Wellness Program Incentives

Unless specifically stated otherwise, most organization-employee relationships in America are governed by the principle of at-will employment. Under this system a organization, or the employee, can terminate the relationship without any needed showing of cause. This at-will standard gives private businesses large authority in governing the behavior of employees. In this environment, businesses can Finding Wealth Through Wellness 10 creatively design Workplace Wellness Programs based upon their specifi c corporate culture. Workplace Wellness Programs generally take three main forms:

Voluntary Workplace Wellness Programs – The most popular form of employee Workplace Wellness Program, in most cases they are made available to staff members but participation (or lack thereof) is not linked to any type of consequence. Due to ineffective communication, frequently staff members are either unaware of these offerings or confuse them with insurance-based medical care. Incentive-based – Workplace Wellness Programs based on incentives reward staff members for participation in Workplace Wellness Program activities. Incentives frequently comprise lower Medical Care premiums, health club membership or personalized support offerings. In these programs, employees’ behavior can be linked to a particular reward.

Mandatory Worksite Health Promotion Programs – Some companies require, or ban, certain health-related actions. These can take the form of mandatory Health Risk Assessments for employees and bans on smoking or alcohol use. While mandating behavior is an effective method to eliminate high-risk behavior, the cost savings must be measured against the potential message sent to existing and prospective employees. Given that employees are already under various levels of scrutiny in the workplace, individuals may resist attempts by companies to regulate off-duty actions. In Addition, some employees may fi nd it diffi cult to comply, forcing companies into the uncomfortable postion of punishing an otherwise constructive employee.

In the short-term a mandate-based Workplace Health Promotion Program can drive to an increase in turnover, as staff members either choose to leave or are fi red for noncompliance. In the long-term, the policy may prevent the corporation from hiring an otherwise qualifi ed applicant, or may serve as a deterrent for individuals thinking of the corporation. Limits in recruiting, for instance, led CNN to rescind a 13-year ban on hiring smokers.18

Corporations need to make sure that Worksite Health Promotion Programs are aligned with the values and culture that guide employer operations. If a employer emphasizes trust and individual responsibility, then a mandate-based program will likely cause more dissension than it would in a employer that already heavily regulates employer conduct. Moreover, a work environment with a large disengaged population will likely have poor participation in a voluntarybased program. When calculating cost savings, employers need to take a wider view and consider the effects on long-term employee program engagement.

In 2005, Michigan-based insurance benefits provider Weyco instituted a smoking ban for all of its nearly 200 staff members. Staff Members are subject to random testing and if they fail a mandatory breathalyzer test, they will be fi red. It is believed that Weyco is the first organization to use testing to enforce a smoking ban – most companies ask staff members to self-report behavior. Four staff members (more than 2% of the total workforce) left Weyco as a result of the policy. A year prior to the ban the organization started a $50 smoking fee, which would be waived if a employee passed a nicotine test or agreed to take a smokingcessation class. Weyco’s president Howard Weyers published that 20 staff members quit smoking through this program.20 Staff Members were told they had one year before the total ban would go into effect. Under the new Corporate Health Promotion Program, Weyco does offer $35 a month for staff members who want to use a fi tness center and another $65 a month for staff members who meet fitness goals and objectives.

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While businesses cannot obtain medical information on individual staff members, insurance providers will supply businesses with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and drug use. This information is essential for a employer to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources can be integrated with benefits information to support a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, businesses can determine the specific level of behavior change necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a employer identify the areas in which it must focus its Workplace Health Promotion Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a corporation case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, companies are able to quantify the Healthcare cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle modification and risk reduction. This can be done by setting goals in terms of reductions in identifi able insurance utilization, attendance or disability variables, or by aiming for reductions in health risks and projecting the associated cost savings. Effective estimates factor in the cost of the Worksite Health Promotion Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, U.S. Healthcare Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20% of staff members that made up 80% of the costs. We’ve addressed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are active and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.”

