As an employer, your first impression of worksite wellness likely could be additional cost and lost productivity. In fact, many business owners avoid worksite nutrition and wellness programs for just that reason when the reality is they do just the opposite.
Regardless of whether you employee 500 or 5 in order to stay in business you must compete, but with the rising cost of health insurance and even service or production costs it is critical to maximize the limited resources on hand to continue to grow and expand your business.
A healthy workforce is a happy workforce but also a more productive workforce. Introduction and encouragement of your own worksite wellness efforts can be part of the difference in competing successfully in a global economy and it could also be the difference between operating in the red or in the black.
It is estimated that of those employers that offer a wellness program there is an approximate 20-40 percent participation.
We recognize that not every employer has the same resources in which to introduce wellness programs to their staff, but through Get Healthy Kentucky we offer ways and resources to help you get started.
What can a worksite wellness program do for me?
Wellness programs have been shown to:
• Reduce absenteeism
• Reduce medical costs
• Increase presenteeism
• Increased productivity
• Reduced Worker's Comp/Disability
• Reduced Injuries
• Increased Morale and Loyalty
In the 1999 U.S. Public Health Service National Worksite Health Promotion Survey, the top reasons employers gave for instituting health promotion programs were to: improve employee morale (77 percent), retain good workers (75 percent), attract good employees (67 percent), and improve productivity (64 percent).
Employees benefit also by:
• Lower levels of stress
• Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem
• Improved physical fitness
• Increased stamina
• Potential weight reduction
Source: New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Worksite Wellness and Financial Benefits
Return on investment is key to any business endeavor studies have shown ROI ranging from $2-$6 for companies that introduce wellness programs. For example, Johnson and Johnson estimated savings of at least $1.9 million through decreased medical costs, reduced sick leave, and increased productivity.
Here are some tools to use to estimate how much your company could benefit from a worksite wellness program:
Diabetes Calculator - Developed by the National Diabetes Education Program, this assessment tool can help businesses estimate the potential prevalence and costs associated with diabetes among their employees.
Return on Investment Calculator for Smoking Cessation - Developed by the Center for Health Research (Kaiser Permanente Northwest) and America’s Health Insurance Plans, this Web-based ROI Calculator estimates the impact of smoking cessation interventions for 1–5 years.
