25% Jump in Company Interest in Worker Wellness
Corporate health promotion for their workers, companys are discovering, is good for the health of their corporations as well. Health promotion programs help to cut the costs associated with poor staff member health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.
A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 U.S. businesses indicated a significant paradigm shift in how businesses view health benefits for their workers.
Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to instituting long-term health care assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their staff members, with the goal of boosting the health and productivity of their workforce. This represents a 25% increase in interest in health promotion programs over 2007.
A strong offering of health promotion programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors.
Programs look to predict chronic condition in their staff members and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Corporations also demand a way to measure the effectiveness of their health care spending.
Self-care is our motive, says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive wellness provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving employees tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the benefits, while giving individuals resources to reach out for help is the key to successful lifestyle change.
Companies are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver health promotion programs. the type of program we’ve created over years delivers the highest health care return on investment.”
Combining corporate health promotion promotions, online assessments and health trackers, online medical information, telephone conferences and self-help groups, and access to a wide variety of health specialists, is behind the success of the Exan program. “Having online statistics about employees’ health also makes it easier to track the bottom line – ROI” says Vic Lebouthillier.
Businesses are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of healthcare benefits to develop holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior modification and eliminate barriers to healthcare, says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.
However, in a separate survey of 30,000 employees, 74% said that, although they felt their corporation had an obligation to help them understand how to use their health benefits program, only 12% felt the corporation had any right to tell them how to be healthy.
Based on these results, businesss need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their staff members as well as the business. It’s a win-win situation.
Companys and workers did find common ground when it came to future healthcare. Both surveys indicate that 95% of workers understand that their taking care of their health today will impact future healthcare payments.
A similar percentage also understand the important of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on healthcare costs.
Cost is important for most companies as well. Over 80 percent of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts did not involve shifting responsibility for healthcare onto workers.
Although 64 percent of businesses have shifted costs to their staff members, only 17 percent plan to do so in the next 3-5 years. Similarly with health reimbursement accounts, 20 percent now offer these, but only about 5 percent plan to use them in 2008.
These survey results indicate companies are getting more proactive in assisting their workers to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously good for the wellness of workers, but also for the wellness of the companies they work for.
Almost half the corporations surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productivity and lower absentee rates. Over 60 percent plan to institute programs that help employees change and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle.
Almost of these corporations will also use data and measurements to ensure their health care strategies meet their health care objectives?
Corporate Wellness Companies