3. Design a cross-functional wellness group – Employers need to identify potential group participants who can be champions of wellness within the business. It is valuable that the group is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of workers so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This group will serve as the voice and face for the Worksite Health Promotion Program within the business. Best practice organizations integrate participants from human resources(HR), communications, business development and management. Using the utilization analysis as a model, the wellness group should evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that workers will be receptive to.

4. Build buy-in from upper management – The most effective Employee Wellness Programs have support from the highest levels of a employer. Support from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Employee Wellness Programs are a priority for a employer. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the employer case for Employee Wellness Programs and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into employer communications and aligned with corporate objectives.

5. Develop a all-inclusive Employee Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Company Wellness Program is meaningless if no employees take part. Effective wellness communications emphasize both health and monetary benefits at the personal and company level. According to a 2004 survey by Towers Perrin, only 28 percent of employees say their company communicates about Medical Care topics other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information ought to be a part of existing company communications efforts and not coupled solely with benefits communications. This helps elevate the priority of Company Wellness Programs and align initiatives with company objectives.

Additionally, communications around Worksite Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and support organization progress updates. Successful corporations not only use existing communications channels to generate discussion around activities, but also consider more interactive tools like message boards, forums, blogs and wikis. This helps personalize initiatives and permits for the sharing of best practices within the organization.

Most businesses engage health care experts to advise in the construction, communication and substructure of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will broaden the credibility of the Company Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from staff members who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to businesses is to brand their Corporate Health Promotion Program. This move can increase the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when businesses are also promoting an external campaign around Corporate Health Promotion Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Corporate Health Promotion Program internally along with a consumer campaign, Smart Spot, that puts special labels on healthier food and drink options.

These efforts are more effective when they are not owned solely by the internal communications department, but rather when managers serve as leaders of, as well as participate in, Employee Health Promotion Programs within corporations. This produces more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Company Wellness Program must be able to show its value to a employer. Company Wellness Programs should be designed to allow corporations to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior modification. Measurement ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee program engagement. Less than ten percent of corporations do extensive management of health care cost, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of corporations do any assessment in these areas at all.16

Measurement is only useful if a business explicitly specifies what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success comprise:

• Participation rates
• Greater employee program engagement
• Lowering of risk status
• Decrease of direct health costs
• Lowered absenteeism
• Fewer disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Company Health Promotion Programs to track as many measures as possible from the start, even if management only needs one, because it is very difficult to retrieve data later. She notes that even if leadership begins by looking at participation rates, they will eventually want to know about reductions in claims and costs.

Frequent measurement is the only way to build support among management and staff members. Nearly half of businesses feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20% of businesses don’t know how effective existing Employee Wellness Programs are regarding various outcomes. Organizations ought to lead utilization analyses each year and reevaluate Employee Wellness Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress ought to be shared with the wider business community to build support for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a company are likely to support a program that can prove increased productiveness among staff members. Effective Employee Wellness Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both company objectives and larger health variations.

Employee Health Promotion Programs first became popular during the economic boom of the late 1980s and early 90s. Programs featured on-Site gyms and massages, and were used as recruitment tools for young employees searching for nontraditional work environments. However, when the tech bubble burst, so too did the willingness to spend money on perceived perks, and organizations returned to a more traditional benefit structure focused on managed medical care.

In recent years, as Health Care costs have spiraled out of control, corporations have explored the potential of Worksite Wellness Programs as a cost-saving strategy. Employers such as Johnson and Johnson, General Motors, Motorola and Union Pacifi c Railroad have all seen a signifi cant return on investments in employee health (See Case Studies, p.20). Worksite Wellness Programs can help reduce the costs associated with:

Healthcare premiums – The expense a organization pays for healthcare insurance: According to a 2005 study by Hewitt, the Healthcare expense per employee in the United States in 2006 will average $8,046, with employers absorbing nearly two-thirds of that expense.

