Do Workplace Wellness Programs achieve their desired outcomes?
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
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They are particularly concern with the health-contingent programs that tie rewards or penalties to people are achieving standards related to health status. They express that such programs are may simply shift heath care costs from the healthy to the sick. The argument which I also subscribe is that a person health status is complex combination of factors of which some are out of the control of person. E.g. is genetic predisposition of weight gain and some other diseases. They context attached incentives are unfair given these reasons (Health Affairs, …show more content…
Unless the participant is highly self-motivated, they may not do the needful to keep healthy all year round given and they just be motivated by financial gain rather than self buy-in to be healthy. Also, what happens if the participant blood pressure is not within the acceptable range the next year? Will such individuals be forced to take treatment? What if they refuse treatment? What are the legal or ethical implications of voluntarily giving up these
This article analyzes how workplace health promotion programs aids in prevention strategies. Berry and Mirabito share how critical it is to emphasize whole-person wellness rather than focusing solely on physical health. Including
One program that Baptist Health South Florida has specifically implemented is the Wellness Advantage mission. The Wellness Advantage offers many different programs to help ease the stress of an employee’s work life, and can be beneficial in increasing job satisfaction and motivation (“Wellness Advantage”, 2013). A big portion of the Wellness Advantage is designed to
Houston Methodist is a leading academic medical center in Texas. It is known for providing excellent care to the Greater Houston area. Their staff all follows the I Care values which are integrity, compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence. This company is consistently listed as one of the best hospitals in the United States. Their facilities also include an Emergency Care Center, Imaging Center, Breast care center, and also an outpatient center.
This will allow for increased spending in other areas of our company, creating a more productive budget. In addition, participation in the Wellness Program will provide employees that are able to work more often and more efficiently. This will undoubtedly increase productivity and decrease turnover. With 39,000 employees in the United States and 30 foreign nations, it is imperative that we maintain healthy and productive employees. Because of these significant benefits, it is crucial that we maintain and improve participation in the program. However, there are several concerns that may hinder such participation: 1. Despite Whirlpool’s guarantee of confidentiality, many employees do not trust the company with such private information. a. Employees have expressed their fear in the use of the information. They are concerned that their health status may negatively affect their position in the company. b. Although it is assured that no records are kept, employees fear the leak of private health information to their peers. If information was leaked, they fear the effects on their reputation and social standing within the company. 2. In order for the new addition to our program to be successful, it is important that we stress the benefits to our current employees. a. If our employees do not
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 to make sure that most people had medical insurance. With this new healthcare system came the responsibility that individuals would have to take initiatives to try to stay or get healthy. The preventative care portion included in the Affordable Car Act is a big item and very important in health care reform and very positive for the American people. Wellness in the workplace has become a very important issue to help reduce companies medical cost, and to help employees get on track to know their numbers, get healthy, and have a positive healthy mental attitude. Many employees do not understand or know how to get healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. With the rising cost of healthcare relating to
The aim of this case based study, is to Promote Health and behaviour changes within the work place,
Allow employees to register for company-sponsored classes and programs to help them manage their weight, reduce stress, stop smoking, and manage other health
This survey also concluded that only one third of workers choose to participate in their organizations health promotion activities. Only 53% of those surveyed responded that they feel valued by their organization. To follow current research, UnityPoint Health has implemented a variety of health promotion initiatives within the last six years I have been employed with them. They have implemented the use of insurance discounts if the employee is within a specified body mass index range, is a non-smoker and does not have their spouse on their insurance. They have also implemented restructuring an open unit in the hospital into a small gym and workout area. They have purchase several pieces of gym equipment, including treadmills, stationary bicycles, free weights and mats used for yoga. This area was renamed FitZone by St. Luke’s. The FitZone is free to use for all employees and immediate family members. This appears as a great investment in employee health and wellness. Unfortunately, finding time to frequent the FitZone does not always fit into our busy lives. Esposito & Fitzpatrick (2011) found a positive correlation between nurses exercising and their ability to teach their patients the importance of exercise. This is another way to keep the employee healthy with an added
Absolutely, the issues relating healthcare affordability and access remains the most pressing concerns. Nonetheless, this has been the case for the most part of 20th century. Perhaps a fresh look at the system to which emphasizes on the special needs of a complex society can bring the most positive change. In systematic terms, the problem with the current structure is that prevention takes time, whereas, political progressions are short-range (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2008). Therefore, incentivizing prevention under the current system is almost impossible for the reason that when individuals engage in preventive programs, the continuation of accrued benefits will most likely be compromised or written out in its entirety. Such dilemma is the main concern; hence, cultivating a more consistent preventive care system is the most pressing need (Wyrwich et al., 2012).
Today the Colvin will be giving its visitors a visual representation of its facility’s through words. The Colvin is often referred to as the Department of Wellness, and their goal, according to the Department of Wellness’ website, is “being committed to creating a healthy campus culture for students, faculty, and staff. The department seeks to promote healthy lifestyles and lifelong learning through the highest quality programs in the areas of recreation and wellness” (Our Mission). The Colvin has three floors, all have been renovated within the last decade, and are continuously being checked for improvements.
Do you think an overweight employee who chooses not to participate in a wellness program should be penalized?
Corporations have engaged in the practice of health care promotion in the workplace in order to reduce the rising health cost today. Employees are offered to implement more healthy behaviors to prevent any rising chronic disease. They are accessed on a voluntary basis through health care laboratory vendors which are directly hired to perform a health-risk assessments screening. Large corporations have implemented biometric screenings as a measurement of physical characteristics such as height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, and aerobic fitness tests that can be taken and used as part of a preventative care program for the workplace. The health assessment is taken to benchmark and evaluate changes
In my department our organizational structure has evolved over the past years. My career has evolved from me and one other employee simply dividing up task to eight different people creating a team. My department is made up of nurses and health educators. Each person on staff has a variety of different task/projects and areas that we are considered to be experts in. As an employee of the Employee Wellness department, work specialization has been common for the last five years.
Wellness in the workplace needs to be taken seriously by all employers, and employees. There has been evidence that making sure employees eat healthier leads to lower call out rates and more savings on health plans. In an article in Employee Benefits magazine it states that “Wellness management does not need to be complicated, or costly. A few simple steps could help to mitigate long-term problems, such as introducing early intervention activities that red flag cases identified via an absence reporting mechanism, the proactive management of musculo-skeletal conditions and stress, introducing a smoking cessation program or running regular health wellbeing days. “Workplace wellness as a concept has been used extensively in recent years by management in business and industry, health professionals, fitness experts, and others. This is a policy that should be implanted in all jobs. Wellness may not
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.