Worksite Wellness Programs

Worksite Wellness Programs – Staff Engagement Strategies

Worksite Wellness Programs without employee engagement are of little use to a company. How do you get staff members to enroll in Worksite Wellness Programs – and stay engaged in the programs?

The brochures for these programs discuss the benefits to staff members and organizations. Worksite Wellness Program statistics show that there are tangible benefits to a company for offering such programs. Worksite Wellness 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 company, has applied their own invigorating twist to health management by providing gift rewards to staff members who participate in Worksite Wellness Programs. The wellness 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 rewards in Worksite Wellness Programs?

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

For certain rich rewards like Maritz’s will break through the glaze that appears over many staff members’ eyes when they’re encouraged to do something new, different or difficult. For many staff members uncomfortable with health management and exercise, “new, different and difficult” would apply to Worksite Wellness Programs. So where does that leave organizations who are unwilling or unable to offer rewards for health management program enrollment?

Successful Worksite Wellness Programs motivate staff members – before and after signup

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

Worksite Wellness Programs cannot survive managerial apathy. If executive and managerial participation is widespread and heartfelt, staff members will follow their leadership. The potential rewards and Wellness benefits are clearly worth reaping, for both your employer and your co-workers.

Wellness might be the fatal flaw in your Worksite Wellness Program. Is Wellness part of your strategy? Does workplace wellness stop when your staff members leave the office?

Wellness Continuity

If staff members 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 staff members to build walking routes near their homes, perhaps with the cooperation of the neighborhood association or coworkers who live in the neighborhood.

Worksite Wellness Programs: Always on Your Mind

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

This can benefit your Worksite Wellness Programs in a couple of ways:

it reduces the chance that the worker will come back to the office feeling unfit, overwhelmed and unable to resume their Worksite Wellness Programs; and
it shows that their employer is just as invested in their Individual health and wellness as they are

Like a marathon, Individual health and wellness is a long-term endeavor and it’s difficult 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 stick to an exercise 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 stick to your Worksite Wellness Program when you know your employer is supporting you and wishing you the best.

Don’t Dictate Individual Health

Just as Wellness surveys serve a vital function in building a Worksite Wellness Program, it’s imperative that you involve staff members 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 staff members are in charge of their own health and wellness. Your role as their health management partner is to support, advise, counsel, offer resources and information.

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

Worksite Wellness 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 Worksite Wellness 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 (PSA that often indicates prostate cancer. The outcome? His doctors caught a life-threatening illness just in time.

Thanks Worksite Wellness Program.

So of course, Shirk is a huge proponent of Worksite Wellness 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 staff members.”

Wellness Decreases Health Care Costs

Though cases like Shirk’s dramatic cancer save are the most desirable effect of Worksite Wellness Programs, it isn’t the initial draw for organizations. They do it to reduce healthcare costs, and there’s no doubt that Worksite Wellness Programs do just that. Worksite Wellness Program Statistics show that Worksite Wellness 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 Worksite Wellness Program savings aren’t just in the Health Insurance department. Human resource departments report that Worksite Wellness Programs also reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.

Still, corporations 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 organizations have made on-site Health Screenings – like the one that saved Shirk’s life – available to their staff members.

Is It Necessary to Incent Organizations to Initiate Worksite Wellness Programs?

Wellness rewards may seem like an effective way to get staff members excited about Worksite Wellness Program – but is it smart?

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

Tax Breaks as Wellness rewards

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

The legislation, introduced by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, states that corporations would receive a Wellness reward – a fifty percent tax credit – if they offer to their staff members a Worksite Wellness Program that meets the following criteria:

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

If this legislation gets passed, many organizations will be scrambling to offer Worksite Wellness Programs in hopes of receiving the Wellness rewards.

Worksite Obesity: The Facts

Worksite obesity has become one of the fastest growing healthcare problems in America. It is well known that America is considered one of the, if not “the”, heaviest countries in the world. This is largely in part due to fast food, un-healthy snacks and a very sedentary lifestyle. However, what many people are not aware of is that the rate of obesity in our country has doubled in the last 30 years and this weighs heavily on a organization’s bottom line.

