Posts from — June 2009

Employee Engagement is the level at which employees are aligned with and working toward organization goals and objectives. Employee Engagement is altered by a wide range of factors that comprise of internal talks, organization structure, benefits and recognition.

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

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

In addition, the health improvements will decrease absenteeism and presenteeism (when staff members continue to work despite decreased work rate), allowing for more time spent at full work rate. Lastly, healthier staff members 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 specifies 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 well-being.” Wellness looks beyond the current guide of treating disease and focuses on preventive conduct and healthier lifestyles. Worksite Wellness Programs, also frequently referred to as Worksite 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 corporations.

Examples of potential components of a Company Health Promotion Program include:

Health Risk Assessments / Employee Wellness Screenings – Health Risk Assessments (aka Health Risk Appraisals), evaluate the most prevalent lifestyle-related risks of an individual. HRAs often comprise of screenings for Blood Pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and other health indicators. These analyses support important benchmarking measures that ideally will allow employees 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 employer, you need to know what the problems are, and you just don’t know until you get the data.”

Physical Activity and Weight Management – One of the most popular Company Health Promotion Programs is for employers to provide access to a fitness center, frequently onsite. 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 employees to frequent weight-loss seminars such as Weight Watchers.

Awareness and Education Programs – A lot  businesses have events addressing the benefits of nutrition, safety or physical fitness, among other subject matters. Other options are to host a health fair or administer a disease-awareness campaign.

Behavior Modification – This covers issues like smoking, wearing seat belts, and alcohol use. While many organizations will supply assistance for workers looking to change behavior, some organizations, like healthcare benefits administrator Weyco, Inc., mandate transformation, such as stopping smoking, as a condition of employment.

Alternative Treatments – Other Worksite Health Promotion Programs can include 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 businesses implementing Workplace Health Promotion Programs, which allow businesses to be proactive in preventing illness and promoting healthier lifestyles for workers. When implemented effectively, this approach can lead to reduced direct costs from claims, a reduction in Medical Care premiums and increased employee productivity.

Yet while Corporate Wellness Programs potentially offer businesses tremendous cost savings, the success of the program is dependent upon the ability to engage workers in them. In Addition, businesses must navigate the legal and cultural challenges posed by Corporate Wellness Programs: Businesses must be careful that initiatives respect protected classes and the privacy of workers. Moreover, businesses must battle resistance from workers wary of their company regulating off-the-clock conduct.

Over the next 6-12 posts we’ll layout the case for Workplace Health Promotion Programs in today’s employment environment, arguing that the cost savings and increased employee engagement outweigh potential restrictions. We will examine the considerations a business must make before launching a Workplace Health Promotion Program and the communication necessary to create successful engagement from employees. Finally, we will discuss several successful Workplace Health Promotion Programs and provide a list of resources that companies can use for guidance.

During the past several years medical insurance premiums have risen at a steady pace. This is taking a toll on the bottom-line of companies, cutting into earnings, limiting growth and forcing a reevaluation of the 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 business.

Organizations, through private health insurance companies, are the leading provider of medical services in the United States. In 2004, 59.8% of American citizens were covered by a corporation-based health insurance program, accounting for 88% of all private health insurance. Yet the increasing costs of Medical Care, ever-growing drug prices and a steady rise in chronic illnesses have brought the corporate society to a breaking point.

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

In this environment employers need to find innovative ways to stem the increasing 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. More than 80% of employers have chosen one or both of these options in the past few years and almost half of all large employers are likely to increase the amount staff members pay in 2007.5

However, these approaches do nothing to mitigate the fundamental causes of increasing costs, one of which is a population that needs increased medical care. To make a long-term and meaningful impact on costs and central health, employers need to look beyond a old-school reactive-based approach.

Designing company fitness and Worksite Health Promotion Programs is not about beginning a grand scheme that is so complicated it is underutilized.

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

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

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

Coordinating Company Exercise Programs and Employee Wellness Programs – Making a Proposition

Designing company fitness and Worksite Wellness Programs means understanding there are many directions the program can take. For starters, it must be of interest to staff members at all echelons.

The company’s proposal to the employee is this: you take better care of yourselves and we will help you accomplish your objective. To be effective, the Company Wellness 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 corporation 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 on the job and at home. A employer with a employer fitness and Workplace Wellness Program in place sends the message to its workers and customers is that the employer takes health seriously.

