Wellness Programs are excellent for waistlines and your bottom line
In today’s hectic world, most of us are spending more time at work, and have increasingly less time to look after our health. for a long time, companys have understood the benefits associated with keeping workers well – increased productivity from reduced absenteeism and reduced disability claims.
For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many corporations realized double-digit healthcare costs last year, corporations ought to consider Health Promotion Programs as a way to keep personnel healthy.
But just how important are these wellness programs to employees? How often are they willing to take part in wellness programs designed to positively impact their wellness? Who do employees trust to provide them with important information about their health?
Answers to these questions and more were recently garnered from a research study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. (AAOHN).
The AAOHN survey questioned 500 workers nationwide about their perceptions of Wellness Programs. Greater than three-quarters of all participants indicated these wellness programs are a good way to improve their overall health, and almost 60% consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their current corporation.
Employee retention and turnover impact the bottom line, so building wellness programs into the work site culture is a valuable way to help retain talented employees besides to enhancing personal health and worksite productivity.
Health Promotion wish list
Staff Members appear to have their own agenda when it comes to their health. With new pressures resulting from an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues, it’s not surprising that 85 percent of survey respondents cited stress management as a priority topic for work site wellness.
In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include health screening programs (84 percent), exercise/physical fitness programs (84 percent), health insurance education (81 percent) and disease management seminars (80 percent).
In addition to lifestyle and personal health issues, those asked expressed concern about work-related health issues, including strains and injuries resulting from lifting or task-oriented muscle repetition, exposure to harmful substances, personal injury, vision changes due to computer work and worksite violence.
Beginning a Health Promotion Program
With such a wide range of health concerns, a key goal for corporations is finding a way to proactively address the health needs of the biggest number of workers, and effectively change unhealthful behaviors, promote wellness and ward off disease and disease.
Printed materials such as handouts, posters, fliers or handouts present an easy solution. But it is crucial to remember that different people require different formats for learning.
A good rule of thumb – provide information in a selection of learning formats such as videos, handouts, health-related quizzes, display boards, brown bagger presentations and reimbursement or incentive programs.
This assumes you’ve overcome the first hurdle – getting people to sign on to a wellness program. While survey respondents indicated wellness programs are important, just six out of 10 (60 percent) announced that they participated in the wellness programs at their businesses. The other 40% cited lack of interest and lack of time as deterrents.
This points to the need for a robust, structured wellness program using a creative approach, with an incentive for participation and effective wellness program marketing and advertising.
By investing in an organized health promotion program headed by a certified health care expert such as an on-site nurse, corporations can give personnel the access to the health information they want, and increase participation and generate interest at the same time.
The result – staff members become savvier healthcare consumers who feel more in charge of their personal health. And healthier staff members make for a healthier bottom line.