Health Handouts : Making the Case for Worksite Wellness Programs

Major benefits of healthy workers include:

• Decreased Medical Care expenditures
• Lowered Injuries
• Diminished Absenteeism
• Boosted Morale and Loyalty
• Higher Productivity
• Reduced Use of Medical Care Benefits
• Lowered Workers’ Comp/Disability
• Positive Image in Community
• Diminished Turnover
• Better recruitment for skilled employee

What is NOT Having a Employee Wellness Program Costing Your Company?  

Consider the health risk factors that are contributing to chronic diseases for adults:

• 59 percent of American adults are overweight or obese
• Greater than 60% of American citizens do not exercise regularly
• More than 75% of American citizens do not get the minimum recommendations for fruits and vegetables
• Cardiovascular disease is the leading common cause of death and the primary cause of death in smokers
• 26 percent of staff members reported they were often or very often burned out or stressed by their job  

Medical Care expenditures are Growing:  Medical Care costs are at a record high of $1.7 trillion with no signs of holding steady, let alone going down.  The average expense of yearly healthcare spending is over $5,000 per person and including dependents almost $10,000.  Recent data shows that healthcare related expenditures now cost North Carolina companies thousands of dollars per employee, each year.

Most Illnesses Can Be Prevented:  Although it sounds unrealistic, experts indicate that preventable illness makes up 60% – 70% of the entire burden of illness in the U.S..   In North Carolina, it is estimated that more than 53% of all deaths are preventable, and that 2/3 of all preventable deaths are due to tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor diet.

Stress Levels are On the Rise:  As business resources become less and companies adopt less-costly work practices, the effects of absenteeism and lost productivity have a greater impact.  In a current nationwide poll, 78 percent of Americans described their jobs as stressful, and the majority believe that stress levels have become worse over The previous decade.  Furthermore, high levels of business stress have the potential to adversely affect a business by increasing injuries, absenteeism, and health care expenditures while decreasing productivity.  Simple solutions such as stress management education, flexible work schedules, quality social interaction, and increased participation in business decision-making have the potential to improve stress levels in the workplace.

What is the Upfront Cost and Time Investment for a Worksite Health Promotion Program?

The expenditure is dependent upon the type of Worksite Wellness Program implemented.  There are several options to encourage employee health with pros and cons of each.  The program design is dependent upon the goals/objectives of the wellness program, the corporation resources, and the community resources available.  

Improving nutrition, increasing physical exercise levels, managing stress or addressing work life balance concerns, and decreasing/eliminating tobacco use, are primary strategies for preventing many of the most common preventable chronic diseases. The possibilities of how your organization deals with these concerns are endless and can range from increasing employee awareness, which may include purchasing a few pamphlets on a variety of topics, and calculating walking distances around your facility, to adopting organization support such as funding a full-time occupational health consultant or building an workplace fitness center.  

When well-planned and based on your goals and objectives, any of these programs have the potential to help you succeed.  Refer below to Workplace Health Promotion Program Design Options for additional ideas.