Wellness Programs.

Corporate Fitness Programs Improve Employee Wellness

Instituting a wellness program improves the health of staff members, reduces employee absenteeism and saves the business money, too. Learn more about starting an employee wellness program in the office.

Advantages of Wellness Programs

• A company investment of $100-$150 per worker annually to participate in an worker wellness program can save businesses $300 to $450 for each worker every year, as reported by 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 spent on a corporation wellness program for small companies.

• As reported by a 2005 survey by the Art of Wellness, corporations who instituted employee wellness programs realized a 30 percent reduction in medical and absenteeism costs in less than four years.

A successful wellness program starts with business leaders. Business owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their corporation’s corporate fitness program and working closely with a wellness coach.

Company leaders should be sure workers are well aware of their wellness efforts, posting weight loss results or use of tobacco cessation results on business intranet or bulletin boards for everybody to see.

Employee Wellness Programs that Really Work

• Make sure to encourage workers to kick start their own wellness programs by visiting their physician. A complete physical should include information about blood sugar, cholesterol levels and general health.

• Target specific health-related concerns in a corporate fitness program. Information about how to fight obesity, tobacco use, alcoholism and drug abuse ought to be at the forefront of an worker wellness program, along with related conditions.

• Hire a wellness coach to instruct workers on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

• Reward workers for participating in business wellness programs. Let workers accrue wellness points that they can redeem for prizes.

Make the prizes healthful, too- a free massage, private training session with the corporation’s wellness coach or health food gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle options.

• Acknowledge employee wellness leaders in corporation newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the corporation intranet.

Business Wellness Programs Yield Big Results

For corporation owners who want to elevate staff member participation in a corporation wellness program, consider Johnson and Johnson’s approach.

Faced with only 26 percent of workers participating in their staff member wellness program, Johnson and Johnson offered workers a $500 discount on medical insurance costs if they completed a health risk profile.

The number of employees participating in the Johnson and Johnson corporate fitness program jumped after they offered the incentive — to more than 93 percent.

Ron Goetzel encourages those looking to pitch a corporate fitness program to company leaders to use basic facts about the advantages of worker wellness programs as part of their argument.

Keep it simple, and share results from other corporation’s worker wellness program success stories.