With the start of a new year people are setting resolutions to lose weight, make better habits, and positively impact their overall health. Employee wellness programs started off as a nice perk of the job and have now become a regular benefit in company packages. Wellness programs are not just incentives offered to employees of large corporations, but also medium and small sized companies. There are many benefits to wellness programs including comradery in the workplace, better and more quality work done, and help with the management of chronic diseases.
Employee wellness programs have been rigorously studied and it has been proven they help promote better health amongst employees. With employees participating in wellness programs health care costs for the company decrease due to employees changing their habits and improving their overall health. Building a wellness program into a company also helps employees maintain their lifestyle changes leading to lifelong changes. In 2009 the American Heart Association conducted a study that showed wellness programs are effective at reducing the risk of heart disease. The AHA even makes recommendations for an employee wellness program which can be found here.
Looking at the cost of implementing a wellness program can cause some sticker shock, however after the initial investment health care costs yield a return of about 3.2 percent, which means for every dollar spent on a wellness program the company saves about $3.20 on health care costs. This amount does not take into consideration the amount of money the company saves in productivity recovered from employees not being out due to illness. Absenteeism can be a large problem in the workplace. It should come as no surprise that employees with better health miss fewer days of work. Employers can expect over $2.00 in their return on investment, in regards to absenteeism, when they invest in employee wellness programs.
Not only does implementing a wellness program help employee health, but it has been proven over and over again that it increases productivity in the workplace. Employees with a poor diet, exercised very rarely if at all, or smoked were more likely than their peers to be at work and not performing at the level that is required of them, a term called presenteeism. When compared to non-smokers, smokers were 28% more likely to exhibit presenteeism. Not only can smoking lead to a loss in workplace productivity, but it also can lead to a myriad of health complications. The American Lung Association offers information about helping your employees to stop smoking through wellness programs which can be found here. In addition, employees who do not regularly exercise are 50% more likely to have presenteeism compared to those who exercise regularly. Wellness programs are great at motivating employees to begin and stick to an exercise routine which not only helps their overall health, but increases productivity at work.
Wellness programs continue to prove being effective at helping employees lower their blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol. However, losing weight and keeping it off continues to be a problem that wellness programs cannot resolve. The obesity problem in America is staggering and changing it will only happen with major shifts in American culture. Despite the inability for wellness programs to help employees maintain a healthy weight, decreasing other health risk markers, like blood pressure, still helps companies save on health care costs and employees live a healthier life with decreased chronic illness.
As an employer, wellness programs offer an attractive return on investment and with promises of better employee performance they are a great benefit to include. But wellness programs offer employees increased morale and motivation in the workplace. Employees enjoy engaging with wellness programs because of the positive shifts in workplace culture. Wellness programs can help employees be healthier and be happier. By implementing wellness programs employers are showing their employees that they care and want to invest in their employees.
When implementing wellness programs it is important that employees have the ability to personalize their goals and be inclusive for all lifestyles. There also needs to be an aspect of connection. People want to connect with other people so the community aspect of a wellness program. The feeling of connection is especially important as we roll into our second year of COVID and the number of people experiencing loneliness continues to rise. Finally, the wellness program needs to be fun and engaging. Employees prefer being able to access their wellness programs over multiple platforms for better engagement and compliance. If a program is difficult to use or confusing to navigate, employee compliance is not great and you cannot expect to reap the same benefits that a wellness program potentially offers.
Employee wellness programs can help improve productivity, quality of work, and the workplace atmosphere. A productive and happy workplace produces better quality work, less sick days, and higher morale in addition to the healthcare savings employers can expect. Implementing a wellness program is a great way to support employees and support the company.
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