Wellness Coordinator

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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, businesss have understood the benefits associated with keeping employees well - increased productivity from decreased absenteeism and decreased disability claims.

For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many businesses realized double-digit healthcare costs last year, businesses ought to consider Health Promotion Programs as a way to keep employees healthy.

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

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

The AAOHN survey questioned 500 personnel nationwide about their perceptions of Health Promotion Programs. Greater than three-quarters of all participants indicated these wellness programs are a good way to improve their overall health, and almost 60 percent consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their current company.

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

Health Promotion 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 is not surprising that 85% of survey respondents cited stress management as a priority topic for work site wellness.

In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include health screening programs (84 percent), exercise/physical fitness programs (84 percent), health insurance education (81 percent) and disease management (DM) 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 Health Promotion Program

With such a wide range of health concerns, a key goal for corporations is finding a way to proactively address the health needs of the largest number of staff, and effectively change unhealthful behaviors, promote wellness and ward off illness and illness.

Printed materials such as pamphlets, posters, fliers or pamphlets present an easy solution. But it is imperative that you remember that different individuals  require different formats for learning.

A good rule of thumb -  provide information in a variety of learning formats such as videos, brochures, health-related quizzes, display boards, lunch and learn presentations and reimbursement or incentive programs.

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

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

By investing in an organized wellness program headed by a certified health care professional such as an on-site nurse, corporations can give workers the access to the health information they want, and increase participation and generate interest at the same time.

The result - personnel become savvier health care consumers who feel more in charge of their personal health.  And healthier personnel make for a healthier bottom line.