Corporate Wellness Blog

The Facts Speak for Themselves – Wellness Helps Reduce Costs

• A 2003 investigation of one large U.S. company found that simply helping personnel control their blood pressure alone can save $547 per person each year.

• Johnson and Johnson claims to have saved $38 million in health care costs for its workforce between 1995 and 1999 by promoting healthful life choices.

Health care expenses reduced $224 per employee per year (averaged over four years), and this rate improved over time.  The business found most benefits in the third and fourth years after health promotion program initiation.

• A 2004 Univ. of Michigan study of 23,500 General Motors personnel showed that nonexercising personnel claimed at least $100 more a year in health care costs than exercisers.

The study  also stated that obese, sedentary employees who began exercising at least twice a week decreased their costs by an average of $500 a year.

• The Washoe County School District in Nevada estimated that, in a single year, it spent $300,000 on direct costs associated with obesity and $1 million for gastric-bypass surgeries. It instituted a weight-loss program that compensated staff $10 per pound lost, up to 25 pounds.

Program participants missed three fewer workdays each year, producing a cost savings of $15.60 per program dollar spent.

Staff Time
Building a successful Health Promotion Program requires staff time in addition to money. Some bigger corporations may spend 20 hours per week for three to six months preparing all the steps before launching a Health Promotion Program.
Company Costs
Monetary costs can fluctuate commonly, depending on whether the corporation pays all costs, the staff members pay all costs, or the costs are shared.
A 1992 study indicated that 28 percent of corporations spent $5 or less per staff member, and 19 percent spent between $6-10 per staff member.
The Wellness Council of America estimates the cost per worker to be between $100 and $150 annually for an effective wellness program that produces a return on investment of $300 to $450. A sample expenditure for various levels of wellness programs include –
Program Type
A minimal (largely paper) wellness program          $1 – $7         

A moderate health promotion program
A medium wellness program with a few activities       $16 – $35            

A fairly comprehensive wellness program             $36 – $75      

A very robust, effective wellness program       $76 – $112            

• The news isn’t encouraging. As reported by Company Week, family health care premiums increased 49% from 2000 to 2004.

Another increase of 12-15% is expected in 2005. General Motors expects to spend $5.6 billion on health costs in 2005, or 40% more than it earned in profits in 2004.

• More and more research shows that poor diet andphysical inactivity are major drivers of increases in healthcare costs for companys.  The number of obese adults has doubled since the 1970s.

• The rise in obesity has a significant impact on health care costs. on average, 2002 health care costs for an obese person were $1,244 higher than for a person with a healthy weight.

• Obesity is causing rapid increases in type 2 diabetes and contributes directly to a 65% increase in diabetes treatment from 1987 to 2002. Nearly $1 of every $5 spent on healthcare in the United States is for a person with diabetes.

Treating staff member healthcare as an investment, rather than a cost, can yield long-term dividends

• At least 50% of your organization’s healthcare costs are driven by the lifestyle related behaviors of your workforce, such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise.

• In the past 10 years, the annual return on investment for Health Promotion Programs has been as much as $6 saved for every $1 spent, doubling the return on investment of earlier health promotion programs.

• The typical reduction in health-plan costs, sick leave, disability costs, and workers’ compensation is more than 25% for well-designed Wellness Programs.

• Fit staff are more productive staff, with fewer sick days, fewer accidents, higher morale, and lower job turnover.

The concern for employee health promotion is an increasing trend for American corporation. Why? the link between employee health promotion and the bottom line is clear and consistent.

Companys who integrate wellness in their overall objectives find they experience lowered absences, better morale, lowered health risks, and lowered healthcare costs.

The purpose of this guide to is to encourage and help you launch your own Wellness Program. When you already have a wellness program, but are not receiving the results you expected, perhaps some ideas and best practices in this toolkit will help you and your workers reap the benefits of a healthier workforce.

At least 50 percent of healthcare expenditures are lifestyle-related, and as a result, potentially preventable. Yet despite the $5,000 an typical corporation spends on healthcare per staff member each year, most corporations are spending less than 5 percent of that on medical testings and prevention.

The most robust meta-evaluation of Health Promotion Program studies shows something very exciting! It shows that Health Promotion Programs are not only effective at helping to reverse the rising spiral of health care costs, but these wellness programs are also becoming more effective.  The average cost-benefit ratio has increased from 1 – 3 for earlier wellness programs to 1 – 6 today.

Simply put, the typical reduction in health care costs, sick leave, disability costs, and workers’ compensation is more than 25 percent for well designed health promotion programs.

Corporate health promotion provides a long-term approach for helping keep employees well.  The single most vital thing you are able to do for your employees is to start a Health Promotion Program now.

In our modern and hectic lives filled with the demands of family, work, and much more, it might seem difficult to tackle our wellness on our own.  