Prescription costs – The price of a prescription drug plan: According to a 2005 study by Mercer, the average annual prescription drug costs for sizable organizations grew 11.5%, making it nearly a decade straight of double-digit rises in cost.

Short-term disability (STD) – The cost of offering short-term disability insurance to employees: According to a 2004 study by insurance provider Cigna, the average short-term disability claim results in $13,094 in direct disability payments and healthcare costs. The report also found that 26% of claims related to healthcare events were a result of chronic conditions that could likely be mediated through Company Health Promotion Programs, and that these cases amount for 56% of the STD-related healthcare costs.

Absenteeism – The price of missed work: Absenteeism cost corporations $660 per employee in 2004, with nearly one-third of corporations characterizing the trend as a serious issue.

Presenteeism – The cost associated with staff members who work at decreased productiveness levels: Sixty% of the total cost of employee diseases come from presenteeism, according to a 2004 study by the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Cornell University.

The evidence is clear that strategically designed Workplace Wellness Programs can reduce both direct and indirect Health Care costs. A 2004 review of Workplace Wellness Programs revealed that, in total, an investment of $1 by a business in Wellness Programming returned a median cost savings of $2.05 to $4.64.

Employee Engagement is the level at which staff members are aligned with and working toward company objectives and goals. Employee Engagement is altered by a wide range of factors that cover internal discussions, company structure, benefits and recognition.

Companies that have high levels of employee program engagement advance from improved productivity, retention and performance than peers with disengaged workers.  Levels of engagement among workers in the U.S. have been declining over the past decade as individuals have become disillusioned with the treatment of workers by corporations. The inability to involve workers is one of the reasons why, despite steady growths in hours worked, America lags behind several other nations in terms of employee productivity per hours worked.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs may increase employee engagement in several ways. First, when communicated properly, they confirm to staff members that the employer cares about their well-being. This can improve retention and turnover as well as support more of a discretionary effort from staff members. During a period of significant downsizing, Motorola found increased interest in its Workplace Health Promotion Programs as managers recognized the value of providing for the health and well-being of staff members.

In addition, the health improvements will decrease presenteeism and absenteeism (when workers continue to work despite decreased work rate), allowing for more time spent at full work rate. Lastly, healthier workers are more likely to have increased morale, which translates into a more enjoyable and more effective work environment.

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports interprets wellness as “a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of wellbeing.” Wellness looks beyond the current template of treating disease and focuses on preventive conduct and healthier lifestyles. Company Wellness Programs, also frequently referred to as Company Wellness Programs, serve as a complement to existing insurance-based health benefit programs and can take many forms and address a myriad different potential health conditions. They are a powerful strategy to promote positive lifestyle changes that can result in significant cost savings for companies.

Examples of potential components of a Employee Wellness Program comprise of:

Health Risk Assessments / Employee Health Screenings – Health Risk Assessments (aka Health Risk Appraisals), evaluate the most prevalent lifestyle-related risks of an individual. HRAs often cover screenings for Blood Pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and other health indicators. These analyses support significant benchmarking measures that ideally will allow workers to prevent or reduce their risk of illnesses. Finding Wealth Through Wellness, As noted by Kathryn Krivy, director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago, “Medically based Health Risk Assessments are a necessity because in order to affect modifications in your corporation, you need to know what the concerns are, and you just don’t know until you get the data.”

Physical Activity and Weight Management – One of the most popular Employee Health Promotion Programs is for employers to provide access to a health and wellbeing center, frequently on-Site. Other potential measures include offering healthier vending machines and cafeteria options, weight management support groups and fitness challenge programs. Some employers, like hospital group Baptist Health South Florida, will even pay for workers to frequent weight-loss sessions such as Weight Watchers.

Awareness and Education Programs – Many  businesses have events approaching the benefits of nutrition, safety or physical fitness, among other topics. Other options are to host a health and wellness fair or administer a disease-awareness campaign.

