Archive by Author
Popular Wellness Programs.
August 21st, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
Some of the top wellness programs currently in use today include –
Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s
Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} is a top wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that start it determine the safety and health concerns of employees by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the employees.
It can, for instance, guide the organization into determining how the air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem. an HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure workers have to certain dangerous or dangerous materials and practices.
Immunizations
This is not always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Notwithstanding, it has also become an important component of the top staff member wellness programs in many organizations in North America.
Immunization shots, like those used to combat flu, for instance, are offered to staff members for free.
Worker Assistance Programs
Employee Assistance Programs consist of a broad variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to staff members regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many companies, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.
In-house diet and nutrition drives
This is another wellness program that organizations use, especially those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer choices for a healthier diet, ordinarily in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.
In-house wellness newsletter and campaign drives
One of the top wellness programs that organizations can begin is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign.
The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as use of tobacco hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.
The newsletter in itself may be an effective means to deliver information to staff members or members of an organization but it is far from perfect.
Some employees, for instance, might not peruse the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. When the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.
Exercise and exercise
Another top wellness program for organizations is one that involves physical activities. Businesses often sponsor exercise-related events like marathons and company sports programs to encourage staff members to remain fit or lose excess weight.
In mid- to large-sized companies, companies may even pay for gym memberships or in-house exercise facilities.
Wellness Incentives
Some of the top wellness programs implemented by corporations involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored programs that reward staff members for achieving specific wellness-related goals.
Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most widely rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time acquired points (for larger rewards) to specific gifts. In several cases, cash might also be used.
However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be among the top options among businesses who are willing to modify it to fit their unique needs.
Colleague Pressure
In many organizations, companies take advantage of colleague pressure for encourage workers to participate in wellness programs. This is currently among the favorite worker wellness programs currently in use today and growing in popularity.
Colleague pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions referring to corporate wellness and to persuade staff members to be active in company-sponsored wellness fairs.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Has Wellness Been Hijacked?
August 20th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
Wellness is a excellent concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a truly holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthful balance of the mind-body and spirit that leads to an overall feeling of well-being.
It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you start to talk about corporate wellness, or corporate wellness, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management (DM) and biometric screening do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.
They start from the assumption that ailment is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.
The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Wellness guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.
On the one hand there are the small businesses – individuals working from home or in small centers selling all kinds of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating quickly.
On the other hand corporate wellness is also exploding but in a very different direction.
The baby boomers who are driving the well-liked wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.
They’re actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthful into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.
The businesses have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make businesses liable for stress-related sickness in their workers.
It’s also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the gigantic costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).
Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the companies are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, like doctors, nurses, insurance and screening systems.
The problem is that the traditional health system doesn’t have solutions for the problems that individuals are handling.
Nobody ever went to see a physician to get happy, because a physician does not have any clue how to make people happy. and many stress-related health problems are described as chronic illnesss, which means that they last for a very long time – or maybe for the rest of your life – because there’s no medical cure.
Counseling is a common offering in businesses for emotional problems, but whilst it might provide a useful pressure valve it isn’t a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.
Imagine walking into a company where the workers are happy, healthful, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.
That kind of business would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people would be working to their optimum capacity.
So can we create a system of true wellness that will serve the development of the businesses and their staff members and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?
First of all we’ve to face the fact that we cannot place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, haven’t been solved by the current system.
If they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we’d all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.
We also cannot rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, like the onsite massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most people unaffected. They’re easy to organize but have little or no real effect on employee wellness.
Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness businesses that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market.
Nevertheless it’s in the best interest of both companies and employees to find and create systems of wellness that really work – that benefit people to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their family and social life.
So far the corporate world has hijacked the theory of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It is time to elevate the vision and find out how to make indeed healthful, happy workplaces where people thrive.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Investment in Corporate Fitness, Wellness Compensates Big Dividends.
August 19th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
High rates of worker turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits. the high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in total cost the average company.
Many businesses are finding the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of programs that yield a reduction in these costs.
It has become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness/fitness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.
Management’s objectives for a productive wellness program should be viewed through the perspective of increased worker productivity, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved worker morale, lowered utilisation of employer subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.
It’s apparent that an improvement in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.
