Corporate Wellness
A successful workplace wellness program starts with company leaders. Business owners should lead by example, taking part in their company's corporate fitness program and working closely with a wellness coach. Company leaders should make sure employees are well aware of their wellness efforts, posting weight loss results or smoking cessation results on company intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.
Health is not something we can purchase. It comes from the way we live and treat our bodies. Most people want better health and they rely on traditional medicine to deliver it to them however traditional medicine does not deal with the promotion of health from a preventative aspect; it deals with it once problems arise and our health becomes compromised. They help us manage disease and illness. At WebND we prefer to take a holistic approach that gives us the best opportunity to prevent illness and disease through adaptation to a lifestyle that promotes health naturally. This gives us the best chance to avoid the need for medical interventions, thus enriching our lives with a higher quality of life.
We see the advertisements on TV promoting antioxidants in berries, fiber containing foods and live enzymes that help with digestion. Different health organizations have always promoted the "Eat 5 A-Day" campaign because it is a known fact that vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains promote health and can prevent disease and illness. The holistic approach focuses on the consumption of healthy foods, adequate activity to improve health and techniques to reduce stress.
We find most people want to have better health. They just don't know how to get started and how to make it a permanent part of their life. That's what we do. We empower you to have health and wellness through a slow adaptation to healthy living practices.
Benefits of Worksite Wellness
Worksites are crucial to improving the health of their workers. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a prime venue for promoting healthful habits. The worksite organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use as a means of assisting employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Benefits to your employees include:
- Weight reduction
- Potential reduction of lifestyle related illness and disease
- Improved physical fitness
- Increased stamina
- Lower levels of stress
- Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem
Employers can also benefit from worksite wellness programs. According to recent research, employers' benefits are:
- Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees
- Reduced healthcare costs (see more info below)
- Decreased rates of illness and injuries
- Reduced employee absenteeism
- Improved employee relations and morale
- Increased productivity
In the News
AU.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesreport in 2002 revealed that at worksites with physical activity programs, employers have:
- Reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent
- Reduced short-term sick leave by six to 32 percent
- Increased productivity by two to 52 percent
The Wellness Councils of Americareported a $24 return for every $1 spent on a company wellness program for small businesses.
According to a 2005 survey byThe Art of Health Promotion, companies who instituted employee health and wellness programs realized a 30% reduction in medical and absenteeism costs in less than four years.
Company Wellness Programs Yield Big Results
For business owners who want to increase employee participation in a company wellness program, consider Johnson & Johnson's approach. Faced with only 26% of employees participating in their employee health and wellness program, Johnson & Johnson offered employees a $500 discount on medical insurance costs if they completed a health risk profile and stayed active in the company wellness program for a year. The number of employees participating in the Johnson & Johnson corporate fitness program jumped after they offered the incentive --to more than 93%.
Thanks to advances in health care and resurgence in the belief that our health is highly affected by our diet and activity level, life expectancy for Americans has continually increased. However a lifestyle of unhealthy living is creating a rise in degenerative disease. How much we enjoy these additional years, however, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives. If our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these extra years, we must practice good eating habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products, excessive alcohol and a reliance on prescription drugs.
Contact webND to create a customized corporate wellness plan for your organization.