...Employee Wellness Susan Pinto Abstract Over the last several decades, an epidemic of “lifestyle diseases” has developed globally: Unhealthy lifestyles, such as inactivity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and frequent alcohol consumption, are driving up the prevalence of chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, and chronic conditions. These conditions have become a major burden, as they lead to decreased quality of life and increased health care cost. Furthermore, these diseases were thought to be the problems that occurred in old age in the life cycle o fan individual thus resulting is low productivity and reduced performance at work. There is a rising concern over the health care coverage and the impact of this sedentary lifestyle on an individual’s health, organizations have adopted and are promoting employee wellness programs in the organizations. These are programs that encourage a particular diet, reducing stress levels and promoting work life balance among the employees. Employee wellness or Health promotion is related to disease prevention which aims at fostering better health through behaviour and lifestyle change at work. A broad range of benefits are offered under the label ’employee wellness’, from multi-component programs to single interventions, and benefits can be offered by employers directly, through a vendor, group health plans, or a combination of both. What is Wellness? Wellness is "an active...
Words: 1980 - Pages: 8
...Health and Wellness in the Workplace Health Care costs are on the rise and present a threat to many Americans, and business corporations in the United States. Many Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 spend most of their days in the workplace. Health and wellness in the workplace is something that all businesses and major corporations should promote in the workplace to help educate employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are many factors to consider although many business owners and major corporations feel that wellness programs are pricey and may or may not be beneficial for the employees. The researcher will prove that having a worksite wellness program will be beneficial in the long run and will promote a healthier work environment. Some factors that will benefit employers by having wellness programs are lower chronic illness rate, increased productivity in employees, increase moral rate and lower health care premiums. A health and wellness program is an employer’s approach to help improve employees’ health by providing wellness programs to include activities such as company sponsored exercise and weight loss programs. Many business owners and corporations will benefits by having health and wellness programs in the workplace. Having such programs will help employees prevent workplace illnesses, injuries, reduce obesity rate, as well as the use of tobacco, and lower the absenteeism. Health care cost presents a substantial threat to the U.S. economy...
Words: 1294 - Pages: 6
...The Affordable Care Act & Workplace Wellness Programs 2014 Melanie L. Milner Texas A&M Corpus Christi The Affordable Care Act & Workplace Wellness Programs 2014 The Affordable Care Act was passed into law by the United States Congress and President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The overarching purpose of the Act was to allow individuals, families, and small business owners the ability to be in control of their own health care (PPACA, 2010). The Act permitted the establishment of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council, with a focus on prevention and wellness within the public health spectrum (PPACA, 2010). The Council developed a health promotion strategy that prevented group health plans from discriminating on premiums and eligibility, and defined specific criteria, including financial incentives and wellness programs, which must be met in the effort to embrace wellness and improve employee health (Moran, 2013). The rules and strategies set forth by the Affordable Care Act that apply to wellness programs were revisited and reorganized, and became effective for insurance and benefit plans beginning on or after January 1, 2014 (Moran, 2013). The current regulations specify wellness programs into categories, require nondiscriminatory rules that offer alternative programs and waivers annually for those with health conditions, and increase the amount of monetary rewards permissible to those who meet a health related standard (Livingston...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...WELLNESS PROGRAMS SLOWED THE GROWTH OF HEALTH CARE COSTS Managing the cost of healthcare and retirement has been a main focus of HR professionals for quite some time. Preventive health and wellness benefits are designed to help maintain or change employees’ behavior in order to achieve better health and decrease health risks. By preventing or lessening the incidence of adverse health conditions, employers hope to save on long-term health costs. (Miller, 10) According to a study published in the March/April 2011edition of the American Journal of Health Promotion, when employers consistently offered a wellness program to their employees, findings of health care costs rose at a 15 percent slower rate among wellness program participants than a comparison group. The study, which focused on Highmark employer wellness group wellness programs, showed a savings of $332 per participant. This indicates that substantial savings may result for group customers once a worksite wellness program is established. Highmark is a health benefits provider which serves 4.7 million members in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and is one of the largest Blue Cross/Blue Shield independent licensees in the U.S. The results prove that keeping employees healthy is not only good for the business, but also for a company’s bottom line. The study also indicates that even small interventions, like online programs, can help have an impact on healthcare costs for those that participate. Highmark’s...
