Corporate Exercise Plans Improve Staff Member Wellness
Instituting a health promotion program improves the health of workers, lowers staff member absenteeism and saves the company money, too. Learn more about starting an staff member health promotion program in the office.
Advantages of Health Promotion Programs
• A business investment of $100-$150 per staff member each year to participate in an staff member health promotion program can save companies $300 to $450 for each staff member 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 lowered health expenditures.
• The Health Promotion Councils of America stated a $24 return for every $1 spent on a company health promotion program for small corporations.
• According to a 2005 survey by the Art of Wellness, companies who instituted staff member health promotion programs realized a 30% reduction in medical and absenteeism costs in less than four years.
A successful health promotion program starts with company leaders. Business owners ought to lead by example, taking part in their organization’s corporate fitness program and working closely with a wellness coach.
Corporation leaders should be sure workers are well aware of their wellness efforts, posting weight loss results or smoking cessation results on business intranet or bulletin boards for everyone to see.
Worker Health Promotion Programs that Really Work
• Make certain to encourage employees to kick start their own health promotion programs by visiting their doctor. 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 should be at the forefront of an employee health promotion program, along with related conditions.
• Hire a wellness coach to instruct employees on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Reward employees for participating in company health promotion programs. Let employees accrue wellness points that they can redeem for prizes.
Make the prizes healthy, too- a free massage, private training session with the organization’s wellness coach or health food gift certificate encourages even healthier lifestyle choices.
• Acknowledge employee health promotion leaders in business newsletters, in posted bulletins and on the business intranet.
Corporation Health Promotion Programs Yield Big Results
For company owners who want to raise employee participation in a company health promotion program, consider Johnson and Johnson’s approach.
Faced with only 26 percent of employees participating in their worker health promotion program, Johnson and Johnson offered employees a $500 discount on medical insurance costs when 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 corporation leaders to use basic facts about the advantages of staff member health promotion programs as part of their argument.
Keep it simple, and share results from other corporation’s staff member health promotion program success stories.
Corporate Wellness Companies