Employee Wellness programs have grown in popularity, significantly,
over the past few years. With the cost of healthcare still skyrocketing, U.S
companies can use wellness programs to chip away at their health care costs
with the many tax incentives and grants available under the Federal Health Care
Legislation. The Affordable
Care Act incentivized wellness programs for companies, which is estimated to be
worth nearly $6 billion. Now, more than two-thirds of U.S.-based employers offer some type
of wellness program. In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management reported
that, in 2015, 80% of employers offered preventative wellness services and
information. The popularity increases with larger workforces. “Some reports
suggest up to 92% of employers with over 200 employees offer a wellness
program,” according to Forbes.com.
This is good, right?
Some may question how effective
these programs really are and if they are worth the cost. However, government
incentives or not, healthy employees cost you less. While these programs were
once viewed as a nice extra, they are now being implemented as a strategically
imperative investment designed with your employee’s social, mental, and
physical health in mind.
Employee Wellness Programs allow
the employer to offer premium discounts, gym memberships, cash rewards and
other incentives to participate. For example, popular programs include
incentives to stop smoking, weight loss programs, preventive health screenings
and diabetes management programs.
The great thing
about wellness programs is there are many ways to go about implementing them
into your employee’s health care plans. They can be tailored and made relevant
to your staff. Many companies choose to offer preventative services like
biometric screenings and health fairs. Others focus on specific issues like
physical activity or smoking cessations.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “since 1995, the
percentage of Johnson & Johnson employees who smoke has dropped by more
than two-thirds. The number who have high blood pressure or who are physically
inactive also has declined—by more than half.” Johnson & Johnson chose to
modify their wellness programs to aid employees with issues they were
struggling with.
And it paid off too.
“J&J’s leaders estimate that wellness
programs have cumulatively saved the company $250 million on health care costs
over the past decade; from 2002 to 2008, the return was $2.71 for every dollar
spent.”
Some people worry
that wellness programs only reward people who are already healthy. However,
many wellness programs are now addressing things like emotional and mental
well-being. Even financial well-being. And, as research continues to support the
importance of a holistically healthy lifestyle, wellness programs have expanded
to address health on multiple levels.
These programs can
also do a lot to increase your company culture. HR reps can work with each
employee to learn what they value on their journey to better health. This also
means finding wellness activities that your employees want to be a part of. Not
only will this improve the communication between HR and employees, but you will
be working towards a happier staff, which can lead to a thriving company.
What can you take
away from all this?
Your employees are
worth the investment. You and your leadership team should be thinking about the
importance of employee wellness and implement your discussions into action.
It will pay off in the end.
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