In the current economic climate, employees rank among a company’s most
important assets. It makes sense that healthy people make for healthy companies. Yet, experts suggest preventable illnesses make up approximately 70 percent
of illness and associated costs in the
United States.
“Investing in your employees’ health is
one of the soundest investments employers can make,” says Eugene Sun, M.D.,
M.B.A., vice president of Medical Affairs
for HealthAmerica. “By initiating a health
promotion program, employers can take
important steps toward preventing unnecessary sickness.”
Smart Business spoke to Dr. Sun about
why employers should be concerned about
their employees’ wellness.
Why would a company invest in workplace
wellness?
More and more health experts are turning that question around and asking, ‘How
can a company not invest in the health of
its employees?’ The evidence is becoming
quite convincing that keeping employees
healthy and on the job is worth the effort.
After all, if you can reduce the burden of illness among your work force by preventing
major causes of sickness, more of your
employees will remain healthy and productive. You most likely will save money in the
process.
What’s the real return on investment with
worksite wellness programs?
That turns out to be one of the most incisive questions of all. In the last decade,
large-scale studies on the effects of work-place health programs have shown a
dependable bottom line. These studies
show worksite wellness programs often
result in a reduction of health care and
insurance costs, as well as declines in
absenteeism, injury rates, and improvements in performance and productivity.
One recent study showed that when employees used fitness facilities at least
eight times a month over two years, hospital and clinic claims declined by more than
64 percent, physician claims dropped by 13
percent and claims for prescription drugs
decreased by more than 9 percent. It’s
encouraging to see when facts match your
intuition; healthy people really do use
health care less.
Have you seen an increase in companies
investing in wellness programs?
Definitely. According to the United
Benefit Advisors’ (UBA) 2007 Employer
Survey, the number of employers of all
sizes and industries that are adopting personal health management strategies continues to increase. Roughly, 25 percent of
all employers currently provide various
wellness or health risk assessment programs, and an additional 50 percent of
employers would like to add such programs in the future. In addition, employers
now overwhelmingly believe there should
be a difference in benefits or costs based
on an employee’s involvement in managing
chronic conditions.
What would you say to an employer who says
starting a worksite wellness program is too
expensive?
Successful workplace health interventions don’t always need to be big-budget
affairs. Most health insurers have a variety
of health resources to make it easier for
employers to start their own wellness program.
Ask your health insurer about integrating
worksite wellness and benefit plan design
through consumer-directed health plans.
These lifestyle-driven plans reward healthy
choices. One study found that employees
in consumer-directed programs are 25 percent more likely to engage in healthy
behavior and 20 percent more likely to participate in wellness initiatives.
Several excellent Web sites provide free
information employers can use. Welcoa at
www.welcoa.org/freeresources provides
employee presentations, incentive campaigns, free reports and much more.
Wellness Proposals at www.wellnessproposals.com is also a good place to start, as
is the American Journal of Health
Promotion at www.healthpromotionjournal.com.
Anything else an employer should consider?
Every little bit counts. The most cost-conscious program can help create a health-positive environment. When the goals are
well-defined and the approach well-designed, success can be affordable.
Furthermore, worksite health programs
that appear to have only a modest, immediate result are of great value. Not only will
the programs improve performance and
satisfaction of current employees, good
health and fitness programs tend to attract
good applicants.
EUGENE SUN, M.D., M.B.A., vice president of Medical Affairs
for HealthAmerica. Reach him at (412) 553-7385 or
[email protected].