According to a new report from The Conference Board, Weights and Measures: What employers Should Know about Obesity, obese staff members cost private organizations an estimated $45 billion annually. Following are some of the report’s findings:

Obesity is associated with a 36% increase in spending on healthcare, more than smoking or problem drinking.
34% of adult Americans fit the definition of “obese”
Obesity related health problems are costing American corporations millions of dollars annually in medical expenditures and work loss.

Worksite Obesity: How organizations Can Help

With the increase in obesity and employer costs associated with it, it is more and more imperative to establish a way to assist staff members with their healthy living choices. Worksite Wellness Programs can help organizations help their staff members. By providing assistance with Health Screening, Health risk assessments and by conducting Worksite Wellness Program surveys; Worksite Wellness Programs allow the employer non-invasive ways to communicate their concerns about their worker’s health.

We suggest establishing a Walking Worksite Wellness Program to assist your staff members in meeting their weight-loss goals. Walking Wellness is a program designed to get your staff members away from their desk and get them outside for a little exercise. Keep it fun by having contests, setting up weight-loss teams and having organized healthy picnics.

What is a Worksite Wellness Program Proposal?

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

Worksite Wellness Program Proposals Assist Human Resource Departments

A Worksite Wellness Program Proposal is a great thing to have in hand when HR Departments go to upper management to request funding for a Worksite Wellness Program. It will offer 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.

Worksite Wellness Program Proposals Lead to Better Worksite Wellness Programs

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

Walking programs which offers staff members with rewards to take their walking breaks at their workplace.
Company teams, onsite yoga classes and massage therapists at the workplace.
Nutrition advice, weight-loss and healthy cooking classes, stress management sessions, and either a Worksite Wellness Program resources column in the worker newsletter or a wellness newsletter.
Stairwell initiatives to show how stair-walking can improve health.

Wellness Competitions Are Popping Up Everywhere

Wellness Competitions 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 Competitions 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 Competitions is even though there really is only way “real” winner; everyone that participates in the challenge is a life winner.

Wellness Competitions offers reward to Get Healthy

Establishing a Wellness Competitions in your office is a great way to get staff members to participate in your established Worksite Wellness Program. Have staff members form teams and receive points for everything from attending a corporate Health and Wellness Fair to getting a health risk assessment to beginning an exercise regimen. At the end of the year, the teams will win prizes based on the number of points they have accumulated.

Wellness Competitions Enhance Corporate Health

Not only will Wellness Competitions improve the health of your staff members, it will improve the overall health of the corporation by providing benefits such as reduced injuries, reduced frequency of worker’s comp, reduced healthcare costs, better worker attendance, and better corporate morale.

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

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 Worksite Wellness Programs to be promoted and implemented worldwide.

Importance of Worksite Wellness 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.

Worksite Wellness Programs are Effective Tools

The report states that Worksite Wellness Programs are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also states that Worksite Wellness Programs will improve the health of staff members, improve the corporate image, improve worker morale, reduce worker absences and sick leave, increase worker productivity, and reduce corporate healthcare costs.

Worksite Wellness Programs Monitoring

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

Worksite Wellness Program ROI: Fact or Fiction?

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

Worksite Wellness Program ROI: The Bottom Line

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

However, the organizations that have taken the time to determine the Worksite Wellness Program ROI of their Worksite Wellness 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 healthcare costs.

Worksite Wellness Program ROI Alliance

Worksite Wellness Program ROI is such an important aspect of today’s corporate culture, that several large organizations 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 Worksite Wellness Programs.

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

Worksite Wellness Programs Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an corporate-provided worker Worksite Wellness Program:

Employee assistance Program (EAP)
Disease Management Programs (DM)
Fitness and exercise Programs
Health risk assessments
Onsite healthcare Programs
Individual wellness profiles
Preventive Health Screenings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Programs
Telephonic Worksite Wellness Programs
Weight Management / Loss Programs
Self-Care Programs.

Wellness During the Summer Time

Wellness is important year-round; however if your staff members 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 improve overall Wellness. The weather is beautiful, staff members 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 beginning a Worksite Wellness 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 staff members 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.

Worksite Wellness Program Kick-off

We recommend following these steps when starting a Worksite Wellness Program in your office.

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