in the next 3-5 years. Similarly with health reimbursement accounts, 20% now offer these, but only about 5% plan  to use them in 2008.

These survey results indicate organizations are getting more proactive in helping their workers to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously wonderful for the wellness of workers, but also for the wellness of the organizations they work for. Almost half the organizations surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productiveness and decrease absentee rates. Over 60% plan  to institute programs that help workers shift and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle. Almost of these organizations will also use data and measurements to make sure their medical care strategies meet their medical care objectives?

It is apparent to most Americans (especially those of us in business) that healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control. No one doubts that either the market will solve the concern OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective. Organizations have reached the point where the expense of offering health insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It’s time for some new thinking on healthcare and its effect on business and vice versa. “Corporate wellness” as an operational perspective rather than merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising healthcare costs.

The Insurance Delimma

The first step in correcting the issue is to realize that an employee’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting organizations to support unlimited health care insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable. It’s time for organizations (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing health care insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all workers through group plans, organizations ought to begin to change the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here’s the approach. Provide catastrophic healthcare insurance as a group benefit to all workers with a big enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost affordable for the corporation. Then, allow workers to buy their own healthcare insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings. There are numerous insurance employers that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Employees can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Corporations win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans. And when people become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health. Besides, if an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your corporation offers great insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they’re going to cost you more money in the future?

Establish a “Wellness Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the healthcare crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health problems instead of on having a healthy workplace and performance culture.

So, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, rather than paid sick days, workers might be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus. Workers would be reimbursed for successful completion of smoking cessation and weight-loss programs. Organizations would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every employee can participate. Workers would be available in-house wellness programs on a variety of concerns ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, corporations would commit to hiring and retaining healthy workers. Simply put, healthy workers cost less and are more productive than unhealthy ones. Applicants must be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productiveness and increase the likelihood of future expense. While this may seem harsh, it rewards those workers whose personal lifestyle and habits make sure the best Return on Investment by the corporation committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in major medical journals reveal that individuals who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are generally healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the average American. Since these individuals look for ways to stay healthy without prescriptions and surgery, they end up being a net benefit in terms of attendance and productiveness. Old prejudices in this area ought to be discarded in order for organizations to improve productiveness and improve profitability

Conclusion

Medical Care expenditures are rising at a staggering pace. Managed care is an abysmal failure. Businesses are buckling under the pressure of providing health coverage to their workers. American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for extraordinary solutions. It’s time for American companies to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the health care crisis. Company wellness is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options must be considered while we still have a chance.

Some of the top wellness programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments or HRAs

Health Risk Assessment is a top corporate wellness program currently in use globally. Corporations that start it determine the safety and health concerns of staff members by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the staff members.

It can, for example, guide the organization into determining how the air quality within an office room impacts the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure workers have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Nonetheless, it has also become an significant component of the top Employee Wellness Programs in countless corporations in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are provided to workers for no cost.

EAP

Employee Assistance Programs consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from offering educational resources to employees regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and health care. In many employers, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house nutrition drives

This is another wellness program that businesses use, particularly those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

In-house employee wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that businesses can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.

The employee wellness newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to staff members or participants of a corporation but it is far from perfect. Some staff members, for example, may not read the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize beneficial results.

Exercise and physical activity drives

Another top wellness program for companies is one that involves physical activities. Employers frequently sponsor exercise-related events such as marathons and company sports programs to bolster staff members to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized companies, companies may even pay for fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Rewards and Incentives

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by organizations involve Rewards and Incentives. This involves corporation-sponsored programs that reward workers for achieving specific wellness-related objectives. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most usually rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time acquired points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

Nevertheless, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among employers who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Peer Pressure

In a myriad of employers, employers take advantage of peer pressure in order to bolster employees to participate in wellness programs. This is currently one of the favorite Company Health Promotion Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions referring to worksite wellness and to persuade employees to be active in organization-sponsored health & wellness fairs.