Wellness Programs

Support from senior management is essential to building a successful health promotion program! Visible senior management support is among the most critical factors in the success of a worksite Health Promotion Program.

Senior level management executives are responsible for making sure that the organization meets its goals. They can provide additional assistance by helping you to link your Wellness Program goals to organization outcomes, thereby positioning Wellness Program as a fundamental part of the organization.

It is crucial that you develop support and excitement for the health promotion program from all levels of the corporation including upper-level management, mid-level management, and grass-root personnel.

The challenge for any Wellness Program coordinator is convincing senior level management about the potential value of Wellness Program to the organization and conceptualizing how wellness programs can impact the organization in a meaningful manner.

The American Journal of Health Promotion is a excellent resource to assist you with obtaining convincing information on the advantages of a Health Promotion Program.

Health Promotion Program support from senior management can come in many different ways -

o  Involvement in the planning process

o  Distribution of funding for the wellness program

o  Support for time given to the health promotion program

o  Participation in wellness events

o  Leadership by management, such as the distribution of a letter of support for the wellness program.

o  Download a sample letter requesting senior level management support. (http – //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/workplace_wellness/corporation_tools/sr_mgt_support.doc)

o  Flexibility of worker schedules to accommodate wellness activities

The costs of healthcare have been rising more than 10 percent yearly for several years. A substantial amount of the money spent in the healthcare system treats costly illnesses and illnesses.

o  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 disease and promoting health.

o  Potentially, 50% to 70% of all diseases are preventable as they’re associated with modifiable health risks.

o  In an effort to optimize staff member health, reduce preventable health care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower health care costs and improve staff member satisfaction and retention, many organizations are developing, or are interested in developing, Health Promotion Programs for personnel.

The advantages of employee wellness are well documented. Greater than 120 research repeatedly show themes like improvements in health outcomes coupled with high ROI. Some major findings include the following -

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

o  Savings of $5.82 in decrease absenteeism costs per dollar invested.

o  Return On Investments of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of health promotion program implementation.

o  Lifestyle behavior change programs –  $3 to $6 Return On Investment (ROI) within 2 to 5 years.

o  Self care, decision support wellness programs –  $2 to $3 Return On Investment (ROI) within a year.

o  Illness management programs –  $7 to $10 Return On Investment (ROI) within a year.

By offering health promotion programs, businesss are not only providing an additional service for workforce, but they are also gaining financially. Further, the impact of a health promotion program goes beyond decreased health care cost and Return On Investment.

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

* Source –  Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement –  A extensive guide to designing, beginning and assessing health promotion programs. National Corporation Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.

5 Ways to Assess and Improve Your Employees’ Health

Emotional health is a state of wellness that comes from understanding and acknowledging our emotions and finding appropriate ways to express them.

As personnel, we often bring emotional problems from our childhood or current family life into the workplace because we have not dealt with them effectively outside of work.

This can seriously damage workplace relationships and lead to poor performance and negative feelings all around.

A lot of tools and techniques exist for assisting us improve our emotional health. Some of the most common are given below, with real-life case histories illustrating their use.

When an unpleasant mood or feeling persists over a length of time, don’t hesitate to seek out a certified specialist. Wellness programs normally have specialist support already in place as part of their services.

1. Health Coaching -

One of the hallmarks of emotional health is the willingness to ask for help when we need it.

Confidential specialist help, the coaching and counseling provided by staff member assistance or health promotion programs, can provide an external source of strength and insight for “working out” emotionally-based problems in lieu of “working them in” to your job.

2. Self-help Groups -

Self-help groups are designed to aid people  in emotional situations in which they feel alone.  The purpose of these groups is twofold –  to allow people  to safely feel and express their emotions, and to help break their isolation at work and/or in society at big and reintegrate them into society with the support of a coworker group.

The classic self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous, but thanks to technology, it’s possible to connect with others that have common health challenges, no matter how unique the situation.

People  are taking advantage of tele-conference groups and social web sites, such as sparkpeople .com and revolutionhealth.com. Wellness programs often have such groups available through web-based or telephone support. Progressive corporate wellness provider

Exan Wellness, for instance, offers teleconference cell groups and moderated wellness forums for interacting with others in a supportive, confidential and anonymous environment.

Individuals  with shared challenges get together and discuss the emotional challenges they’re facing at work or in other areas of their lives and work through change together.

3. Journaling –  Journaling is often advised by counsellors as a way to help identify and process emotions. People  record their emotions in writing as they experience them, in whatever form they wish.

