Workplace Wellness - Companies Make Employee Health Their Business
Employers are putting a special emphasis on workplace
wellness; they recognize the importance of promoting a healthier lifestyle for
their employees. Towers Perrin’s annual
Health Care Cost Survey reports employers will pay about 6% more per
employee for the year, an estimate of about $9,144. Employers now are finding that promoting
corporate wellness programs focuses on keeping employees healthier as well as the
cost of health care down. The emphasis
in healthcare previously was on treatment of acute illnesses, however, there is
currently a shift towards prevention. This
is a result of many chronic illnesses influenced by lifestyle management
including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
While workplace wellness will help keep healthcare costs down, they also
encourage retention of employees as well as improving productivity.
Corporate wellness programs are not necessarily a new idea;
however, employers are now realizing how prevention may possibly be the key to
reduce cost of their employee healthcare.
American Specialty Health (ASH) Incorporated offers health
coaching, fitness, weight management, and other health improvement
programs. Other companies are following
the latest corporate wellness trends including AstraZeneca with their
own spin on “The Biggest Loser” and WhiteWave Foods motivates their
employees by offering free on-site yoga classes. The Cleveland Clinic, through their wellness
program, focuses on weight management, physical activity, and stress
management.
In addition, the Cleveland Clinic implemented a program
a policy where they will no longer hire employees who smoke. Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, the clinic’s
wellness manager states “This is a strong move on our part, but we
really want to be the leaders with wellness.
We don’t see that we can be the leaders unless we enforce something like
this. It’s also really important to us that our employees that are currently
here that smoke get into a tobacco treatment program so we can help them to
quit smoking, and it’s important to us that we begin to eliminate the smokers
on our employee roster as well.” The
Cleveland Clinic aims to eliminate any type of barrier in order for their
employees to get active, eat healthier, and work with stress management.
Schaeffer, J. (2008,
July). Workplace wellness — companies make employee health their business. Today’s Dietitian, (10)7, 34.
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