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

Every employer will need a different plan. A employer fitness plan can comprise of a lot more than just an fitness program and dietary planning.

It can provide real opportunity to enhance the entire organization environment. A Company Health Promotion Program can cover the following:
• Health intervention for existing health ailments
• Recreational programs that engage employees and their families
• Ergonomics to decrease work strain and resulting injuries
• Specialized programs that target staff members with physical conditions interfering with routine execution
• Approaching health and fitness concerns related to an aging work force
• Starting fitness programs specifically designed to broaden employee work-specific strength

The benefits of carefully coordinating organization fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs are obvious. Staff Members get access to the physical activity program either onsite or through organization membership at the gym.

Structuring business fitness and Corporate Wellness Programs means including those components important to good health.
• Meal planning and sound food choices
• Classes instructing on the food pyramid and how the body processes nutrients
• Instruction on exercising safely
• Weight loss and weight management

The rewards for the company are endless.
• Savings on Healthcare costs
• Reduced employee sick days
• Employees with a sense of health fitness
• Reduceincidences of chronic ailments
• Attracts new staff members dedicated to fitness

Coordinating Business Exercise Programs and Employee Wellness Programs – Closing the Deal

Implementing and coordinating business fitness and Employee Wellness Programs nets big benefits for staff members and the business.
workers are happier, feel better, are more satisfied with their work, are healthier and have more vitality.
Stress is reduced which positively impacts the attitudes of employees, reduces injuries and makes employees more productive.
Closing the deal on a fitness program means the organization and staff members sign on the dotted line of health. Do not let Healthcare care costs continue to rise. Start now designing organization fitness and Company Health Promotion Programs.

Employee Health Promotion Program proposals must be designed so that they meet business goal.

Company Health Promotion Programs for staff members are the newest attack on employee unhealthy lifestyles that are equating to high healthcare expenditures.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Proposals for beginning a program must take into consideration the type of company, the budget and the makeup of the employee population.

Employee Wellness 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, outcomes must be measurable.

• workers achieve better overriding conditioning
• Medical Care claims decrease
• Productivity rises
• workers experience fewer sick days
• Number of injuries declines
• Physical ailments like high Blood Pressure are reduced
In general, Workplace Wellness Program proposals must target the fitness topics at the business and offer plans for progress.

Worksite Health Promotion Program Proposals – Going the Distance

There are many different kinds of wellness proposals.

• One-one-one employee assessments by a  professional health 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
• Company Wellness Programs
• Comprehensive Corporate Health Promotion Programs including diet and fitness
• Programs that address a specific topic like injury at the workplace

These are just a few forms Company Health Promotion Program proposals can take. A Wellness program can be very basic or elaborate depending on the organization budget. A program can cover up to 4 components.

• Education on health topics
• Assessment programs with follow-up assessment
• Employer culture of health change

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

Corporate Wellness Program proposals provide a way for management to invest in their staff members with a promise of returns in the form of productivity and cost savings.

Wellness Proposals – Healthy Alternatives

Workplace Wellness Program proposals offer employees alternatives to specific health ailments. Proposals can address particular concerns in addition to central fitness.

These concerns include stopping smoking, growing flexibility for job achievement, preventing back injuries, preventing repetitive motion strain, improving loss of functionality due to age and prenatal programs.

Corporate Wellness Program proposals should have objective that cover improving employee morale, growing productivity, reducing absenteeism, growing employee vitality and netting Medical Care savings to the company.

Workplace Health Promotion Program costs can significantly vary and many comprise of cost sharing between the employee and the company to cover health club fees. The bottom line is that a company can design a Workplace Health Promotion Program proposal that suits the company budget, employee lifestyles, and employee and company mission.

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

Research internet-based the different Company Wellness Program proposals that are available for employers. Then select the one that works as if your employees’ lives depended on it, because that very well may be the case.

Employee Health Promotion Programs has become a critical component of employers. It has become apparent in a service oriented economy that employees are living more sedentary lives than ever before.

As a result, a myriad of healthcare issues plague the crew costing the employee quality of life, while the business faces increasing Healthcare costs.

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

Company Health Promotion Program – Cease and Desist Order

Worksite Wellness Programs are like cease and desist orders. These particular orders are instructions on why staff members ought to cease living unhealthy lives and desist from eating junk food.

