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Workplace wellness program research paper
Wellness programs in a workplace final paper
Workplace wellness program research paper
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Corporate Wellness Programs
Corporate wellness programs are critical to the fiscal fitness of organizations in the United States today. Corporate wellness programs vary in their methods, but the end goals are the same: decrease medical costs and increase employee productivity. Healthcare costs now consume over 50% of corporate profits and continue to increase at nearly 12% a year (Powell, 1999, p.15). This dramatic rise in costs has caused employers to look for innovative ways to combat the costs. In addition, larger companies now operate with more employees in smaller a space, which creates more stress and allows for ailments to spread faster. Corporate wellness programs focus on a proactive to employee health, as 80% of all ailments are preventable (Prevent a Disease [PD], 2000, 3). I will provide you with an overview as well as, some specific examples of these corporate wellness programs and the results they produce.
Rising insurance costs are one the primary reason employers are investing in corporate wellness programs more than ever before. Companies spent nearly $348 billion on employee healthcare premiums in 1997 according to a study conducted by (Kuttner, 1999). A quick overview of health insurance is necessary to better understand the methodology behind corporate wellness, starting with the fact that all insurance companies exits to make a profit. They review the company’s utilization each year (how much they paid out for all employees at the company) and weigh that against premiums collected (how much they took in from employees.) Then they figure out their additional costs to administer the program and a fair profit. So if there are a lot sick people, rates are going to go up a lot. If there are more healthy people the rates will still go up but only 4-5% (to account for inflation). So the company either needs to pass those costs along to the employee or figure out how to lower those costs, which is where corporate wellness comes in.
The initial part of successful corporate wellness programs is employee evaluation and assessing risk factors. People that are most commonly in the high-risk group are those that are smokers or overweight. That group is responsible for the majority of absences as well as the utilization, so it is very important that program has specifica...
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...mind and spirit, while creating a more productive employee for them and adding to their profit. The bottom line is that corporate wellness programs work and create fiscal fitness for all to share in.
References
Centers For Disease Control (2000, July 2000). Health Statistics July 2000. Retrieved June 28, 2004, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
Iglehart, J.K (1999). The American health care system--expenditures. The New England Journal of Medicine, 340(1).
Kuttner, R (1999). The American health care system--employer sponsored health coverage. The New England Journal of Medicine, 340(3).
Prevent Disease (2000, June 1999). Corporate Wellness. Retrieved June 28, 2004, from http://www.preventdisease.com
Powell, DR (1999). Characteristics of successful wellness programs. Employee Benefits Journal, 24(3).
Serxner, Gold, Anderson & Williams (2001). The impact of a worksite health promotion program on short-term disability usage. J Occup, Eviron Med, 43(1).
Employee wellness programs, also known as a “worksite wellness program”, are programs that are designed to promote and support the health, safety, and well being of a company’s employees. Wellness programs are meant to improve the health of the staff, their morale, and in turn also help improve their productivity. There are many components that make up employee wellness programs, for example; Health Screenings, Health Fairs, Fitness classes, Smoking cessation classes, and even wellness issue workshops. Employers have begun adopting these programs in hopes of helping their employees while they are at an age when health interventions can still help transform their long-term health choice. This paper will focus on trends found between employee weight and productivity, and the impacts these could have on a business overall.
