Workplace Wellness Paper

The daily work schedule employees maintain is busier than ever. The typical employee must balance work, family, downtime, and most importantly, their health. An employee's health connects all of these facets of life, without health one cannot thoroughly enjoy their family time or be a productive worker. While my organization the Air Force, places an emphasis of physical fitness many individuals are still lacking. Many see workplace programs as a way to combat the energy and health divide. Exercise is a critical element needed to support excellent physical health. Only 1 in 5 adults meet physical activity guidelines (CDC, 2014.) The benefits of exercise are immense. People who regularly engage in some form of physical activity have reduced the

Many companies have taken action and have built on-site gyms but getting employees to buy in is still low. One study conducted looked at external and internal barriers to why worker do not use gyms. The strong ones were the gym is too far away, time taken away from other activities, physical exertion, and lack of encouragement (Schwetschenau, 2008.) These issues can be mitigate but companies should be aware of such pitfalls. Another problem that can occur are regulatory ones. Currently, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, companies cannot require workers to reply to health-related inquiries and assessments (JENNIFER, 2015.) That being said organizations can still provide voluntary programs. Additional challenges can be the feeling that their company is too small to support such programs or the cost will be too expensive. But most programs are free or low cost. Some companies that establish on-site gym can charge a small fee to its employees and become cost

Research conducted found that employers moved towards health and fitness programs reduce health-related costs (Smith, 1990.) In addition, another study showed direct medical and health care savings. One company saw a 5% reduction if employing health care costs while another 47.5% in major medical expenses (Monthly Labor Review, 1987.) Adding on, an additional study surveyed 309 employees of blue-collar backgrounds, such as mechanics, found that with the addition of a work fitness plan the number of absentees dropped significantly (Eddy, 1990.) Gathering from all these studies, one can see how the adding an employer back health or fitness plan will increase productivity, reduce health-related costs, and decrease absentees. All things a competitive organization should be aware of. These wellness programs work both as a preventive measure as well as the cure for everyday