Company Health And Wellness

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

Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s

Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} is a top wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that implement it determine the safety and health concerns of workers by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the workers.

It can, for example, guide the organization into deciding how the air quality within an office room affects 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 employees have to certain perilous or perilous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This is not always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Notwithstanding, it has also become an important component of the top staff member wellness programs in many organizations in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for instance, are offered to employees for free.

Employee Assistance Programs

Worker Assistance Programs consist of a broad variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to workers regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet and nutrition drives

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

In-house wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that organizations can begin 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 tobacco use hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.

The newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to employees or members of an organization but it’s far from perfect.

Some staff members, for instance, might 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 positive results.

Exercise and physical activity

Another top wellness program for organizations is one that involves physical activities. Businesses often sponsor exercise-related events such as marathons and business sports programs to encourage staff members to remain fit or lose excess weight.

In mid- to large-sized corporations, corporations might even pay for fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Wellness Incentives

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by companies involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored programs that reward staff members for achieving specific wellness-related goals.

Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most commonly rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time obtained points (for larger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash might also be used.

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

Coworker Pressure

In many organizations, corporations take benefit of peer pressure for encourage workers to participate in wellness programs. This is currently one of the favorite employee wellness programs currently in use today and growing in popularity.

Coworker pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions referring to corporate wellness and to persuade staff members to be active in company-sponsored health fairs.

Wellness is a excellent concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a indeed holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthful balance of the mind-body and spirit that leads to an overall feeling of well-being.

It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you begin to talk about corporate wellness, or corporate wellness, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management and health screening don’t inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.

They begin from the assumption that ailment is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.

The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Wellness guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.

On the one hand there are the small businesses – individuals  working from home or in small centers selling all kinds of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating rapidly.

On the other hand corporate wellness is also exploding but in a very different direction.

The baby boomers who are driving the popular wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.

They are actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthy into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.

The corporations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make corporations liable for stress-related illness in their employees.

It’s also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the enormous costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the corporations are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, like physicians, nurses, insurance and screening systems.

The problem is that the traditional health system doesn’t have solutions for the problems that people  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a physician to get happy, because a physician does not have any clue how to make individuals  happy. and many stress-related medical problems are described as chronic diseases, which means that they last for a very long time – or maybe for the rest of your life – because there is no medical cure.

Counseling is a common offering in corporations for emotional problems, but whilst it might provide a useful pressure valve it is not a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.

Imagine walking into a business where the employees are happy, healthy, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.

That type of company would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because individuals  would be working to their optimum capacity.

So can we develop a system of true wellness that will serve the development of the businesses and their employees and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?

First of all we have to face the fact that we cannot place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, haven’t been solved by the current system.

When they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we would all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

We also can’t rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, like the onsite massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most people  unaffected. They’re easy to organize but have little or no real effect on employee wellness.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness companies that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

However it is in the best interest of both businesses and workers to find and develop systems of wellness that really work – that benefit individuals  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the concept of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It is time to increase the vision and find out how to make in truth healthful, happy workplaces where people  thrive.

High rates of worker turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits. the high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in total cost the average business.

Many businesses are finding the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of programs that yield a reduction in these costs.

It’s become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness/fitness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.

Management’s objectives for a productive wellness program ought to be viewed through the perspective of increased staff member productivity, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved staff member morale, lowered utilisation of corporation subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.

It’s apparent that an betterment in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an staff members point of view may be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, decreased body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and workplace.

To be most productive a wellness program needs to achieve both managements and workers goals, and this could be accomplished through a program that’ll provide the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and well-being, and the benefits of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that’ll allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that could be applied in the context of their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Wellness Programs

Lowered Absenteeism – Dupont decreased absenteeism by 47.5% over six years for the participants of their corporate fitness program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Reduced Health Care Costs – Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55 percent for corporate fitness program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an average of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Decreased Turnover – Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Company was 32.4% lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross Blue Shield  of Indiana found that its corporate fitness program had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Avoidance was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 corporations to consider making workforce health a CEO issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.

After several years of double-digit rate increases for health insurance, businesses are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have workers take more responsibility for both costs and health options.

A majority of businesses surveyed feel that the best way for decling costs is financial incentives to encourage staff members to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Nearly 100 percent of companys surveyed say that healthcare costs will be a crucial or meaningful concern over the next five years, as reported by a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.

More businesss are adopting higher deductible health plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and broader disease management (DM) programs in order to control ever-increasing health care costs.

Failure to deal with these issues may be disastrous for an business. Wayne Sensor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alegent Health lately stated, “I think that we have built a health care machinery we cannot afford. I think we’re choking the economic engine of America.”

In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California companies billions of dollars each year.

Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect healthcare costs, employee’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced among the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

As reported by California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it’s an economic crisis.” What is frightening is that most people  do not even realize that they are obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight.

There is a excellent need for additional education on weight and resulting illnesses, and the workplace is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can lead to a meaningful return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce results in a very short period of time.

Although many companys have attempted some form of wellness program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.

In many cases, the healthier employees participated for incentives, like fitness club memberships, but those who needed it most did not take benefit of the program in a meaningful way.

Companies are looking at ways to encourage more workers to purchase into the wellness movement.

A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing and Advertising Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line –  Engaging Employees is the Missing Link in Managing Health Care Costs,” drove this point home.

This session provided actionable advice on how corporations are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on worker engagement. It also highlighted how you can develop an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your organization.

Companys can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to reduce health costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Workers also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives. the alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the corporation.