Words: 1177 - Pages: 5
...Health and wellness in the workplace Octavio Ponce COMM/112 September 18, 2012 Karen Hamilton Health and wellness in the workplace Health and wellness programs in the workplace can greatly benefit the company and their employee’s at personal and business levels. It is no surprise that a manufacturing company cannot run an efficient business without their employees being present at the job site. However, with health cost steadily keeps rising and costing the company lots of money, they cannot afford to lose employees for health reasons. Today, employers are suffering more than ever of losing money, not just because of the economy but also of their employees. Employees are being absent from work due to their poor health and lifestyles. Employers are implementing wellness programs to help employees get familiar with other options in changing their lifestyle. The question the employers should be asking is; are we doing enough to ensure the health of their workforce? The majority would simply say; they don’t know. Today, more employers are implementing wellness programs to assist their employees, who aim to better the current health status of the employee and also reducing costs to the company. Encouraging employees is a top priority to start a wellness program on the right track, it is not easy to change employee lifestyle like increasing physical activity, eating habits, reducing stress, and ceasing tobacco use (Lastowka, 2011). The link between the health of the employee...
Words: 1389 - Pages: 6
...strategies that gauge employee desires and needs can be a critical factor in employee access to programs. Ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of program offerings can increase employee productivity, decrease employer health related costs and loss of outputs while increasing the knowledge and buy in of employees. If employees have limited understanding of benefit programs and the programs themselves are obsolete to employee needs and current trends, the sponsoring organization is wasting financial resources and contributing to the potential decrease in employee productivity due to unmet health and wellness related needs. Martocchio (2014), discusses the responsibilities of benefit professionals as providing assistance to employees surrounding education on the various options of benefit programs as well as their need for expertise in designing and administering benefits programs. He further discusses the importance of benefit professionals remaining current on trends and innovative approaches to practices and development of benefit programs. The text additionally states that many employees have minimal understanding of the wordage and regulations attached to the components of the benefits packages. Traditional approaches to developing and marketing health and wellness benefit programs in the organizational culture can prove to be financially costly to employers and unbeneficial to employees. Traditional approaches have focused on the employee having to decipher...
Words: 2195 - Pages: 9
...benefits have created new interest in workplace wellness programs. Employers value these programs as a way to reduce absenteeism and employee turnover, and to offer a benefit that is appealing to many current and prospective employees. Some evidence also suggests that comprehensive wellness programs may pay off for employers by reducing their expenditures for employees' health care. At the same time, there's debate over how best to structure wellness programs. Should programs offer "carrots"--financial rewards for participating in wellness programs? Should they come with "sticks," or penalties for not participating in them? Should either carrots or sticks be tied to a person's success in meeting health goals, such as managing blood pressure or losing weight? The Affordable Care Act will, as of 2014, expand employers' ability to reward employees who meet health status goals by participating in wellness programs--and, in effect, to require employees who don't meet these goals to pay more for their employer-sponsored health coverage. Some consumer advocates argue that this ability to differentiate in health coverage costs among employees is unfair and will amount to employers' policing workers' health. This brief explains trends in wellness programs, details changes in the law starting in 2014, and highlights issues to watch. What's the background? Most employers who provide health insurance also provide some type of wellness benefit. The 2012 Kaiser Family Foundation and...
