The Wellness Council

Employee Obesity: The Facts

Employee obesity has become one of the fastest growing healthcare problems in America. It is well known that America is considered one of the, if not “the”, fattest countries in the world. This is largely in part due to fast food, un-healthy snacks and a very sedentary lifestyle. However, what many people are not aware of is that the rate of obesity in our country has doubled in the last 30 years and this weighs heavily on a company’s bottom line.

According to a new report from The Conference Board, Weights and Measures: What businesss Should Know about Obesity, obese employees cost private companies an estimated $45 billion each year.

Here are some of the report’s findings:

Obesity is associated with a 36% increase in spending on healthcare, more than smoking or problem drinking.
34% of adult U.S citizens fit the definition of “obese”
Obesity related health problems are costing United States businesses millions of dollars each year in medical expenditures and work loss.

Employee Obesity: How companies Can Help

With the increase in obesity and business costs associated with it, it is more and more imperative to establish a way to assist employees with their healthy living choices. Employee Wellness Initiatives can help companies help their employees. By providing assistance with Health Testing, Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals and by conducting Employee Wellness Initiative surveys; Employee Wellness Initiatives allow the business non-invasive ways to communicate their concerns about their employee’s health.

We suggest establishing a Walking Employee Wellness Initiative to assist your employees in meeting their weight-loss goals. Walking Wellness is a program designed to get your employees away from their desk and get them outside for a little exercise. Keep it fun by having contests, setting up weight-loss teams and having organized healthy picnics.

What is a Employee Wellness Initiative Proposal?

You probably have seen the term many times and wondered what exactly does it mean. A Employee Wellness Initiative Proposal is a proposal put together by a wellness consultant that makes suggestions for what type of Employee Wellness Initiatives you should choose, what tools you will need to accomplish your corporation’s wellness goals, and costs associated with it.

Employee Wellness Initiative Proposals Assist Human Resource Departments

A Employee Wellness Initiative Proposal is a great thing to have in hand when HR Departments go to upper management to request funding for a Employee Wellness Program. It will offer necessary stats and trends, background information, and costs that will enable the HR Department to fully present their case. Upper management will appreciate the preparedness and the research that has gone into your wellness request.

Employee Wellness Initiative Proposals Lead to Better Employee Wellness Initiatives

A well thought out Employee Wellness Initiative Proposal can lead to a better Employee Wellness Program, because the building blocks will already be in place. Employee Wellness Initiative Proposals will guarantee that your corporation gets the proper Employee Wellness Initiative established. Employee Wellness Initiatives can vary greatly, but when your employees ask, you can tell them that they generally include the following:

Walking programs which offers employees with rewards to take their walking breaks at their worksite.
Company teams, workplace yoga classes and massage therapists at the worksite.
Nutrition advice, weight-loss and healthy cooking classes, stress management sessions, and either a Employee Wellness Initiative resources column in the employee newsletter or a wellness newsletter.
Stairwell initiatives to show how stair-walking can enhance health.

Wellness Competitions Are Popping Up Everywhere

Wellness Competitions are definitely hot right now and they are encouraging more and more people to get healthy and live better. Whether it is a city or a school or a social group or even a whole state, competitive spirits are being ignited by the challenge to be the healthiest team. The Wellness Competitions are usually about a six months to a year in length and they are made up of several teams, these teams all get points for physical activity, selecting healthy foods, and just making better life and health choices overall.

The best part about Wellness Competitions is even though there really is only way “real” winner; everyone that participates in the challenge is a life winner.

Wellness Competitions offers reward to Get Healthy

Establishing a Wellness Competitions in your office is a great way to get employees to participate in your established Employee Wellness Program. Have employees form teams and receive points for everything from attending a company Health and Wellness Fair to getting a health risk assessment to starting an exercise regimen. At the end of the year, the teams will win prizes based on the number of points they have accumulated.

Wellness Competitions Improve Corporate Health

Not only will Wellness Competitions enhance the health of your employees, it will enhance the overall health of the corporation by providing benefits such as fewer injuries, worker’s comp claims, decreased healthcare costs, better employee attendance, and better company morale.

Like we said earlier, everyone is a winner in a Wellness Competitions!

The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”

The report calls for Employee Wellness Initiatives to be promoted and implemented worldwide.

Importance of Employee Wellness Initiatives

The report states that Non-Communicable Disease related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of Non-Communicable Disease’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.

Diet, caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of Non-Communicable Disease’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.

Employee Wellness Initiatives are Effective Tools

The report states that Employee Wellness Initiatives are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also states that Employee Wellness Initiatives will enhance the health of employees, enhance the company image, enhance employee morale, reduce employee absences and sick leave, increase employee productivity, and reduce company healthcare expenses.

