There are many reasons why Wellness programs make sense and we all know what they are. It makes perfect economic sense, keeps employees engaged, leads to more productivity. . . So what is corporate America doing about this? In a recent survey of of wellness programs in multinational corporations representing 3 million employees done by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in conjunction with the National Business Group on Health (Wellness Junction), they found that:
- More than half of the companies surveyed either have or will have a corporate wellness program within the next 5 years
- The two major reasons that these companies gave for rolling out these programs are: “reducing indirect costs” (i.e., absenteeism, disability claims, etc.) and “improving work performance”
Well, now there is actual governmental support for these programs in pending legislation called the The Healthy Workplace Act which is sponsored by a bi-partisan group of Senators and House Representatives. U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) have introduced this legislation which, if passed, would provide tax credits to companies offering effective corporate wellness programs. This would be defined as offering Health Risk Assessments, health awareness and behavior change programs, meaningful incentives for participation and an employee committee that provides direction for tailoring programs.
How nice that there is a growing support for helping employers focus on the well being of their employees with an understanding that the workplace can be an excellent place to promote health and wellness. Let’s hope that whatever health care reform occurs, wellness is a part of it. Clearly this prevention approach has been sorely missing as an underlying philosophy of overall health.
Tags: Corporate Wellness, Fitness, Health, Health and Wellness, Wellness
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April 13th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Health care in America is in trouble. At $700 billion the current financial bailout is roughly equivalent to 5% of the US GDP. That’s chump change compared to the more than 16% of GDP (yes, that’s over $2.2 trillion) the US spent on health care in 2007. Pop quiz: What’s 34% of 2.2 trillion? Trick answer: The portion of the health care bill that is paid by business. The costs of poor health are outpacing wages, inflation and GDP. By a lot. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Health care spending has risen about 2.4 percentage points faster than GDP since 1970.
75% of the cost of health care pays for chronic, preventable illness. We need to start offering the kind of wellness and preventative care programs at work that will realistically compete with easy and fast choices such as donuts, cigs and DVDs. It only makes sense to offer wellness in the place where most of America spends the majority of its waking hours – at work. Corporate wellness is good for employers and good for employees. For more resources, stats, and HR perspectives on wellness, read:
The Bailout Is For Wimps
Get Well Soon, CEO
April 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hi, good post. I have been pondering this topic,so thanks for writing. I’ll certainly be subscribing to your posts.
May 1st, 2009 at 4:12 pm
This is a most timely blog, in that employers are more concerned than ever about the escalating cost of insurance, due to the sudden downturn in business. Whatever we can do to promote health will not only enhance the lives of employes, but will also help businesses stay healthy, which, in turn, ensures continuing employment for all.