Words: 423 - Pages: 2
...Abstract My paper will address the physical and mental benefits that employees generally received while engaging in wellness programs and how it impacts the employee organizational goals. This paper will also discuss physiological and psychological basis for wellness programs and the different avenues to employed sponsored wellness programs. Lastly it will discuss the disadvantages and advantages that are to the employees and employers. Wellness program cover different areas of a lifestyle of mental and physical wellness. One program that is most commonly known and will be discus in the paper is a corporate wellness. According to Koenig Wellness, “Wellness psychology is a way of responding to the challenges of life with positive expectancy and self-esteem, based on the awareness that our natural state is harmony and inner peace (Koenig, MD, 2011).” There are positive aspects of “thinking positive” about ones future. If a person is to think of where he or she wants to be as older age sets in, it gives them the confidence to obtain the kind of quality of life that is good. Wellness programs try to promote just that. They set goals, encourage meditation, eating well, walking, exercise, and instill the positive thinking of getting things done. The next positive feature is nutrition. Typically if a person eats the right foods you will receive the proper vitamins and nutrition to assist your body with a positive attitude. Generally you feel...
Words: 929 - Pages: 4
...Proposal to Implement an Employee Wellness Program at Electronics, Inc. Deena Lampe National American University Abstract This paper is a proposal to implement an employee wellness program for the employees of Electronics, Inc. This proposal contains background on the need for, and benefits of, instituting an employee wellness program, the importance of employee wellness and productivity, and educational needs of employees to maintain health and wellness. Attracting and maintaining personnel is crucial to an organization’s success and with current trends in the labor market, retaining personnel and ensuring business stability is a continuous challenge that requires conscientious human resource management. A happy and healthy workforce facilitates productivity through wellness and physical fitness. Proposal to Implement an Employee Wellness Program at Electronics, Inc. People in the labor force, are depended upon to follow through with work commitments. A healthy employee is able to do more and feel well enough to enjoy it. With high stress jobs, increased rush hour traffic, and demanding schedules, how can employers not be concerned about the health of employees? Research shows that, to maintain a healthy lifestyle balance, one third of a 24-hour day should be for sleep, one third for work and one third for play. The trend in today’s workplace is for employees to work longer hours and as a result, when they arrive home they do not feel like exercising...
Words: 2469 - Pages: 10
...HR 599 | WELLNESS BENEFITS | They’re a lifesaver in more ways than one… | Og512 2/24/2010 | Employees are faced with obstacles and stressors on a daily basis both professionally and personally. Ideally, one would like to keep the two separated. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Personal problems lead to undue to stress in the workplace and vice versa. This conflict causes a significant problem for employees and employers. Employees tend to develops mental and/or physical illnesses and as a result, employers are paying employees who cannot operate at full capacity. In an attempt to help combat this dilemma, employers began to offer Wellness Programs . Wellness Programs are organized and coordinated programs that have the goal of enhancing the physical, mental, and emotional status of individuals. Depending on the setting, a wellness health plan may also address spiritual and vocational well-being. Wellness plans are created for use by an individual at home, for employees in a work situation, or for members of a club, organization, or faith-based institution. Typically these programs are not self administered are usually done and provided in conjunction with the health care/medical benefits. These programs attempt to provide each employee with access to competent medical care, hopefully molding a lifestyle that includes proper exercise and diet, and cultivate a positive mental outlook. The plan is to help to minimize tensions in the workplace, create more of...
Words: 2997 - Pages: 12
...Corporate Health & Wellness Programs By Kerrie Ann Frey High insurance claims rates, rising healthcare premiums, increased absenteeism. One way corporations are tackling these issues is through wellness programs that encourage healthy habits and preventative care in its employees. “We were doing online assessments, giving an incentive to do that assessment, but we knew that we needed to get the employees more engaged,” explained Franck Labiche, Human Resources Director at Laitram. Headquartered in Harahan, Laitram is global manufacturing company with four operating divisions. With nearly 2000 employees worldwide, Laitram offers its employees a corporate wellness program designed to complement the company’s already existing health plan....