The benefits from an employees point of view may be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, decreased body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and workplace.
To be most productive a wellness program needs to achieve both managements and staff members objectives, and this can be accomplished through a program that’ll provide the individual staff member with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and wellness, and the advantages of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that’ll allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that can be applied for their life and work.
The Bottom Line – Wellness Programs
Decreased Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5 percent over six years for the participants of their corporate fitness program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).
Reduced Healthcare Costs – Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55 percent for corporate fitness program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an typical of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).
Reduced Turnover – Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Corporation was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).
Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Indiana found that its corporate fitness program had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Corporate Wellness Becomes CEO Issue – How to Reduce Workplace Health Care Costs.
August 18th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 companies to consider making workforce health a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.
After a few years of double-digit rate increases for health insurance, corporations are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have workers take more responsibility for both costs and health choices.
A majority of companies surveyed feel that the best way for lowering costs is financial incentives to encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Almost 100 percent of employers surveyed say that medical costs will be a crucial or significant concern over the next five years, according to a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.
More businesss are adopting higher deductible health plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and expanded disease management programs for control ever-increasing healthcare costs.
Failure to deal with these issues may be disastrous for an company. Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health lately stated, “I think that we have built a health care machinery we cannot afford. I think we’re choking the economic engine of America.”
In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California companies billions of dollars each year.
Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect medical costs, employee’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced among the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.
According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis.” What is frightening is that most people do not even realize that they are obese, which is defined as only 20 percent above normal weight.
There’s a excellent need for additional education on weight and resulting illnesses, and the workplace is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can lead to a significant return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce causes a very short period of time.
Although many corporations have attempted some form of wellness program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.
In many cases, the healthier staff members participated for incentives, such as health club memberships, but those who needed it most did not take advantage of the program in a meaningful way.
Corporations are looking at ways to encourage more staff members to purchase into the wellness movement.
A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource (HR) Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing and Advertising Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line – Engaging Employees is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home.
This session provided actionable advice on how companies are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on worker engagement. It also highlighted how you can create an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your organization.
Employers can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to reduce medical costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.
Workers also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives. the alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the corporation.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Program Ideas – More Wellness Topics and Ideas.
August 17th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal employee Wellness Committee.
Nutrition Category
• Low-fat campaign/food groups
• Team salad bars
• Vending machine changes
• Diet analysis by a nutritionist
• Produce on parade
• Consuming disorder support group
• Restaurant education
Exercise/Exercise Category
• “Elevoiders” – stair climbing
• Poker walk
• Mall walking program
• Facilities – showers, bicycle lockers, exercise space, etc.
• Team treks
• Walk-a-block trails
• Recreational tournaments
• How-to-select equipment talks
• Running maps
• Biking maps
• Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)
• Fit-over-forty club
• Tennis shoe Tuesday
• Walk 100 miles in 100 days
• Walking “buddies”
• NW Trek!
Miscellaneous Category
• House calls
• Meet your benefits providers
• Dental health
• Fire safety
• Ergonomic assessments
• Self-help learning
• CPR/first aid course
• Hearing test
• Hand washing campaign
• Cancer screenings
• Back class
• Passports to health
• Vision screenings
Stress Management Category
• Comedy hour
• Stress Pest
• Humor newsletter
• Money management seminars
• Time management seminars
• Relaxation class
• Better sleep campaign
• Relaxation room
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Program Ideas – Safety and Wellness.
August 16th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of worker safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other HR, worker motivation, and safety programs.
Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which might be coordinated together.
• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains – This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of medical insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Wellness and safety efforts can focus on –
• Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they could begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.
• the wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness specialist to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for staff member groups throughout the year.
• Offer body mechanics training annually or more frequently when possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, in addition to feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.
• Partner with your company’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which could help employees work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.
• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Make certain to encourage staff members to report safety and/or injury concerns. Make certain to help management to establish policy to recognize and reward staff members who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.
• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.
• Partner with management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.
• the ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.
• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These person can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.
• It’s often more effective to have an observer evaluate employees for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it is for individuals to assess themselves.
• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.
• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.
• Partner with the company’s workers’ compensation carrier to help develop ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Program Ideas – Holiday Activities.
