• Improved Morale
  
  
• Reduced Turnover
  
  
• Increased Recruitment Potential
  
  
• Reduced Absenteeism
  
  
• Health Care Cost Containment
  
  
• Improved Employee Health Status
  
  
• Employees know their company cares

According to a comprehensive report by the Milken Institute, the seven most common chronic diseases—cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, pulmonary conditions and mental illness—cost employers $1.1 trillion annually in lost productivity. Many of these diseases are either caused or made worse by obesity, which can be reduced through a well-designed worksite wellness program.

If Americans do nothing to improve their health, it is projected that by 2023 there will be a 42 percent increase in cases of the seven chronic diseases, and a whopping $4.2 trillion in treatment costs and lost economic output. The kicker is that much of the cost is avoidable, researchers say. Because employers supply most of the nation's health benefits, the onus will likely fall on them to improve the health of their employees. "Among the avoidable risk factors is obesity, which happens to be the fastest-growing risk factor of all the factors profiled in our study," said Kevin Klowden, a managing economist with Milken.

Since 2001, health insurance premiums have risen 131 percent according to the Kaiser Foundation, and the trend is expected to continue in 2012. An annual survey released by Mercer indicates that employee health care benefit costs are expected to increase 5.4 percent next year. The projected increase will be the lowest in 15 years but employers surveyed say this is due to efforts to contain health care costs—from raising deductibles and increasing employee contributions to switching to lower-cost plans. Without these measures, employers reported that their costs would go up by 7.1 percent; a cost many say is too much for their businesses to absorb.

Getting Started

To address this trend, first consider the needs and goals of your company. Are you trying to moderate rising health care costs? Or are you concerned about employee retention? Answering these questions will help determine what measurable(s) you need to consider before embarking on a program. We have worked with companies trying to spare their employees the cost of rising premiums and others actively competing for employees and looking to offer an extra benefit (i.e. regular onsite chair massages and free, healthy food, both of which can attract new employees)!

If rising health care costs are an issue, then it is important for you to look at your current spend and determine where the majority of your dollars are going. This allows you to target your wellness activities and intervention at those specific drivers. For instance, if a company’s top health risks are identified as stress, high blood pressure and tobacco use, then an intervention plan that targets these endpoints is important. If diabetes and obesity are identified as the top risks then your program design might be different.

We hear the oft-quoted statistic that 15 percent of the population incurs 85 percent of healthcare costs. However, in addition to helping the less healthy people change their behaviors, it is also important to keep the healthy people healthy because they can easily develop poor eating habits or weight gain and rising blood pressure (conditions that tend to increase as we age).

Gather Data

Once you’ve established your goals for the program, you need to determine what your employees want. There is no sense in scheduling 60-minute “expert” presentations on topics you find interesting if employees won’t leave their desks for that long or don’t care about that topic. Instead, you could schedule cafeteria drop-in sessions on hot topics related to fitness and wellness so, employees can spend as little or as much time (within reason) learning about each topic and interacting with the expert(s)! Recruit a wellness team with representatives from throughout the organization and survey the employee population to determine what, how and when employees want to learn.

Plan Your Intervention

Your intervention may include:

• Monthly or quarterly themes based on national observances. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a calendar—http://www.healthfinder.gov —with hundreds of listings.
  
  
• A good health newsletter
  
  
• Biometric screenings and Personal Health Assessments (PHA) are the cornerstones of a successful, behavior change program. Assisting employees to gather the necessary data to evaluate their current health standing is crucial.
  
  
• Based on the collected data, you could schedule onsite yoga demonstrations, fast food or portion distortion seminars, walk-at-lunch classes, “exercise for the extra busy” programs, Weight Watchers or smoking cessation programs, etc.
  
  
• If you have a cafeteria, you could develop a healthy lunch rewards program. Buy the healthy meals 6 times and receive a free lunch.
  
  
• Wellness competition to promote team building and internal support and motivation
  
  Other tips:
  
  
• Speak with your health insurer or EAP to see what they can offer your employees.
  
  
• Hire a consultant to supplement and/or coordinate your program.
  
  
• Design an incentives program around your efforts to increase participation and maximize engagement.

Think Big

To create supportive organizational cultures and healthier work environments, we need to present a coordinated effort in support of healthier lifestyles for all employees. We also need to improve and enhance the physical work setting. This is often referred to as organizational transformation.

Costs

Costs for a wellness program can vary widely. Keep in mind that the return on investment will likely be greater with more comprehensive programs, so the higher cost will also generate a greater return on investment due to lower health care costs and less absenteeism.

Evaluate

Gather data about participation and enrollment in various programs (through health care and EAP, etc.), behaviors and hard spending data from health insurers.

Conclusion

Following these key steps will put your wellness program on the right track. With an investment of time and money, your business could soon be enjoying the benefits of a healthier population, as well as the cost savings associated with wellness initiatives.

About the author

Debra Wein is President and Founder of Wellness Workdays and a Certified Wellness Program Consultant. Wellness Workdays is committed to providing corporate health and wellness programs that inspire employees to make simple and positive changes in their lives and improve their health, while working to lower health care costs for businesses. To view Debra’s complete bio, visit http://www.wellnessworkdays.com/ww/our-founder.