A lot of of us develop goals that seem beyond reach and we cannot seem to stick to a specific health promotion program for an extended period of time.  

With the numerous struggles that prevent us from reaching our optimum individual wellness, many of us would welcome the assistance and guidance of a specialist wellness coach.  

A wellness coach is a trained expert who works with individuals to help them to reach their wellness objectives by developing and starting personal health promotion programs.  

A wellness coach is highly educated and normally maintains advanced degrees in areas such as Exercise Physiology, Occupational or Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, and Nutrition.  

A wellness coach sets achievable objectives for the patron, holds them accountable, and acts as a guide, motivator, and support system for that individual.  They focus on behavioral change by using individually designed wellness programs to meet the unique needs of the patron while offering creative solutions to help them achieve their objectives.  

In order to fully understand the role of a wellness coach it is crucial to understand the various factors that involved in overall wellness.  The five major components of wellness are health risks, exercise, stress management, weight management, and nutrition.  

A wellness coach focuses on each of these areas of wellness while meeting the specific needs of the client whether they’re trying to lose weight, get in shape, reduce stress, or quit tobacco use.  

They evaluate a person’s needs based on a highly scientific study known as a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) .  After a wellness coach has determined the specific needs of the patron, he or she is able to create the wellness program, set achievable objectives for that individual, and monitor them while they reach success.  

Health Promotion coaches focus on physical health as well as mental and emotional health in order to create a balance in the client’s life.  They not only work on assisting the client with their current wellness issues, but they assist the client to maintain their individual health by building future goals in their health promotion program.  

Every individual has unique needs and time constraints that require attention in different ways.  A wellness coach provides convenience with their services by working with patrons in a selection of ways.  

The patron and coach may use telephone meetings, e-mails and instant messaging (electronic coaching), face-to-face interactions, or a combination of these various forms of communication.  

Despite the fact that electronic coaching is becoming the most well-liked method due to its lower cost and efficiency, each patron may choose the method or methods will work best for them.  

The wellness coach is available 24 hours a day through web-based communication to make it even more convenient for the patron to reach his or her goals.  

Health Promotion coaches offer the kind of assistance that fits the needs of each customer to make it easier for the customer to embrace their personal wellness program.  

Based on the convenience, knowledge, and assistance that is offered by a wellness coach, it’s easy to see why more individuals  are taking benefit of these coaches to assist them in achieving their ultimate wellness goals.  

Just how to Take Control of Stress and Improve Your Wellness

What’s Stress?

Stress is the emotional, physiological, and psychological effects caused by internal or external mental pressure. It is an unavoidable part of life, but despite its negative connotation, it is not necessarily a bad thing.  

Stress may even be beneficial in cases when it enhances performance and helps people  to achieve challenging objectives. Notwithstanding, when stress is excessive and causes an individual to feel loss of control, medical problems can occur like headaches, tension, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, irritability, and digestive problems.  

When stress levels elevate to this point, wellness is compromised. Individuals may seek the assistance of a stress management coach to help them take control of their lives and improve their wellness.  

Who are Stress Management Coaches?

Stress management coaches are educated experts who develop wellness programs to assist individuals in developing coping strategies to manage stress and minimize the presence of stressors in daily life.  

Coaches explore the reasons why an individual may react in certain ways to various situations by using health assessments in addition to depression and anxiety screenings.  

After determining an individual’s causes for their feelings, stress management coaches are better able to create wellness programs tailored to meet specific needs.  

Coaches set attainable objectives, act as a mentor and a support system, and use techniques that are most suitable for each specific individual.  

There are many effective methods to reduce stress, and stress management coaches can help you to achieve your goals to make yourself happier and healthier.  

Just how Controlling Stress Improves Your Health

When individuals are faced with chronic stress it starts to cause physical signs which may range in severity.  Chronic stress can weaken the immune system, hence making the individual more susceptible to colds and the flu in addition to more serious medical problems like heart illness and diabetes.  

Wellness might also suffer for the maintenance of healthful habits is usually diminished in priority in the presence of stress.  There are numerous helpful techniques that a stress management coach can help you create to protect your health from the dangers of excessive stress.  

Take Control

Stress could be as detrimental to individual health as a poor diet or even use of tobacco when it’s out of control.  Managing stress is an achievable goal and will certainly be a reality with the help of a expert.  

With a stress management coach individuals might work to accept that stress and act to manage it.  Learning to effectively deal with stress will improve current daily life and protect your wellness in the future.  

Do you find it difficult to stay excited when trying to make changes to your health? Are you aware that changes should be made in your daily life but you do not know where to begin?

Wellness coaches are trained professionals who work with you individually to help you reach your wellness goals by developing and starting personal health promotion programs.  

They motivate, guide, and support you for reach sustainable behavioral changes by offering creative wellness solutions.  

