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Wellness Programs are excellent for waistlines and your bottom line

In today’s hectic world, most of us are spending more time at work, and have increasingly less time to look after our health. for a long time, companys have understood the benefits associated with keeping workers well – increased productivity from reduced absenteeism and reduced disability claims.

For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many businesses realized double-digit health care costs last year, businesses ought to consider Wellness Programs as a way to keep staff members healthful.

But just how important are these programs to employees? How often are they willing to participate in programs designed to positively impact their wellness? Who do staff members trust to provide them with important information about their health?

Answers to these questions and more were lately garnered from a research study  commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. (AAOHN).

The AAOHN survey questioned 500 staff members nationwide about their perceptions of Wellness Programs. More than three-quarters of all participants indicated these programs are a good way to improve their overall health, and nearly 60% consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their current corporation.

Worker retention and turnover impact the bottom line, so building wellness programs into the work site culture is a valuable way to help retain talented workers further to enhancing personal health and workplace productivity.

Wellness wish list

Staff Members appear to have their own agenda when it comes to their health. With new pressures resulting from an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues, it’s not surprising that 85 percent of survey respondents cited stress management as a priority topic for work site wellness.

In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include screening programs (84 percent), exercise/fitness programs (84 percent), medical insurance education (81 percent) and disease management seminars (80 percent).

In addition to lifestyle and personal health issues, those asked expressed concern about work-related health issues, including strains and injuries resulting from lifting or task-oriented muscle repetition, exposure to harmful substances, personal injury, vision changes due to computer work and workplace violence.

Beginning a Wellness Program

With such a broad range of health concerns, a key goal for corporations is locating a way to proactively address the health needs of the biggest number of employees, and effectively change unhealthy behaviors, promote wellness and ward off illness and illness.

Printed materials such as  pamphlets, posters, fliers or  pamphlets present an easy solution. But it’s important to remember that different people  require different formats for learning.

A good rule of thumb –  provide information in a variety of learning formats like videos,  pamphlets, health-related quizzes, display boards, brown bagger presentations and reimbursement or incentive programs.

This assumes you have overcome the first hurdle – getting people  to sign on to a wellness program. While survey respondents indicated wellness programs are important, just six out of 10 (60 percent) announced that they participated in the wellness programs at their corporations. the other 40% cited lack of interest and lack of time as deterrents.

This points to the need for a comprehensive, structured wellness program using a creative approach, with an incentive for participation and effective program marketing.

By investing in an organized wellness program headed by a licensed health care specialist like an on-site nurse, corporations can give staff members the access to the medical information they want, and increase participation and generate interest at the same time.

The result –  workers become savvier health care consumers who feel more in charge of their personal health. and healthier workers make for a healthier bottom line.