Behavior Modification – This covers issues like smoking, wearing seat belts, and alcohol use. While many employers will support assistance for employees looking to modify behavior, some employers, like health care benefits administrator Weyco, Inc., mandate modifications, such as stopping smoking, as a condition of employment.

Alternative Treatments – Other Worksite Health Promotion Programs can cover absorbing some or all of the costs for massages, stress-reduction activities like yoga or even herbal medicines.

A more progressive and systemic solution may involve organizations beginning Company Wellness Programs, which allow organizations to be proactive in preventing disease and promoting healthier lifestyles for workers. When implemented effectively, this approach can lead to decreased direct costs from claims, a reduction in Healthcare premiums and increased employee productiveness.

Yet while Employee Wellness Programs potentially offer companies large cost savings, the success of the program is dependent upon the ability to involve staff members in them. Additionally, companies must navigate the legal and cultural challenges posed by Employee Wellness Programs: Companies really should be careful that initiatives respect protected classes and the privacy of staff members. Furthermore, companies must battle resistance from staff members wary of their organization regulating off-the-clock actions.

Over the next 6-12 posts we’ll layout the case for Corporate Wellness Programs in today’s employment environment, arguing that the cost savings and grown employee engagement outweigh potential restrictions. We will examine the considerations a employer must make before beginning a Corporate Wellness Program and the communication necessary to create successful engagement from staff members. Finally, we will discuss several successful Corporate Wellness Programs and provide a list of resources that corporations can use for guidance.

During the past several years healthcare insurance costs have climbed steadily. This is taking a toll on the bottom-line of corporations, cutting into earnings, limiting growth and forcing a reevaluation of a once sacred employee benefit system. According to a projection by McKinsey & Co., at the present rate, by 2008 health benefits will eclipse earnings at the average Fortune 500 organization.

Corporations, through private healthcare insurance employers, are the leading provider of healthcare services in America. In 2004, 59.8 percent of American citizens were covered by a company-based healthcare insurance program, accounting for 88 percent of all private healthcare insurance. Yet the escalating costs of Medical Care, ever-growing drug prices and a steady rise in chronic diseases have brought the corporate world to a breaking point.

For many companies the increasing burden has become too difficult to carry. Over the past five years healthcare insurance premiums have raised an average of 11.6% annually, more than four times the average rate of inflation and employee earnings over that time.3 Not surprisingly, this growth in costs has caused the number of companies offering Medical Care services during that time to drop from 69% to 60%.4 In addition, in 2005,  healthcare insurance premiums jumped 9.2%, more than three times the rate of inflation – and that was the lowest increase in the past five years.

In this environment organizations need to discover innovative ways to stem the rising costs of Health Care coverage. Seemingly, the easiest strategies to accomplish this goal would be to cut benefits coverage or pass on arising burden to staff members and retirees. Greater than 80% of organizations have chosen one or both of these options in the past few years and almost half of all large organizations are likely to increase the amount staff members pay in 2007.5

However, these options do nothing to address the fundamental causes of rising premiums, one of which is a population that needs increased healthcare. To make a lasting and meaningful impact on premiums and overriding health, corporations need to look beyond a old-school reactive-based approach.

Designing business fitness and Employee Wellness Programs is not about starting a grand scheme that is so complicated it is underutilized.

Company Health Promotion Programs are about establishing an environment that encourages fitness and active living. The program ought to be accessible and make sense to the people it is directed at throughout the day.

The results will be a plan that provides plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper diet and stays current on health problems beneficial to the workers.

The results will be a plan that offers plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health topics constructive to the workers.

Structuring Business Exercise Programs and Corporate Wellness Programs – Making a Proposition

Coordinating organization fitness and Worksite Health Promotion Programs means understanding there are many directions the program can take. For starters, it must be of interest to staff members at all levels.

