Best Health Practices And Worksite Wellness Program

General motors have a great wellness program that keeps their workforce healthy. They use a program called LifeSteps which helps employees identify controllable health risk.

The aim of this case based study, is to Promote Health and behaviour changes within the work place,

Benavides noted that “wellness programs are not a quick fix solution to years of employee disregard for their health condition. In most cases at least a two year window is necessary to begin to see positive results. In any case, it is an option that provides a sustainable way to lower health care costs and improve the physical and mental well being of employees.” Under Obama’s Affordable Care Act, $15 billion over 10 years and another $2 billion each year to follow was allotted for healthcare and evidence-based outcomes (to generate and fund such wellness incentives as this paper proposes). Likewise, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allotted $160 billion total toward healthcare and wellness with $650 million specifically granted to address chronic disease strategies.

From the last 15years mechanical improvement rapidly increases in the workplace and due to that employee physical activity reduces as employee tend to live a sedentary lifestyle which has a harmful effects on health and for that concern company have taken initiative in thinking of employee health. American business and industry have started enlarging awareness of the importance of

Employees share a strong interest in saving time and energy on everyday tasks. Therefore, organizations have included

Introduction: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains different policies that are pertinent to expanding health care access when needed, re-shaping insurance and market system, extending the health workforce, reducing the financial burden, and improving quality of care and life. Moreover, the aim of the new law is not only to help people when they get sick, but also to support them to enjoy the diverse initiatives and blessings of public health and preventive medicine and incentives to adopt a better and healthy life.1 Based on this fact, the wellness programs are among many of the policies under the provision of prevention/wellness of the ACA that focus on building a healthier nation by expanding the coverage for preventive services at the workplaces and thus reducing the health care cost.1,2

Now there are new ideas that health programs should be expanded and possibly include the idea of “wellness” programs. Taking care of wellness includes mental and social health which were aspects that were not necessarily involved with health programs in the beginning. The positive impacts in taking care of wellness benefits the employee through empowerment of knowledge and support while improving where the common worker spends most of their time. Employers have a vested interest because of improvement in employee performance and attitude, the financial return, and making their company a well-known place to work. There is an open opportunity for companies to improve their wellness programs through company changes and better health programs. So the real question is how can the improvement of overall health and wellness of the employee impact the business and what kind of program should be implemented to encourage employees to take advantage of it?

Commenting about these findings is Dr. John Howard of the NIOSH who said, "Traditionally, practitioners have looked at 'wellness' and 'health promotion' in isolation from occupational health concerns arising out of work itself. Increasingly, however, in the face of spiraling medical costs, health professionals and scientists recognize that it makes sense to address health issues holistically. One area that

Poor health and wellness can contribute to high absenteeism, negatively affected outputs along with high staff turnover rate. Workplace wellness programs are a combination of educational, organizational and environmental activities designed to support behavior conducive to the health of a business’s employees and their families (Owens, 2006). There does not appear to be a standard set of initiatives that a wellness program must include, by definition, instead each company creates its own program with components it selects.

Health and wellness in the work place is a vital part to a company’s success. Employees who are healthier and more productive are less likely to call out from sickness. There are not many companies that have affordable health care coverage for employees. More companies should make healthcare affordable for their employees and their family. Research has been done on how effective health and wellness programs can be in the workplace. Throughout the reading these points will be discussed. The effectiveness of health and wellness in the workplace will also be spoken of. Health and wellness activities in the workplace will be a positive move for companies and employees.

Recently, wellness programs, the fitness industry, celebrity wellness and self-help experts have brought wellness into the mainstream. The traditional medical establishment has begun shifting the focus to wellness and prevention. In 2013, First Lady, Michelle Obama who is an advocate for youth health and wellness started ‘Let’s Move’, a campaign that promotes physical activity for children. “Wellness," is now embedded in our modern vocabulary. Although company wellness programs have often been viewed as a nice perk, it was certainly not viewed as imperative to the business of a company. Today, smart companies realize there is much to be gained by recognizing the part wellness plays to the bottom line. With the help of new tax incentives and grants provided under the new health care legislation, organizations can reduce skyrocketing health care costs by investing in wellness programs that address the physical and mental health of their employees.

Health and wellness in the workplace is crucial to business success. Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people’s health. When people are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When employees feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed. Stress has a large impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity. Companies that promote healthy lifestyle habits for employees to improve their health, often take the success of the company to heart and are likely to be absent less often for health related reasons.

Workplace Wellness Programs (WWP) are those programs set-up by employers to help their employees improve their health and wellbeing. These programs encourage individual behavior change, in addition to helping reduce stressors in the workplace that can have negative effects on health behaviors (Andersen et al., 2015). Key features of wellness programs are health-risk assessments and screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol; behavior modification programs, such as tobacco cessation, weight management, and exercise; health education, including classes or referrals to online sites for health advice; and changes in the work environment or provision of special benefits to encourage

“Employers also want healthy employees in order to avoid absences, enhance productivity, and improve morale,” (Mujtaba, 2013, p.193). Mujtaba et. al (2013) examined corporate wellness programs specifically within the American workplace. Texas and Florida are the two states with the highest percentage of individuals under the age of 65 without health insurance because the cost is too high. As a result, many employers are implementing workplace health and wellness programs in hopes to lower the costs of their health care plans. An average cost Mujtaba et. al (2013) has found for operating a workplace health and wellness programs per participant range from $50.00 - $150.00 annually. Although, studies have shown if the employee participates in the health and wellness programs, the cost for health insurance plans decrease anywhere from $100.00 - $500.00. Another aspect discovered was “these workers tend to be more productive, have fewer rates of absenteeism, and use less of their health insurance resources,” (Mujtaba et al., 2013, p.193). Due to the implementation of workplace health and wellness programs avast, there are strengths and weaknesses for each unique programs generated. Although, it is apparent the cost per health insurance plan per employee has effectively been lowered after participation in the programs, employees have led healthier lifestyles, and Mujtaba et. al (2013) has discovered the increase in employee productivity as well.

Employee health and wellness definition. According to Chenoweth (n. d.) “the health status of your employees directly influences their work behavior, attendance and on-the-job performance . . . improving employee well-being will result in a more productive workforce” (p. 1). The purpose of an employee wellness program is to promote healthier employees who because they are healthy are happier more productive employees (Danna & Griffin, 1999). Wellness programs have positive outcomes for both the employer and the employee (Danna & Griffin, 1999). According to Chenoweth (n. d.) “for wellness initiatives to succeed, they must be an intrinsic part of an organization’s culture” (p. 1).