“Unhealthy People Need Not Apply”
Why offer a health-promotion program?
According to an article in the October 2007 New England Journal of Medicine, the problem of rising medical costs within U.S. companies can no longer be ignored. Just as corporate health executives were once focusing on workplace safety and improving health insurance benefits for their employees, they now need to address the growing problem of rising costs due to their employees’ unhealthy lifestyle choices. As one expert who designs health-promotion programs stated: “Doing nothing is not an option. Companies aren’t going to wait 5 years for randomized, controlled trials – they would go out of business”.
General Mills is one of a growing number of big U.S. companies that are tackling high medical costs by promoting wellness in the workplace. They are just one of many companies doing what public health experts have advocated for years – they are trying to shift health care spending away from treatment and toward prevention. Based upon their experience in implementing a successful company-sponsored program, certain features are identified that can be modified to meet the needs of any company, regardless of size.
Who benefits?
- Employers:
- decreased health care costs
- reduction in absenteeism
- increased productivity
- Employees:
- reduced risk of future illness
- fewer medical bills/medications
- feeling better in general
Results of occupational health research conducted over the last two decades indicate that health care for employees with multiple risk factors tends to cost more than care for other workers.
An effective wellness program is:
- Comprehensive
- Tailored to the employee population
- Marketed creatively
- Given the emphatic support of top management
- Accompanied by other corporate policies that send the message that managers are about workers’ well-being
- Providing the right services and resources for the top few, key goals
- Focused on the employees’ efforts to change rather than on attaining results
For example, employees at General Mills assess their risk factors and compute their score by answering seven behavior-related questions (i.e., exercise, diet, tobacco use, alcohol intake) as well as questions related to blood lipid levels, body-mass index and blood pressure. The individual’s score places he/she at a particular risk level at which point he/she is given specific recommendations geared toward correcting the identified problem areas. Employees can choose to address the issues on their own or with the company’s help.
The most popular benefits offered by companies:
- Health risk assessments (HRAs) – used to identify risk factors
- Fitness programs
- Work-site clinics – allows the employee to monitor health changes and seek assistance as desired in meeting goals
Federal and state law requires:
- Protection of worker privacy (e.g., an organization separate from the employer must collect and store personal health data; aggregated data is used to assess health risks and monitor the effect of health interventions that are utilized)
- Incentives that are accessible to all employees (e.g., rewards must be available to those who are already nonsmokers as well as to those who quit smoking)
The “Bottom Line”:
Many employees get sick in part due to behaviors that are preventable and changeable. The most effective way to deliver health benefits is to assist your employees to take charge of their health. The costly alternative is to wait … and pay for their illnesses.
Would you like to know how health promotions can pay off for you company? Here are some statistics.
Here are some examples of seminars we have done.
For more information, please contact our Services department.
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