The company’s proposal to the employee is this: you take better care of yourselves and we will help you accomplish your intention. To be effective, the Company Health Promotion Program must be pervasive.

In other words, it must address the needs of the top executives as well as the warehouse workers. The variety of jobs within a organization usually indicate wide differences in stress and strain levels on the body and differences in mental and emotional stress.

The program must also take into account employee habits at work and at home. A corporation with a corporation fitness and Employee Health Promotion Program in place sends the message to its employees and customers is that the corporation takes health seriously.

Designing employer fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs involves determining the types of exercises that will be most effective for the circumstance.

Every organization will need a different plan. A organization fitness plan can include a lot more than just an exercise program and dietary planning.

It can offer real opportunity to enhance the entire employer environment. A Employee Health Promotion Program can include the following:
• Health intervention for existing health problems
• Recreational programs that engage staff members and their families
• Ergonomics to decrease work strain and resulting injuries
• Specialized programs that target workers with physical conditions interfering with work execution
• Addressing health and fitness concerns related to an aging work force
• Creating exercise programs specifically designed to increase employee work-specific strength

The advantages of carefully coordinating company fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs are obvious. Workers get access to the fitness program either workplace or through company membership at the fitness center.

Structuring company fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs means including those components important to good health.
• Meal structuring and sound food choices
• Sessions instructing on the food pyramid and how the body processes nutrients
• Instruction on working out safely
• Weight loss and weight management

The rewards for the employer are endless.
• Savings on Health Care costs
• Less employee sick days
• Staff Members with a sense of health fitness
• Lowerincidences of chronic ailments
• Attracts new employees dedicated to fitness

Designing Corporation Fitness Programs and Corporate Wellness Programs – Closing the Deal

Implementing and planning company fitness and Employee Health Promotion Programs nets big rewards for workers and the company.
staff members are happier, feel better, are more satisfied with their work, are healthier and have more vitality.
Stress is lowerd which positively impacts the attitudes of employees, lowers injuries and makes employees more positive.
Closing the deal on a physical activity program means the corporation and staff members sign on the dotted line of health. Don’t let Healthcare care costs continue to rise. Begin now coordinating corporation fitness and Employee Health Promotion Programs.

Workplace Wellness Program proposals must be designed so that they meet corporation objective.

Employee Health Promotion Programs for employees are the newest attack on employee unhealthy lifestyles that are equating to high health care expenses.

Company Wellness Program Proposals for starting a program must take into consideration the type of corporation, the budget and the makeup of the employee population.

Worksite Health Promotion Programs for office employee will be different than programs for construction employees

The goal will be same, but the approach to reaching those goal will be different. For a program to be considered successful, results must be measurable.

• workers achieve better overall conditioning
• Health Care claims lower
• Productiveness increases
• employees experience less sick days
• Number of injuries declines
• Physical ailments like high Blood Pressure are decreased
In general, Workplace Health Promotion Program proposals must target the fitness topics at the employer and provide plans for improvement.

Worksite Wellness Program Proposals – Going the Distance

There are many different kinds of wellness proposals.

• One-one-one employee assessments by a  professional medical care provider
• Outside specialist assistance for program design and implementation only
• Ongoing program monitoring by a personal trainer
• In-house program design
• Fitness Center memberships
• Worksite Health Promotion Programs
• Comprehensive Corporate Health Promotion Programs including diet and fitness
• Programs that address a specific concern like injury at the workplace

These are just a few forms Workplace Wellness Program proposals can take. A Wellness program can be very basic or elaborate depending on the company budget. A program can comprise of up to 4 components.

• Education on health problems
• Screening programs with follow-up screening
• Business culture of health change

• Fitness and nutrition programs – supervised and unsupervised programs can cover a myriad of health and fitness information and activities. The rewards for beginning a Employee Health Promotion Program are unlimited.

Workplace Health Promotion Program proposals provide a way for management to invest in their employees with a promise of returns in the form of productivity and cost savings.