Employee Wellness Initiatives Monitoring

Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Employee Wellness Program, monitoring and evaluation through Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals and health outcomes are critical and should be included in the Employee Wellness Initiative implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Employee Wellness Initiative developed meets the proper needs of the employees. Staff Members should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Employee Wellness Initiative is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.

Employee Wellness Initiative ROI: Fact or Fiction?

Employee Wellness Initiatives … do they offer a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever company’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the Employee Wellness Initiative ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Employee Wellness Initiative ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Employee Wellness Initiative ROI is not an easy thing to do for businesses because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the companies that have taken the time to determine the Employee Wellness Initiative ROI of their Employee Wellness Initiatives have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Wellness program’s effect on the improvement of employee health and the slowing of the rate of their employee healthcare expenses.

Employee Wellness Initiative ROI Alliance

Employee Wellness Initiative ROI is such an important part of today’s company culture, that several large companies have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Employee Wellness Programs.

The alliance, formed by Henry Ford Health Systems, BMW of North America, Kraft Foods Global, Schlumberger Limited and MasterCare Worldwide, strongly believes in showing the value of Employee Wellness Initiatives and want to develop a standard for how Employee Wellness Initiatives are measured.

Employee Wellness Initiatives Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an company-offered employee Employee Wellness Program:

Employee assistance Program
Disease Management Programs (DM)
Fitness and exercise Programs
Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals
Onsite healthcare Programs
Personal wellness profiles
Preventive Health Testings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Programs
Telephonic Employee Wellness Initiatives
Weight loss and weight management Programs
Self-Care Programs.

Wellness During the Summer Time

Wellness is important all year long; however if your employees haven’t gotten on the Wellness bandwagon, then now is the perfect time to get them there.

Summer Time is an ideal time of year to get back into shape and enhance overall Wellness.  The weather is beautiful, employees can get outside and they are motivated by the thought of having to wear clothes with less coverage.  Fitness, or lack of fitness, is apparent in the summer.

Wellness in the Summer Time has Advantages

There are many advantages to starting a Employee Wellness Initiative in the Summer Time.  Employees are more likely to get outside and walk or participate in group activities during the summer than they are in the cooler months of the fall and winter.  The summer months are also a great time to establish a Wellness challenge with your employees and celebrate the completion of the challenge with a member picnic or cookout.  Finally, it always seems easier to eat healthy during the summer with all the fresh vegetables and fruits that are available during this time.

Employee Wellness Initiative Kick-off

We recommend following these steps when starting a Employee Wellness Initiative in your office.

Pick a wellness coordinator for the Employee Wellness Initiative who is willing and able to see it through.
Ensure that you have the support of company leadership.
Formulate a Wellness committee
Make use of a Employee Wellness Initiative survey to uncover the obstacles and goals of your Employee Wellness Initiative
Provide Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals
Analyze the Employee Wellness Initiative and changes as needed
Remember to stress that the Employee Wellness Initiative is for the employees.  Employee Wellness Initiatives have been found to prevent obesity, cancer, heart disease and hypertension.  participating in a Employee Wellness Initiative that offers all that should be an easy decision for the corporation and for the employees.

Employee Wellness Initiatives and Healthcare Costs

Employee Wellness Initiatives are more important now than ever.  According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, with the troubles in the economy it seems that the costs of business provided healthcare keep continuing to grow and it doesn’t seem like it is going to change.  The article states that during the year 2008, United States companies can expect to see an increase of 10% in healthcare costs.

This increase in healthcare costs is causing some small companies to reduce their employee health benefits or get rid of them altogether.

Employee Wellness Initiatives for Healthier Lifestyles

Employee Wellness Initiatives do offer an option for small companies.  The corporations can offer discounted co-pays and deductibles to those employees that fully participate in the offered Employee Wellness Program.  Full participation means getting health screens, receiving a health risk assessment, and then working with their wellness coordinator to work towards a healthier lifestyle.

The healthier the employees, the lower the overall healthcare costs for the corporation.  Just one lengthy hospital stay can almost deplete a small business’ healthcare budget.

Employee Wellness Initiatives and Your Bottom Line

Employee Wellness Initiatives offer many advantages to a company’s bottom-line. Employee Wellness Initiative Statistics from Prudential Insurance show a benefit expense of $312 per individual enrolled in a Employee Wellness Initiative compared to an expense of $574 per employee that wasn’t enrolled.  Coors Brewing Company showed a positive side-effect of member absenteeism dropping by 18%, thus greater production and less healthcare costs overall.