Health Handouts : What is a Workplace Health Promotion Program?

A Worksite Wellness Program is an organized program to assist and support workers in adopting healthier lifestyles.  This might possibly include increasing employee awareness on health issues, scheduling behavior change programs, and/or adopting employer policies that support health-related objectives.  Programs and policies that promote increased physical activity, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy food selections are a few examples.  

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is much more than fitness alone.  In addition to physical fitness, the ranges of ideal health include:

   • Spiritual Wellness,
   • Emotional Dimension of Wellness,
   • Social Dimension of Wellness,
   • Intellectual Dimension of Wellness

These ranges are often portrayed as a “life wheel” with examples of health dimensions that include fitness, nutrition, purpose in life, monetary health, social connections & support systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and ongoing learning.   The key to personal health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A accross the board workplace wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these ranges.

Why Employee Wellness Programs?

workers invest a whole lot of time working, and the bottom line is that our traditional work-week is increasing.  In fact, the typical American now works about 47 hours every week.  In addition, innovations such as modems, laptops, cell phones, voice and email have blurred the line between life and work.  These realities diminish the amount of time that the average person is able to spend on health and wellness pursuits, and yet workers are predicted to be extremely efficient when at work.

A current study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that workplace wellness or Company Wellness Programs are successful in helping workers to make beneficial health changes due to several factors such as convenience, environmental support, and co-worker or social acceptance.  

What’s the Association between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that encourage healthy behaviors are able to make a large difference on employee wellness AND impact the business’s bottom line.  Studies have shown that for each dollar invested by employers in Corporate Health Promotion Programs/wellness programs, there were savings between $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.  In business vocabulary, that’s more than a 3:1 minimum return on investment – a number that is tough to overlook, and a best practice that must draw serious consideration from employers.  In fact, a Corporate Health Promotion Program literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal observed:

   • 19 studies found a 28.3 percent decrease in sick leave
   • 16 studies established a 5.6:1 return on investment
   • 23 showed a 26.1% reduction in health care costs
   • 4 observed a 30% reduction in direct health care and workers’ compensation claims

There is little doubt that a comprehensive wellness program targeted to meet a corporation’s specific needs can save money by reducing absenteeism, reducing healthcare expenditures, reducing employee turnover, and increasing work rate.

• The United States Department of Health & Human Services, 2003