Wellness Proposals – Healthy Alternatives

Company Health Promotion Program proposals provide staff members alternatives to specific health ailments. Proposals can address particular problems in addition to overriding fitness.

These topics cover quitting smoking, more flexibility for job achievement, preventing back injuries, preventing repetitive motion strain, improving loss of functionality due to age and prenatal programs.

Workplace Wellness Program proposals must have intention that comprise of improving employee morale, more productiveness, reducing absenteeism, more employee vitality and netting Health Care savings to the corporation.

Company Health Promotion Program costs can significantly vary and many include cost sharing between the employee and the business to cover gym fees. The bottom line is that a business can design a Company Health Promotion Program proposal that suits the business budget, employee lifestyles, and employee and business objective.

In any of the Worksite Wellness Program proposals, active alternatives to current business concerns must be spelled out. Employee health is a top priority for any business that cares about its success.

Research online the different Workplace Health Promotion Program proposals that are available for businesses. Then select the one that works as if your employees’ lives depended on it, because that very well may be the case.

Corporate Wellness Programs has become a critical component of employers. It has become apparent in a service oriented economy that staff members are living more sedentary lives than ever before.

As a result, a myriad of medical care ailments plague the workforce costing the employee quality of life, while the corporation faces increasing Healthcare costs.

It is a postion in which no one wins. Waiting until the problem occurs is self-defeating for both the company and the employee member. Company Health Promotion Programs only makes good sense by discussing the topic before it happens.

Company Wellness Program – Cease and Desist Order

Employee Health Promotion Programs are like cease and desist orders. These particular orders are instructions on why employees must cease living unhealthy lives and desist from eating junk food.

Let’s face it – employee frequently consume unhealthy food throughout the day. Office staff members, line staff members, sales associates, and executives – they all fall prey to the temptations of donuts, snack machines food, office party snacks and so on.

The bad habits continue at home. Food that is bad for your health is staples in much diets. These foods include too much white bread, cakes, alcohol, fast food picked up on the way home and unhealthy snacks like buttered popcorn and sugar rich soda drinks.

Poor diet and little or no exercise results in weighty chronic sickness eventually including heart disease and strokes.

Waiting until the ailments occur is expensive. Increasing medical care costs are taking a genuine financial toll on employers. Every dime that is spent on illness recovery could have been spent on a corporation preventive health and Worksite Wellness Program.

Prevention means starting conditions such that illness and injury are minimized through diet and exercise and an awareness of what is a great fitness plan.

• staff members are screened for potential for serious chronic diseases such as diabetes
• employees are taught the value of good diet and how to develop a dietary plan
• Individual job stress levels are evaluated
• Physical Activity Programs are made easily accessible to encourage participation
• Frequent classes are helpful on relevant topics of health and Employee Health Promotion Programs
• Employer provides incentive programs to maximize participation

Most staff members don’t know the long-term consequences of living a life with little or no exercise. Employee Health Promotion Programs bring the information to the staff members so they can make informed decisions.

The decline in sick days, reduced injuries and reduced stress increases work and lowers costs.

Company Wellness Program – Resuming New Health

Corporate Health Promotion Programs can be elaborate menus of choices or simple plans that show employees how to improve their quality of life.

The programs can cover all the problems that confront staff members during their work day also. These kinds of topics include preventing injury, fitting exercise into a busy schedule, making right fast food choices or decreasing work related stress.

No matter what form the employer preventive health and physical activity program takes the benefits will be rapidly incurred. It only takes a couple of weeks for workers to begin to feel the outcomes of a more active life.

A fitness program instructs on food and provides the opportunity for exercises that tone, strengthen and enhance flexibility.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs only make sense. It creates a organization culture that speaks volumes about the significance of a active lifestyle.

Once employees stop their old sedentary habits, they are left with the choice of resuming new active attitudes and practices.

Corporate Wellness Programs are here to stay.