Health Promotion coaches provide individually designed wellness programs to meet your unique needs by focusing on physical, mental, and emotional health.  

They help you become proactive in your life by eliminating unhealthy behaviors and making wellness a priority.  

Advantages of Health Promotion Coaching for Your Employees

Employees may benefit  greatly from wellness coaching in a selection of ways. Health Promotion coaching is one aspect of a wellness program that can help person decrease major health risks in their lives by changing high risk behaviors.  

Some of the many reasons why workforce work with wellness coaches are to get in shape, lose weight, reduce stress, quit tobacco use, and create balance in their lives. Health Promotion coaches assist individuals with current medical problems as well as preventing future wellness issues.  

Because each wellness program that a wellness coach creates is unique to suit the needs of the customer, they can be sure that it will be a wellness program that is right for them.

Many busy staff might feel that they do not have the time to spend working individually with a coach so these wellness specialists offer coaching sessions in a variety of ways.  

While electronic coaching through the use of e-mails and instant messaging has become a well-liked method because of its convenience, telephone and face-to-face interactions might also be used.  

Staff Members have the ability to achieve their wellness goals and improve their health and well being through the assistance of their wellness coach.

Benefits of Health Promotion Coaching for the Company

The overall advantages of wellness coaching for a corporation are remarkable. Employee high risk behaviors like tobacco use and obesity cost companies millions of dollars every year.  

These high risk behaviors often cause avoidable illness and keep workers from coming to work. Health Promotion coaches guide, support, hold clients accountable, and ensure that they receive continued motivation to help them achieve their wellness goals and eliminate unhealthful behaviors in their lives.  

By beginning wellness programs and using wellness coaching in their businesses, corporations reduce the risk of preventable illness in their businesses.  

This improves the overall health of workforce, reduces healthcare and insurance costs, reduces absenteeism, and ultimately enhances performance and productivity.  

When staff experience the advantages of higher levels wellness in their lives it causes an betterment in job attitude, energy, and morale.  

Companies that utilize wellness coaching for their personnel experience the benefits of higher productivity.

Hiring a health coach will affect your life in more ways than you can imagine.  The advantages of hiring a health coach are so excellent that even the biggest corporations in the world are getting in on the action.

But before you get started, you owe it to yourself to consider the ways that your life will change. After all, anytime that you’re faced with a major life change you should really consider everything that is going to be brought to the forefront.

There are three main ways that a health coach will affect your life. of course, everybody is different, but many these details will come into play.

And the good thing is that they are all beneficial to your life in one way or the next. In other words, hiring a wellness coach is not something that will have a negative impact on your lifestyle.

A wellness coach will help you to take the way that you look and feel to the next level. Not only will this help with the way that people  perceive you, but it’ll also do a lot for your inner emotions as well.

When you look better and feel good about what you’re doing, this is going to show in the way that you act as well as the way that you see yourself. All in all, a health coach will allow you to gain more self esteem than you ever thought possible.

You only have one life, so making the most of it is important. A health coach will make certain that you’re doing what is best to help you live a long and healthful life.

This may  be the biggest impact that a health coach has on the way that you live. After all, when minor changes in your lifestyle can help you to live healthier and longer you’d be a fool to pass this by.

In most cases, working with a wellness coach will change the way that you see the world around you. Don’t forget, not only do they take excellent pride in shaping your body but the same thing holds true when it comes to your mental state.

Not everybody could be a model, but everybody can feel good about themselves. With a wellness Coach, you will realize the good that is within in addition to the good in others.  

A wellness coach can and will affect your life from day one. If you are looking for a positive influence to shape your mind and body and also help you to live healthy, a wellness coach is right for you.

Exactly how can a wellness coach help me? This is a question that many people  ask themselves time and time again. After all, the thought of having somebody to help reach your goals has to be somewhat appealing, right?

But with that in mind, until you know what a health coach can do for you, you will probably never move forward with hiring one. Luckily, with a bit of research and soul searching you will be able to determine the advantages of working with a health Coach.

Typically speaking, the most basic way that a wellness coach can help is by assisting you in reaching your health and exercise related goals. While it’s easy for people  to set goals, when it comes to actually carrying out the work to reach them things can get a bit more challenging.

This is where a health coach can come into play. They will be able to assess your objectives, let you know when they’re feasible, and then work with you every step of the way. This way, you will not be on your own when times get tough and you feel like throwing in the towel.

Now that you know the general details, the next thing is to consider the more in depth areas in which a health coach can assist you.  As you can imagine, a health coach devotes most of their time to coaching others as far as their physical and sometimes mental health is concerned.

A lot of individuals  decide to hire a health coach because they need simple help in getting their body back in shape. After all, as you start to get older and time gets tight, keeping in shape isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

This is specifically true when you spend the majority of your time at work and/or with your family. But luckily, a health coach can work with you either in individuals, on the phone, or even online. This makes it easy to get the assistance that you need without really changing your lifestyle.

