According to the Wellness Councils of America (welcoa.org), more than 81% of businesses with 50 or more employees have some form of health promotion program—the most popular being exercise, stop-smoking classes, back care programs, and stress management. Clearly, any Company can benefit from instituting a strong wellness program. A wellness program is much more than an exercise program. Wellness is a combination of activities that focus on employee health promotion and disease prevention. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, more than 50% of all deaths of people under age 65 are directly attributable to unhealthy lifestyles. Wellness programs focus on promoting employees' health and preventing disease. The activities of wellness programs include workshops on smoking cessation, stress management, and nutrition, as well as tests for cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and muscular strength. The benefits of a wellness program include lower insurance premiums, lower turnover, increased productivity, and increased job satisfaction.A wellness program provides a wide range of health promotion services that are customized to the needs of a business and its employees, including top management. Last year, American companies spent billions of dollars on health-care related expenses and disabilities resulting from controllable problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking, obesity high cholesterol, and hypertension. A significant portion of this expense went for insurance costs that have dramatically increased over the past decade. Researchers have estimated that employers spend up to 25% of their total payroll expenses in an attempt to recover decreased productivity due to absenteeism and reduced effort relating to controllable health problems.
The commitment of top management is essential for success. Most employers are offering wellness programs to offset the rising costs of health care. For many companies, medical costs can consume half of corporate profits—or more. Some employers look to cost sharing, cost shifting, managed care plans, risk rating, and cash-based rebates or incentives. But these methods merely shift costs. Only worksite health promotion stands out as the long-term answer for keeping employees well in the first place. Yet many business leaders continue to ask themselves how to control massive increases in annual insurance premiums and health care costs.
Although wellness programs started at large corporations, they are beginning to appear at all sorts of organizations, many smaller businesses too. Consider that a wellness program may be more important for small firms that can ill afford to lose even one key person. A good example of an organization which is implementing an exciting and innovative wellness program is Bob Jones University (BJU). The core emphasis of BJU’s initiative is to stress the importance of regular exercise, sound nutrition and good sleep habits. The 1,800 members of BJU’s faculty and staff were given the opportunity to participate voluntarily in the Wellness Challenge. According to Jim Cook, the chief human resources manager for BJU and the originator of the wellness program- “this has a buzz and there is a new camaraderie. The whole purpose is to get the energy level up” After the sign up ended, the BJH Human Resources team was astounded to note that out of 1800 members, 1100 wanted to participate in the program.
Participants were placed on one of 46 teams composed of 25 faculty and staff members from across campus. This brought a new dynamics as employees from different departments found themselves united in their efforts. The various teams went as far as composing names, colors and songs for the team. The spokesman for BJU – Jonathan Palt said “he believes the program has shown popularity because the school invested a lot of money into the program. All participants received a pedometer to measure daily steps, a 32-ounce water bottle, and the incentive of earning impressive array of electronic gadgets or cash”. Jim Cook reported that several employees have told him they have been able to get rid of medication for high blood pressure because of the exercise and sound eating habits. He also indicated that this program will remain a life style for BJU’s faculty and staff.
The following are the six challenges BJU’s faculty and staff have pledged to work on daily:
-> Walk 10,000 Steps
-> Maintain a healthy weight for your height, or lose weight to reach that healthy weight
-> Eat 3 servings of vegetables and 2 fruits
-> Sleep 7 hours
-> Drink 64 ounces of water daily
-> Exercise for 30 minutes
Employees were rewarded a point a day for each challenge they accomplish. In a month, employees can earn up to 180 points. They were entitled to receive special prizes after the first 3 months of the program and more rewards after the first year. This program helped BJU’s faculty and staff get a head start on their health. As part of the program, participant can also earn points for year end prizes by having their blood pressure test once a quarter (25 points) or by having an annual physical (50 points).
There is mounting evidence that wellness programs are not only popular but they produce measureable results cost saving. In the case of BJU, they invested money in the program to make money. The results in the cost savings will be tremendous. If they have employees with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol; regular exercise, good eating habits can actually help manage this disease and perhaps take employees off medication. With the hike in health costs, a lot of employers are communicating to their employees the hike in health costs and the role they can play in helping to bring down cost, which also gives them a head start with their health as well. With that said, most employers don’t impose participation in the wellness program. There is nothing mysterious about preventing many disabling conditions. Something can be done to prevent health problems that make us retire to a life of dependence and immobility caused by preventable degenerative disease. Sensible living habits and regular exercise is crucial to feeling, looking, and staying well. An effective wellness program can assist you and your employees in meeting desired goals and avoiding disabling problems.
-> Sleep 7 hours
-> Drink 64 ounces of water daily
-> Exercise for 30 minutes
Employees were rewarded a point a day for each challenge they accomplish. In a month, employees can earn up to 180 points. They were entitled to receive special prizes after the first 3 months of the program and more rewards after the first year. This program helped BJU’s faculty and staff get a head start on their health. As part of the program, participant can also earn points for year end prizes by having their blood pressure test once a quarter (25 points) or by having an annual physical (50 points).
There is mounting evidence that wellness programs are not only popular but they produce measureable results cost saving. In the case of BJU, they invested money in the program to make money. The results in the cost savings will be tremendous. If they have employees with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol; regular exercise, good eating habits can actually help manage this disease and perhaps take employees off medication. With the hike in health costs, a lot of employers are communicating to their employees the hike in health costs and the role they can play in helping to bring down cost, which also gives them a head start with their health as well. With that said, most employers don’t impose participation in the wellness program. There is nothing mysterious about preventing many disabling conditions. Something can be done to prevent health problems that make us retire to a life of dependence and immobility caused by preventable degenerative disease. Sensible living habits and regular exercise is crucial to feeling, looking, and staying well. An effective wellness program can assist you and your employees in meeting desired goals and avoiding disabling problems.