Words: 1302 - Pages: 6
...Workplace wellness programs have gained an increasing spotlight in recent years with the introduction and eventual rollout of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare. These types of programs are organized, managed or sponsored by employers with a focus on enriching the lives and wellbeing of employees by improving their physical, mental, emotional and occupational health through education and awareness. The design of these incentive-based programs encourage and reward health conscious behavior such as healthy dietary habits, physical activity, stress management and smoking cessation as well as other disease prevention measures by providing financial incentive or other type of rewards for changing health-related behavior or improving measurable outcomes. Providing or endorsing these types of programs and absorbing the costs associated with the products and services, there must be an incentive for the company as well. It has been touted that these programs have long-term, positive implications for companies such as reducing healthcare costs associated with workplace injuries and occupational complications, increasing productivity, reducing absenteeism, improving employee morale and enhancing the general culture and environment within the workplace. The American Heart Association has reported that by 2030, 40% of Americans will have a diagnosed cardiovascular disease and direct medical costs to society will rise from $278 billion to...
Words: 2631 - Pages: 11
...Wellness Programs Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Wellness Program The research conducted by Aon Hewitt on the best employers in Canada helped identify the best 50. The research was done by surveying employees and measuring their opinions the company’s leadership and management, career development, and recognition as well as productivity. Another research conducted by McLean Company proceed to interview the 50 listed companies top management to establish what they think made their employees gave the companies higher marks. The outcome of the research indicated that best perks, initiatives and other opportunities on offer such as wellness programs were considered important by employees. Two companies that owe part of their ratings to their wellness programs include the Co-operators insurance company and the ATB Financial services. This essay aims at looking at their wellness programs (macleans.ca, 2014, n.d) Wellness programs help both the employees and employers to be more productive and in turn increase the company’s human resource potential. Well and fit employees are known to establish a good rapport with their employers and thus enjoy their job which in turn means that their work morale is always at the peak. The program further helps reduce the costs of health care and tax benefits. The wellness programs can be offered on the employer's places or off-the-site. However, some companies are now offering both on-site and off-site wellness programs. These programs...
Words: 2276 - Pages: 10
...as health care over to the employees. Companies have identified the need for a wellness program as an asset that can help in the alleviating some of the liabilities related to the unhealthy employee. This paper will provide an analysis of the need financial decisions (text) and areas of a wellness program that will provide the grates impact. While it is hard to motivate an unhealthy life style at any age, A company can lower the cost associated with unhealthy employees, because the cost of a wellness program can have a greater return, with lower lost time will increase productivity, and healthcare cost will lower due to the companies more healthy workforce. First, a company can lower the cost associated with unhealthy employees though the implementation of a company wellness program. A wellness program is intended to improve and promote health and fitness that is usually offered through the work place or insurance plans. The program allows employer or plan to offer employees premium discounts, cash rewards, gym memberships, and other incentives. Some examples of...
Words: 1497 - Pages: 6
...| Wellness in the Workplace | 11-24-2013 | Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 DEFINING WELLNESS 5 Employee wellness 5 WELLNESS IN THE WORKPLACE 6 How wellness impacts employees and employers 6 Organizations with wellness plans 7 Implementation of a wellness plan 8 Recommendations for a Marketing Agency 8 CONCLUSION 10 Works Cited 11 Executive Summary In this report you will learn about wellness in the workplace. The Government of Canada says that Canadians are becoming less well each year, this has resulted in more missed time at work and more money being spent by employers. This report will inform employers on the current wellness programs within other organizations, and how to implement their own wellness plan using some beginner strategies. If implemented correctly, these changes could impact the lives of their employees greatly. The health of Canadians is deteriorating at an alarming rate. 52.5% of Canadians are considered overweight or obese, only 53.9% of Canadians consider themselves physically active. Nova Scotia is the only province that reports a higher percentage of residents with diabetes than the national average, at 8.6% (The Government of Canada, 2013). Health related diseases are on the rise, as are insurance rates to compensate. It’s not just the physical health of Canadians that is deteriorating, it’s also our mental health. The number of Canadians suffering from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder...
Words: 1771 - Pages: 8