One thing that you need to know about hiring a wellness coach is that they will work with any type of client. If you think that your problem is too simple, you’re wrong.  And in the same thought, there’s no issue that is too large either.

The fact of the matter is that a wellness coach takes excellent pride in helping anybody who needs it. So before you pass this opportunity by, rememberthat whatever you’re up against you’ll qualify for help.

To determine exactly what a wellness coach can do for you, touch base with one of them to discuss your situation. From there, you’ll have a much better feel for how to move forward.

Individual Benefits of Fitness

Do you want to get fit, lose excess fat, or have more energy?  Most people  would answer “yes” to this question. It is hard to imagine why anybody would not want to achieve fitness to become a healthier individuals.  

If you are overweight or obese, have a family history of heart disease or diabetes, have high cholesterol or blood pressure, or simply feel that you could be a healthier you, then you may benefit  from a fitness program.  

Regular exercise is an easy way to help prevent many illnesses by eliminating the major risk factors such as obesity and lack of movement.  A combination of aerobic activity and strength training is the best way to achieve your fitness goals while improving your health.  

When selecting  a fitness program, the most challenging aspect may  be finding an activity or exercise that is fun as opposed to one that doesn’t motivate you.  

Person are motivated in different ways which is why there are so many fitness programs out there. If you try something that you do not like, you can always move on and try something different until you discover a certain activity that appeals to you.  

A lot of times, person develop their own plans for exercise but lose interest in the health promotion program and therefore find themselves steering away from their good intentions.  This is why a health coach could  be exactly what an individual needs to keep them on the right track to achieve fitness for life.

Exactly how a Health Coach can make it Possible

Wellness coaches are trained experts that assist patrons in achieving fitness for life in a selection of ways. a personal can hire a fitness trainer to work with them at the fitness club and help them with their fitness goals; nevertheless, a wellness coach does a great deal more to help their patrons reach success.  

A health coach uses a health risk assessment to determine the individual needs of the patron and uses this information to create a in action for their fitness plan.  Because everybody has unique fitness objectives, each fitness program is customized to fit the needs of the patron.  

A wellness coach not only motivates you to achieve your fitness objectives but also teaches you to motivate yourself.  

Wellness coaches understand that people  have busy lives and require convenient ways to exercise.  That is why a wellness coach develops customized health promotion programs that’ll work with an individual’s busy schedule.  

They’re also available 24 hours a day through online communication and hold sessions as often or as little as the client needs. Wellness coaches may assist their clients by telephone, e-mail and instant messaging, or face-to-face meetings.  

Although wellness Coaches focus on other aspects of a person’s wellness such as nutrition, stress management, and sleep management, it’s important to understand that each of these aspects of a health promotion program intertwine to assist a person in becoming the healthiest person they can be.

Before you call it quits and decide to give up on having a healthier lifestyle, you may want to consider what a wellness coach can do for you. Many individuals  get so frustrated working out on their own that they give up before they really have a chance to succeed.

Luckily, by hiring a health coach you are able to avoid this issue, and end up with the body that you’ve been dreaming of. But before you jump forward too far, you need to know what a health coach is as well as what one can do for you.

Ordinarily speaking, a health coach is a personal trainer, dietician, and much more all rolled into one. While this might sound like an impossible job on the surface, the fact of the matter is that health Coaches are very good at what they do.

These experts have many years of experience in the health industry, and have a knack for communicating what they know to others on a very personal level.

The main goal of any wellness coach is to work with you so that you can reach the goals that you’ve set forth for yourself.  And guess what?

When you don’t know what you want to accomplish your health coach can help in that area as well. Simply put, they are there to make certain that you are on the right path to success.

Health coaches come from a variety of different backgrounds. Despite the fact that most individuals do not go through schooling thinking that they want to be a health Coach, over time they start to transform into this career.

For example, many health Coaches have backgrounds in personal training, bodybuilding, health and nutrition, exercise science, and much more.

When you hire a wellness Coach, he or she will be at your disposal day in and day out. Many people  rely on coaches to help them on an individual basis.  And although this is a good idea for some, online wellness Coaches are becoming more and more popular due to busy schedules.

So before you think that you do not have time to work with a health Coach, you should really reconsider. They will be willing to work with you in the capacity that best suits your lifestyle.

While working with a health coach you’ll be able to get expert advice on reaching your objectives. If you want to lose weight, you’ll be supplied with an exercise plan  that will get you moving in the right direction.  The same thing holds true for those people  who want to eat healthier, get in better shape, etc.

As you can see, a health coach is more than just your average Joe. They are trained in multiple disciplines, and work with patrons to help them reach their goals.