Corporate Wellness Blog

Company Physical Activity Programs Plans Improve Employee Health and Wellness

Instituting a Corporate Wellness Program improves the health of employees, lowers employee absenteeism and saves the employer money, too. Learn more about starting an Corporate Wellness Program in the office.

Benefits of Employee Health Promotion Programs

• A employer investment of $100-$150 per employee each year to participate in an Corporate Health Promotion Program can save businesses $300 to $450 for each employee every year, according to Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies. The savings can take a few years to actualize, says Goetzel, and are seen in reduced health expenditures.
• The Wellness Councils of America reported a $24 return for every $1 invested on a Company Wellness Program for small corporations.
• According to a 2005 survey by The Art of Health Promotion, employers who adopted Worksite Health Promotion Programs realized a 30% decline in healthcare and absenteeism expenditures in less than four years.

A efficacious Worksite Health Promotion Program starts with Senior Leadership. Organization owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their corporation’s physical activity program and working closely with a wellness coach. Senior Leadership ought to make sure staff members are well cognizant of their wellness efforts, displaying weight loss results or smoking cessation results on corporation intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.

Corporate Wellness Programs that Really Work

• Encourage staff members to kick start their own wellness programs by visiting their doctor. A complete physical must include information about blood sugar, cholesterol levels and general health.
• Target specific health-related problems in a corporate exercise program. Information about how to fight obesity, smoking, alcoholism and prescription abuse ought to be at the forefront of an Worksite Wellness Program, along with related conditions.
• Hire a wellness coach to instruct workers on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Reward staff members for participating in business wellness plans. Let staff members accrue health and wellbeing points that they have the potential to redeem for prizes. Make the prizes healthy, too- a free massage, personal training session with the business’s wellness coach or health meal gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle choices.
• Acknowledge employee wellness and health leaders in organization newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the organization intranet.

Worksite Health Promotion Programs Yield Big Results

For organization owners who want to broaden employee participation in a Worksite Health Promotion Program, consider Johnson & Johnson’s approach. Faced with only 26% of employees participating in their employee health & wellness program, Johnson & Johnson offered employees a $500 discount on health care insurance costs if they completed a health risk profile. The number of employees participating in the Johnson & Johnson organization fitness program jumped after they provided the incentive — to more than 93%.

Ron Goetzel encourages those looking to pitch a corporate exercise program to Senior Management to use basic facts about the advantages of Company Health Promotion Programs as part of their argument. Keep it simple, and share results from other company’s employee wellness plan success stories.