A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal worker Wellness Committee.

Nutrition Category

• Low-fat campaign/food groups

• Team salad bars

• Vending machine changes

• Diet analysis by a nutritionist

• Produce on parade

• Eating disorder support group

• Restaurant education

Physical Activity/Exercise Category

• “Elevoiders” – stair climbing

• Poker walk

• Mall walking program

• Facilities – showers, bicycle lockers, exercise space, etc.

• Team treks

• Walk-a-block trails

• Recreational tournaments

• How-to-select equipment talks

• Running maps

• Biking maps

• Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)

• Fit-over-forty club

• Tennis shoe Tuesday

• Walk 100 miles in 100 days

• Walking “buddies”

• NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category

• House calls

• Meet your benefits providers

• Dental health

• Fire safety

• Ergonomic assessments

• Self-help learning

• CPR/first aid course

• Hearing test

• Hand washing campaign

• Cancer screenings

• Back class

• Passports to health

• Vision screenings

Stress Management Category

• Comedy hour

• Stress Pest

• Humor newsletter

• Money management seminars

• Time management seminars

• Relaxation class

• Better sleep campaign

• Relaxation room

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other human resource, employee motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which might  be coordinated together.

• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains –  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of medical insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Wellness and safety efforts can focus on –

• Warm up stretches before starting work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they may start a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

• the wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness specialist to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for employee groups throughout the year.

• Offer body mechanics training annually or more frequently when possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, in addition to feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

• Partner with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which can help employees work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Be sure to encourage workers to report safety and/or injury concerns. Be sure to help management to establish policy to recognize and reward workers who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

• Partner with management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

• the ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These individuals can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

• It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate workers for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it’s for individuals to assess themselves.

• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.

• Partner with the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help develop ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy widely used to create interest and participation. Nonetheless, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can create issues.

Your workplace may have policies and guidelines already in place about issues like appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Make sure to check with management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Remember to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It’s ordinarily safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others might feel left out.

Truly, acknowledging diverse holidays, when done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

A few topical ideas for holiday themes include –

• Wellness committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.

• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local supermarket or donated).

• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.

• Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.

Each individuals can say several words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food does not have to be low fat or especially healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps workers monitor their weight during the holiday season.

• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident prior to Thanksgiving. the weigh-ins might  be conducted on the honor system, but weight ought to be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You might invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

• Workers set an individual goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

• Give weekly weight control hints. These should be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in  flyer form.

• Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthy recipe options.

• Remind employees of the necessity to continue exercise during the busy holiday season.

• Weigh everybody the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.

• Employees who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

• Employees who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which may either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.

Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in bigger events. Health observances are tied to nearly every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider –

• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate larger events and celebrations.

• A wellness message is more likely to stick with people  if the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on TV.

• National Employee Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to start.

• A word of advice –  don’t go overboard in trying to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Select one to three events per year and stick with these.

Create and promote events well ensuring that workers will come to expect and anticipate these programs each year. It is best to do several wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.

A lot of employees enjoy team related activities. These activities normally take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.

Even though the sports team isn’t part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the business, the business can be held liable in the event of an staff member injury.

If the activity brings with it a risk of injury, it’s necessary to address the possible risk and liability issues with the correct business department. Additionally talk with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

• Organize summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter smoke free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.

• Provide  pamphlets and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so staff can take advantage of community leagues, trips and offerings.

• Invite an official from among the above organizations to speak at a company brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to provide a demonstration of a new class offering.

Family Friendly Activities

Periodically offer activities which can be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include –

• Television Free Week (usually in April) –  Develop a chart for the children to use to record their TV-free participation.

• Offer a certificate to anyone who’s TV-free for a week.

• If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, like less than 5 hours of Television, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

A lot of simple wellness activities and practices can help workers understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It is necessary to help workers understand simple stress management strategies for reducing stress levels.

• Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for staff member use during a scheduled break time. Consider providing relaxation music or programs including player and headphones; mat or blanket to lie on; neck pillow; eye mask; and stress massage rollers.

• Offer a stress management brown bag event at which employees can attempt different types stress management tools.

• Be sure to encourage staff members to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.

• Give a comfortable staff member break area.

• Designate a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, if possible.

• Be certain to work with Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the workplace. Supervisors are often the first step in assisting employees find different ways of managing work related stressors.

• Contact the Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) for a selection of stress management information and self-assessments.

• Offer stress management self-assessments to interested staff members. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.

Mental Wellness

Emotions and mental health greatly affect overall health and wellness. Every wellness program should incorporate some services, programs, resources or activities to address mental health issues.

Mental health topics may be sensitive areas for workers. Therefore, it’s important to provide information in a selection of ways, worksite presentations being just one possibility.

For example, put domestic violence resource cards in the restrooms to provide useful information in a private establishing that does not embarrass whoever. Other considerations include –

• When planning to offer an oratory event or presentation a neutral class title will ensure potential participants won’t be put off by the name.

For example, “Parenting in 2004″, “Positive Parenting”, or “Parent University” is much more appealing than “Stress and Parenting”.

• Make sure to allot enough time when hosting EAP/mental health workshops for a question and answer session so participants may ask specific questions.

Always remind participants that individual help is available through the employee assistance program (EAP) and through their health benefits. Give written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.

• the Worker Assistance Program (EAP) is an excellent partner and resource for wellness programming in these areas. the employee assistance program (EAP) can help find ways to address mental health, stress, coping, and other related issues.