CORPORATE WELLNESS PROGRAMS

Corporate Fitness Programs Improve Employee Wellness

Instituting a wellness program improves the health of staff members, lowers employee absenteeism and saves the business money, too. Learn more about starting an employee wellness program in the office and by contacting a Wired Fitness Staff Member TODAY!.

Advantages of Wellness Programs

• A corporation investment of $100-$150 per employee yearly to participate in an employee wellness program can save businesses $300 to $450 for each employee every year, as reported by Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell Univ. Institute for Health and Productivity Studies.

The savings can take a few years to actualize, and are seen in decreased health expenditures.

• the Wellness Councils of America announced a $24 return for every $1 spent on a corporation wellness program for small companies.

• According to a 2005 survey by the Art of Wellness, corporations who instituted worker wellness programs realized a 30% reduction in medical and absenteeism costs in less than four years.

A successful wellness program begins with company leaders. Corporation owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their corporation’s corporate fitness program and working closely with a wellness coach.

Company leaders should make sure staff members are well aware of their wellness efforts, posting weight loss results on corporation intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.

Business Wellness Programs Yield Big Results

For business owners who want to increase employee participation in a business wellness program, consider Johnson and Johnson’s approach.

Faced with only 26 percent of employees participating in their staff member wellness program, Johnson and Johnson offered employees a $500 discount on medical insurance costs when they completed a health risk profile.

The number of employees participating in the Johnson and Johnson corporate fitness program jumped after they offered the incentive — to more than 93%.

Benefits of a Workplace Wellness Program

The costs of health care have been rising more than 10% yearly for a few years. A substantial amount of the money spent in the health care system treats expensive illnesses and illnesses.

• Approximately 95% of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical services, while about 5% is allocated to preventing illness and promoting health.

• Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are preventable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.

• In an effort to optimize employee health, reduce avoidable health care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower health care costs and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many companies are developing, or are interested in developing, Wellness Programs for staff members.

The benefits of corporate wellness are well documented. More than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some major findings include the following –

• Savings of $3.48 in reduced health care costs per dollar invested.

• Savings of $5.82 in lower rates of absenteeism costs per dollar invested.

• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.

• Lifestyle behavior change programs –  $3 to $6 ROI within 2 to 5 years.

• Self care, decision support programs –  $2 to $3 ROI within a year.

• Disease management programs –  $7 to $10 ROI within a year.

By offering health improvement programs, employers aren’t only providing an additional service for staff members, but they’re also gaining financially. Moreover, the impact of a health improvement program goes beyond decreased healthcare cost and ROI.

A health improvement program can affect productivity, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical care costs.