Let’s face it – employee frequently eat unhealthy food throughout the day. Office workers, line workers, sales associates, and executives – they all fall prey to the temptations of donuts, vending 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 outcomes in serious chronic ailments eventually including heart disease and strokes.

Waiting until the ailments occur is expensive. Increasing health care costs are taking a somber monetary toll on companies. Every dime that is invested on illness recovery could have been invested on a organization preventive health and Workplace Health Promotion Program.

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

• staff members are screened for potential for serious chronic diseases such as diabetes
• workers are taught the value of good food and how to develop a dietary plan
• Individual job stress levels are assessed
• Exercise Programs are made easily accessible to encourage participation
• Frequent seminars are helpful on relevant subject matters of health and Workplace Health Promotion Programs
• Business offers incentive programs to maximize participation

Many workers do not understand the long-term consequences of living a life with little or no exercise. Workplace Wellness Programs bring the information to the workers so they can make informed decisions.

The reduction in sick days, less injuries and lower stress improves work and lowers costs.

Company Health Promotion Program – Resuming New Health

Corporate Health Promotion Programs can be elaborate menus of choices or simple plans that show staff members 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 hectic schedule, making healthy fast food choices or decreasing work related stress.

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

A physical activity program instructs on nutrition and provides the opportunity for exercises that tone, strengthen and improve flexibility.

Corporate Wellness Programs only make sense. It creates a company culture that speaks volumes about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

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

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are here to stay.

Corporation health and fitness are not just words to be spouted so people think the employer cares about its employees. Health and fitness are important concepts that are just as critical to a employer as finance and sales.

That’s because the health of its workers is one of the primary determinants of the health of the corporation. Organization workers manage long and difficult hours and at times the price they pay becomes an unhealthy lifestyle.

A concerned company does not want its employees to be worried with numerous serious health topics. A Worksite Health Promotion Program is a consolidation of an employees desire to fit exercise into a busy schedule and a company’s desire for a active labor force.

It’s a takeover of poor health affecting business work.

Workplace Health Promotion Programs – Benefits

Bearer bonds are owned by whoever has them in hand. Their value to the person who carries them is realized by ownership. Health operates under the same concept.

An employee and the employer must take ownership of the Employee Wellness Program concept. A employer has many choices as to how it starts a health and Employee Wellness Programs.

• A consultant company writes a company specific fitness plan
• A Company Health Promotion Program professional and the business jointly create a fitness plan
• An internet based fitness consultant can be utilized
• A personal trainer at a fitness center develops a business program
• Employer can create its own plan without assistance from outside professionals.

A Workplace Wellness Program may center around a program at a health center. It can also be based at the worksite itself, making it easily accessible to staff members.

Utilizing a consultant provides means the employer gets knowledge based assistance in evaluating employees. Each employee gets an evaluation of basic health status. Customized fitness plans are instituted and progress is monitored.

A qualified consultant can be available at the health club, or visit workplace as schedules. Some employers hire a fitness professional to labor directly with employees on an ongoing basis at the workplace. Other employers pay for the services of a trainer at the nearest health club.

The employer health and Worksite Wellness Programs vary. A employer may institute a fitness plan that includes workers and their families by paying for family membership at the health club.

The rewards of this plan is that the whole family can use the fitness center, which encourages participation. A lot  businesses pay for the entire cost of the Corporate Wellness Program at a fitness center.

Some corporations pay a portion while the employee must pay the difference. Others only pay part and the employee pays the balance. Some employer fitness plans are multi-layered and provide a wide range of exercise classes and seminars on nutrition.

There are group activities and daily tips for bettering health. Some plans are very simple in that most of the internal Company Wellness Program is mostly information. All exercise is done outside the corporation at the health club.

It doesn’t matter what form the plan takes. The point is that a Workplace Wellness Program is important for the success of the organization and the health of the workers. Taking care of its most important assets, the workers, only makes sense.

Employee Wellness Programs – Like Stock Options?

Employers provide stock options, whereby staff members can buy stock in the business. It is another form of ownership. Staff Members have many choices when it comes to fitness.

Their health needs, genetics, work environment and current physical condition all play into the structure of the Corporate Wellness Program. It is up to the organization to provide a program that involves all staff members so that maximum rewards are realized on both sides.

In other words, staff members have plenty of options and the employer realizes real dollar savings through a healthier workforce.