By helping the writer gain greater emotional clarity, journaling can help in making more emotionally informed decisions. In much the same way, letter writing enables people  to identify and process the emotions they feel about others.

The letter doesn’t have to be sent or its contents shared –  it simply provides a place for the expression of feelings.

An 18-year-old “army brat,” Brent has always done well at school, academically and athletically. But in his last year of high school, something seems to have happened to him. He has lost all interest in school, becoming moody and withdrawn.

Brent describes to his guidance counselor all the times he’d to move when he was growing up. Each move wrenched him from his friends and forced him to play the role of the “new kid on the block.”

The counselor suggests that Brent write letters to the friends he has missed over the years telling them how he felt. In conclusion, he has a chance to say a proper goodbye.

4. Assess Your Emotional Health – Corporations that seek to boost employees’ interpersonal skills, or emotional intelligence in the worksite are more successful, according to ground-breaking journalist Daniel Goleman.

And emotional intelligence is the buzzword in workplaces these days. Some wellness programs have information about emotional intelligence, or emotional health assessments. Seek out more information about emotional intelligence for better company wellness.

5. Friendships/Support Systems –  Friendships allow people  to feel supported in their emotional journeys.  At the same time, they give people  an opportunity to develop their empathetic skills.

These skills are also important for worksite health. When we are empathic with fellow staff members, we help them resolve negative or unhealthful emotions. New friendships are made through hobbies, classes, clubs, or even through internet based groups.

A lot of people  are locating emotional satisfaction by connecting or re-connecting with friends through Facebook and other social websites.

Sometimes worksite stress that is not dealt with in a healthful manner can be brought home. A 36-year-old mother of three, Sarah, wants to be a good wife, a good mother, and a success at her job.

One day, drained after a long day at work, she shouted at her rambunctious children and threatened to hit her youngest son. Her behavior horrified her.  To make matters worse, she believes she’s a failure at her job as well as at motherhood. She watches with jealousy as younger colleagues advance much more rapidly up the corporate ladder despite having less experience than she has.

On the advice of a counselor, she decides to take time out for herself and take a course for amateur painters. It does not take long before she strikes up a friendship with a single mom in the class.

She once led a life very similar to Sarah’s before managing to achieve a better balance between work and family. Her new friend becomes a much-needed sounding board for Sarah and offers her perspectives on her life that she hadn’t considered before.

It’s clear to virtually every American (particularly those of us in business) that health care costs are skyrocketing out of control.

No one doubts that either the market will solve the problem OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective.

Businesses have reached the point where the cost of providing medical insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It’s time for some new thinking on healthcare and its impact on business and vice versa.

Company wellness as an operational perspective in lieu of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising health care costs.

The Insurance Problem

The first step in correcting the problem is to realize that an employee’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting employers to provide unlimited medical insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable.

It’s time for corporations (on a wide scale) to reconsider their role in providing medical insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all workforce through group plans, businesses should start to shift the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here is the approach. Give catastrophic health insurance as a group benefit to all staff members with a big enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost low cost for the organization.

Then, allow staff to purchase their own health insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings.

There are numerous insurance corporations that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Workers can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Businesses win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans.

And when person become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health.

Besides, when an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your business offers great insurance benefits are not they telling you they are going to cost you more money in the future?

Create a “Wellness Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the health care crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By ailment culture, I mean our focus on medical problems in lieu of on having a healthful workplace and performance culture.

Now, what’d a “wellness culture” look like? First, instead of compensated sick days, personnel might  be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus.

Staff Members would be reimbursed for successful completion of tobacco use cessation and weight-loss programs. Businesses would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every staff member can participate.

Staff Members would be offered in-house wellness programs on a variety of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. In conclusion, corporations would commit to hiring and retaining healthy workers.

Simply put, healthy personnel cost less and are more productive than unhealthy ones. Applicants must be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productivity and increase the likelihood of future expense.

While this might seem harsh, it rewards those employees whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the business committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in major medical journals reveal that individuals who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are usually healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the typical American.

Since these individuals look for ways to stay healthy without drugs and surgery, they end up being a net benefit for attendance and productivity. Old prejudices in this area ought to be discarded in order for corporations to improve productivity and increase profitability

Conclusion

Healthcare costs are increasing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an appalling failure. Corporations are buckling underneath the pressure of providing health coverage to their employees.

American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for amazing solutions. It is time for American corporations to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the healthcare crisis.

Company health promotion is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options ought to be considered while we still have a chance.