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The last couple of years have been a wake-up call for all of us. We no longer take our health for granted.
Covid has forced us to change how we approach health and gives us an incentive to strive for wellness.
We Have Learned A Lot About Health
I’ve been around long enough to remember when employees took smoking breaks.
We (yes, I used to smoke) would congregate in the smoking area and inhale our cigarettes while we socialized with coworkers.
It was sort of a club, not to mention an excuse to leave your desk for a few minutes.
That was decades ago. Ironically, I actually quit smoking because my employer eventually banned smoking on campus, which made it difficult to maintain that nasty habit.
Employee Wellness Is A New Trend
Health care has changed drastically over the last couple of decades. An emphasis on employee wellness has become more common.
There was a time when healthcare’s mission was to help people get well after encountering an illness or injury.
That focus is much different today and has shifted to wellness education and prevention.
I worked in the healthcare industry for years, and as an employee of a large health system, I learned the many benefits of diet and exercise.
I embraced this information and used it to influence my personal health decisions.
When I left healthcare, I discovered the lack of knowledge that employees had in other work environments.
Simple bits of information about preventative health care that I took for granted were foreign to some employees.
It was at this point that I was grateful for the time and money that was invested in teaching me the importance of wellness to sustain good health.
Good health is one of those things that we all take for granted – until we lose it. And, at that moment, we wish we would have done things differently.
Insurance Companies Want To Help Promote Wellness
Most insurance companies are now pushing wellness programs for member organizations. These programs are intended to educate and challenge employees to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
The incentive for the insurance companies is to improve the health of the people they insure and ultimately save costs.
Organizations that incorporate employee wellness programs not only want to save on healthcare costs but also recognize that sick employees directly impact the bottom line.
A World at Work article suggests that 24% of Canadian employers state stress and a sedentary lifestyle as major health risks for their employees.
“With an increase in illnesses relating to both stress and sedentary lifestyles, the need for employer sponsored wellness programs is growing rapidly,” said Lori Casselman, assistant vice-president, health and wellness, group benefits at Sun Life Financial. “Employers can positively influence the health of the workplace by implementing initiatives that encourage employees to understand their current health risks, and ultimately to lead healthier lives.”
Of the organizations surveyed, 92% believe that employee health impacts corporate performance.
So if stress and a sedentary lifestyle are the culprits here, what kinds of things can help improve employee health?
Get Up And Move
I purchased a Fitbit a few years ago and was amazed at how that little device was able to heighten my awareness of my physical activity.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, exercise and physical activity help improve all body functions and play an important role in weight loss.
A 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans states that regular physical activity does the following:
- Improves the chances of a longer, healthier life;
- Protects from the development of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure;
- Can protect from the development of certain cancers – colon, breast, possibly lung, and uterine lining cancer;
- Helps prevent type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome;
- Helps in the prevention of osteoporosis and reduces the risk of falling, and improves cognitive function in the elderly;
- Relieves symptoms of anxiety and depression;
- Prevents weight gain and promotes weight loss;
- It improves heart-lung and muscle fitness as well as improves sleep.
“A CDC analysis suggests that because individuals who are physically active have significantly lower annual direct medical costs than those who are inactive, getting people to become more active could cut yearly medical costs in the US by more than $70 billion.”
Employers across the board are paying more attention to employee engagement and are working to create employee benefit packages that foster employee engagement.
While many of these programs are successful, an engaged employee does not necessarily mean a healthy employee.
Create A Wellness Incentive Program
Employers are thinking outside the box and beginning to offer incentives to employees who take steps to improve their health.
Wellness Incentives could be things like:
- Offering a free smoking cessation program;
- Provide an onsite employee gym;
- Promote a lunchtime walking program;
- Offer free flu shots;
- Start a get-up and move exercise program;
- Host a lunch and learn health topics;
- Use the organization’s website to blog healthy living tips;
- Provide free health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes;
- Offer healthy snack options;
- Offer employer-paid time off to attend health educational events.
Being Healthy Isn’t Always A Choice
We need to remember that there are some people who have health issues that are beyond their control. For these employees, we need to offer support and compassion for them as they deal with difficult health issues.
However, learning how to maintain good health can be considered an employee benefit.
Employers of all sizes should invest the time and resources in teaching employees how to live a healthy lifestyle.
This investment will not only save on health insurance premium costs but will also improve the productivity and engagement of your workforce.
What does your organization do to improve the health of its employees?