Business Exercise Program – Group Effort

Companies are expected to be socially responsible in today’s world. It used to be employees had few amenities, because the business didn’t see any advance to the business.

Times have changed drastically. Employers now be aware of that the health of its employee workforce is indicative of the health of the company itself. The company physical activity program was introduced to encourage active employee lifestyles, even while on the job.

Half The Time

Stress is a huge factor in how we handle a heavy workload. Stress impacts our physical and mental wellness. It even generates a chemical that is processed into fat by our bodies. A employer physical activity program uses exercise and health information to teach workers how to stay physically fit.

When fit, the body and mind is much better able to control stress. Stress has an abundance of side effects. It can cause inattention, sickness and high Blood Pressure. These effects in turn cost the company an abundance of money in absenteeism, poor work rate and higher health care costs.

A organization physical activity program makes fitness a priority in the organization among its employees. In return, a physical activity program provides many rewards to the organization.

• Greater productiveness because of improvements in health
• Improved employee concentration due to minimization of stress effects
• General improved morale
• Lowered absenteeism

You generally hear people who are under much stress say, “I do not know why I did that” when they make a mistake. The truth is they probably really do not be aware of that their concentration is misdirected because of stress.

I Want to Participate

A company physical activity program can take many forms.

• Exercise Program can be set up at the employer’s facility and managed by an employee
• Corporation physical activity program  can have a business membership with a nearby health club
• Fitness Program can be under contract with a certified personal trainer who comes to the employer’s facility and coordinates the program, including employee evaluations
• Exercise Program can be managed by an employee worksite using the services of a web based exercise program

A employer exercise program can be modified in almost any way necessary to accommodate the employer and its staff members.

Usually, in any program, seminars are provided periodically also to inform workers of current health concerns and trends. As a minimum, a corporation program normally will offer the following:

• Aerobics for cardiovascular conditioning
• Abdomen strength building
• General muscle toning
• Exercises for greater flexibility

More elaborate programs will offer employee seminars, workshops and health club equipment. Company programs can be adapted to any corporation and any budget.

Why Will This Work

We spend a lot of time at our place of employment. It’s easy for workers to skip exercising, blaming it on lack of time. Using professional fitness services like those found here takes away the excuses that are costing the business money.

Organization Fitness Programs and Wellness – A Clear Message

Organization culture varies from corporation to corporation. Some organizations are strict and formal while others are more laid back. But one thing most have learned is that the health of their employees affects the health of the corporation itself.

Because of this, many employers have started business fitness and Workplace Wellness Programs. By doing so, the company’s owners send a clear message to their employees that fitness is a priority and ought to be taken seriously.

Just by the fact that the company is willing to spend money to create and maintain a Corporate Health Promotion Program indicates by itself that good health equates to dollars and Corporate Health Promotion Program equates to active employees.

No Smoking

A corporate fitness and Company Wellness Program can be as simple as a ‘no smoking’ policy to a menu of health and fitness services. Usually, the programs fall right in the middle. There are many fitness centers that provide Company Wellness Programs. A business has a variety of choices when it comes to deciding on how to deliver a Wellness plan.

• Hire an outside fitness professional to deliver an employee program to an existing facility
• Utilize a professional in the original design of a new facility
• Develop a Corporate Health Promotion Program manager responsible for coordinating the employer health program
• Use an web-based fitness expert as a consultant

The first step in implementing any corporation fitness and Company Wellness Program is to evaluate the condition of the staff members. The kind of work a corporation does will drive the focus of the program.

By way of example, a warehouse operation may be interested in developing employee strength to avoid back and neck injuries. A building of office staff members with sedentary jobs will need aerobic conditioning. A corporation program is customized to meet the needs of its staff members.

Web-based fitness trainers are experts at beginning programs for all sized groups. They can modify exercises and diets to any postion. They can also save a employer money by creating a plan that is streamlined yet effective.

Result Oriented

A company fitness and Employee Wellness Program has direct benefits, not just for the employees, but for the company as well.

• Declined Healthcare claims as employee health advances
• Fewer cases of obesity
• Reduced use of sick leave
• Employees able to deal with stress better
• Active workers less likely to be injured

It is not unusual to discover a fitness center in an office building anymore. Easy access to workout equipment and a fitness trainer encourages staff members to follow a program. By using an trainer, a business can provide something for everyone – pregnant women, older staff members, walkers, active adults, mothers, overweight people, fathers and others.