August 15th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy commonly used to create interest and participation. Nonetheless, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can create issues.
Your workplace might have policies and guidelines already in place about issues like appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be sure to check with management regarding all guidelines and policies.
Don’t forget to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is ordinarily safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that aren’t specific to one culture, as others may feel left out.
Truly, acknowledging diverse holidays, if done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.
Several topical ideas for holiday themes include –
• Wellness committee members distribute “healthful heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.
• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local supermarket or donated).
• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.
• Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.
Each person can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food does not have to be low fat or specifically healthful, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.
Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In
Holiday weight gain can be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps workers monitor their weight during the holiday season.
• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident prior to Thanksgiving. the weigh-ins could be conducted on the honor system, but weight ought to be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You could invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.
• Employees set a personal goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.
• Give weekly weight control hints. These ought to be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in handout form.
• Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthy recipe options.
• Remind workers of the necessity to continue physical activity during the busy holiday season.
• Weigh everyone the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.
• Workers who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.
• Employees who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Program Ideas – National Health Observances.
August 14th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which may either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.
Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in bigger events. Health observances are tied to almost every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider –
• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate larger events and celebrations.
• A wellness message is more likely to stick with people if the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on television.
• National Worker Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to begin.
• A word of advice – do not go overboard in trying to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Choose one to three events per year and stick with these.
Create and promote events well ensuring that workers will come to expect and anticipate these programs each year. It’s best to do a few wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Program Ideas – Sports and Recreation.
August 13th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
A lot of workers enjoy team related activities. These activities normally take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.
Even though the sports team is not part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the business, the business could be held liable in the event of an employee injury.
If the activity brings with it a risk of injury, it is necessary to address the possible risk and liability issues with the correct corporation department. Additionally consult with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.
• Organize summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter smoke free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.
• Provide brochures and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so staff can take benefit of community leagues, trips and offerings.
• Invite an official from one of the above organizations to speak at a business brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to provide a demonstration of a new class offering.
Family Friendly Activities
Periodically offer activities which can be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include –
• Television Free Week (usually in April) – Develop a chart for the children to use to record their TV-free participation.
• Offer a certificate to whoever who is TV-free for a week.
• If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, like less than 5 hours of TV, no video games for a week, etc.
Tags: Wellness Statistics
Wellness Programs – Stress Management and Mental Health
August 12th, 2010 by Wellness Statistics, under Wellness Statistics. No Comments
Stress Management
Many simple wellness activities and practices can help staff members understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It’s necessary to help staff members understand simple stress management strategies for decreasing stress levels.
• Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for worker use during a scheduled break time. Consider providing relaxation music or programs including player and headphones; mat or blanket to lie on; neck pillow; eye mask; and stress massage rollers.
• Offer a stress management brown bag event at which workers can attempt different types stress management tools.
• Be sure to encourage workers to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.
• Give a comfortable employee break area.
• Designate a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, if possible.
• Make certain to work with Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the workplace. Supervisors are often the first step in assisting workers find different ways of managing work related stressors.
• Contact the Staff Member Assistance Provider (EAP) for a variety of stress management information and self-assessments.
• Offer stress management self-assessments to interested staff members. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.
Mental Wellness
Emotions and mental health greatly affect overall health and wellness. Every wellness program should incorporate some services, programs, resources or activities to address mental health issues.
Mental health topics can be sensitive areas for workers. Therefore, it’s important to provide information in a variety of ways, worksite presentations being just one possibility.
For instance, put domestic violence resource cards in the restrooms to provide useful information in a private establishing that doesn’t embarrass anybody. Other considerations include –
• When planning to offer an oratory event or presentation a neutral class title will ensure potential participants will not be put off by the name.
For example, “Parenting in 2004″, “Positive Parenting”, or “Parent University” is much more appealing than “Stress and Parenting”.
• Make sure to allot enough time when hosting EAP/mental health seminars for a question and answer session so participants may ask specific questions.
Always remind participants that individual help is available through the employee assistance program and through their health benefits. Provide written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.
• the Worker Assistance Program (EAP) is an excellent partner and resource for wellness programming in these areas. the employee assistance program (EAP) can help find ways to address mental health, stress, coping, and other related issues.
Tags: Wellness Statistics