Hicks, L. (2012). The Economics of Health and Medical Care (6th Ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
campaign and technical assistance to promote the benefits of worksite health promotion. A new CDC
Lastly, building a business case for the wellness initiative is an important part of the process. According to previously noted literature review, it makes good business sense. Employees with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work and incur lower medical costs than workers with less healthy behaviors. In writing a wellness operating plan, several business aspects should be addressed like the overall goal of the program, the specific objectives, the implementation strategies with a timeline, the communication methods to be used, and a detailed budget (Goetzel et. al., 2004).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. The Web.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2011). Health care spending in the United States and
Cost saving is one of the major benefits for employers to implement employee wellness incentive program. Researchers found that, over the last 15 years, preventable illness or disease makes up 70 percent or more of the total health care cost (Hall, 2008). Employers intend to use the program to reduce such preventable health risk, which can lead to expensive chronic diseases and high insurance costs. “According to a 2008 national survey by Harris Interactive, 91 percent of employers ‘believed they could reduce their health care costs by influencing employees to adopt healthier lifestyles,’ wrote two Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) experts”(Mello and Rosenthal 2008). An early proponent of such program, Johnson & Johnson, has greatly reduced its health care cost by adopting the program. The company estimates that wellness incentive programs have cumulatively saved Johnson & Johnson $250 million on health care costs over the past decade, and the return was $2.71 for every dollar spent from 2002 to 2008 (Berry, et al. 2010). According to the Kaiser/HRET survey 2010, positive feedbacks on the effective...
Amanda Richardson, states that many business owners still think that employee wellness is unimportant. Some believe that it is just a luxury, ineffective and just a waste of time and money. In the contrary, the wellness of employees is very important because the wellbeing of employees is considered the foundation of successful businesses. Hiring employees that are healthy and satisfied with their work ultimately increases productivity and performance.
An enhanced quality of life at work would not only minimize stress levels but enhance performance as research has proven. A study done at Harvard University in 2010 showed that businesses that implemented wellness programs for their employees were able to cut healthcare costs drastically (Cutler, Baicker, & Song, 2010, p.1). For every dollar spent on these programs, they were able to save $3.27, so not only does the employee benefit but the employer as well. In terms of employee productivity all it takes is to look at some of the most successful companies in the world. Such companies often have great employee benefits and wellness programs such as Google, Facebook, and Costco (Adams, 2014, para.
...Kennedy once said, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity,” which is true. If you work out more you will feel better about yourself and get more work done with all the energy you have. There are several ways your company could go healthy, now you just have to make it happen. Eat healthy, take the stairs, go for walks on your lunch break, or go to the gym to do yoga, cycling, or just the free weights. If your goal is to become healthier, get your employees or employer up to the task and see what they could do with their company. They could save so much money on health insurance; become healthier themselves, make people happier, and get more work done throughout the day. Remember, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Goss, D., 1997, ‘Healthy Discipline? Health Promotion At Work’ Electronic Journal of Radical Organisational Theory, 3 (2), pp. 1-12.
Using a simple four step procedure, a company wellness program can create a culture where employees, managers, and stakeholders win. The implementation process is designed to be efficient, smart, goal oriented, and can be started right away with very little planning. Begin by identifying a coordinator who is able to dedicate the time needed for the process. Then choose team members from cross areas of the company, which will help create enthusiasm at all levels. It is imperative al l member’s work well as a team.
Human resources will need to place emphasis on employee wellness my initiating programs that “include work-life balance processes, stress management, and therapy programs, and facilitating an open dialogue about mental health and illness to remove much of the stigma that plagues the conversation and ailments (Guppta, 2016).” By utilizing flexible work schedule options, demanding jobs with high-stress levels are possible because employees’ free time does not have to be sacrificed.
A benchmark culture of health and wellness documents high screening rates, high compliance with nationally recommended guidelines for care and low levels of unhealthy lifestyle and a reduction in the number of medically homeless employees. Some benchmark employers enable workers to earn higher levels of coverage by taking better care of themselves and family members. Increasingly, they are utilizing behavior economics and in some cases, reducing their contribution to health care coverage when recommendations are not met. (Nash et al.
Workers of every organization need to embrace the culture of living a healthy lifestyle rather than implementing specialized health programs and insurance plans (Goetzel, 2012). Coca-Cola Company initially perceived health and well-being as only integrated into the safety programs that employees are given. The company needs to distinguish between health and wellness from safety concerns. Many governments have encouraged wellness programs through the Affordable Care Act; this raises the legal limits on the penalties imposed on the employees by employers for the health-contingent wellness plans (Baicker,