Health Promotion Blog

Wellness Programs are excellent for waistlines and your bottom line

In today’s hectic world, most of us are spending more time at work, and have increasingly less time to look after our health. for a long time, businesss have understood the benefits associated with keeping staff members well – increased productivity from reduced absenteeism and reduced disability claims.

For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many businesses realized double-digit health care costs last year, businesses ought to consider Health Promotion Programs as a way to keep staff healthful.

But just how important are these wellness programs to employees? Just how often are they willing to participate in wellness programs designed to positively impact their wellness? Who do workforce trust to provide them with important information about their health?

Answers to these questions and more were recently garnered from a study  commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. (AAOHN).

The AAOHN survey questioned 500 staff members nationwide about their perceptions of Wellness Programs. Greater than three-quarters of all participants indicated these wellness programs are a good way to improve their overall health, and nearly 60 percent consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their current business.

Staff Member retention and turnover impact the bottom line, so building health promotion programs into the work site culture is a valuable way to help retain talented workforce also to enhancing personal health and workplace productivity.

Health Promotion wish list

Staff Members appear to have their own agenda when it comes to their health. With new pressures resulting from an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues, it’s not surprising that 85% of survey respondents cited stress management as a priority topic for work site wellness.

In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include health screening programs (84 percent), exercise/physical fitness programs (84 percent), health insurance education (81 percent) and disease management (DM) seminars (80 percent).

In addition to lifestyle and personal health issues, those asked expressed concern about work-related health issues, including strains and injuries resulting from lifting or task-oriented muscle repetition, exposure to harmful substances, personal injury, vision changes because of computer work and worksite violence.

Beginning a Health Promotion Program

With such a broad range of health concerns, a key goal for businesss is finding a way to proactively address the health needs of the largest number of workforce, and effectively change unhealthy behaviors, promote wellness and ward off disease and disease.

Printed materials such as brochures, posters, fliers or brochures present an easy solution. But it’s vital that you remember that different individuals  require different formats for learning.

A good rule of thumb –  provide information in a selection of learning formats like videos, handouts, health-related quizzes, display boards, lunch and learn presentations and reimbursement or incentive programs.

This assumes you’ve overcome the first hurdle – getting individuals  to sign on to a wellness program. While survey respondents indicated wellness programs are important, just six out of 10 (60 percent) announced that they participated in the wellness programs at their businesses.  The other 40 percent cited lack of interest and lack of time as deterrents.

This points to the need for a robust, structured wellness program using a creative approach, with an incentive for participation and effective wellness program marketing.

By investing in an organized health promotion program headed by a licensed health care specialist like an onsite nurse, businesses can give staff members the access to the health information they want, and increase participation and generate interest at the same time.

The result – employees become savvier health care consumers who feel more in charge of their personal health.  And healthier employees make for a healthier bottom line.

Health promotion programs are designed to help improve the overall health and awareness of health related issues of employees in the worksite.

Although these wellness programs are set up to help person set, work toward and maintain healthful lifestyle choices, they sometimes fail.

There are five primary reasons wellness programs are unsuccessful.  The first reason is because of lack of employee interest. It’s crucial when presenting a new wellness program to staff members that every effort is made to communicate the all encompassing advantages of the wellness program to the organization and to the individual.

Next, wellness programs can fail because of lack of staff resources. If a wellness program is introduced but there are few resources to offer with the wellness program, it will be difficult for an staff member to want to take advantage of it.

As part of the previous reason for failure of a health promotion program, inadequate funding also can set a health promotion program up for failure. With little money to promote a health promotion program, it could be challenging to spread the word about the advantages of a health promotion program.

An all too frequent reason that health promotion programs do not reach optimal success is because the health promotion program and its coordinators fail to engage high risk employees. When high risk employees have the majority of the health issues in a workplace, they should be the most targeted individuals for a health promotion program.

To see 100% participation is the optimal goal, but to engage those with the most severe health concerns is a gigantic priority.

Finally, the inability to enlist the support of senior level management is a significant reason why health promotion programs might not be successful. Without the endorsement, support and flexibility that senior level management can offer a health promotion program, it’s far less likely that it will actually succeed.

Health promotion programs succeed for just as many reasons as they fail. With engaged and aroused personnel, obtaining wellness goals is attainable and promising.

Employee wellness involves many aspects of the worksite and can look dramatically different based upon the shared wellness vision.

Health Promotion efforts can also be uniquely tailored to women and men, old and young or to special health needs. Health Promotion in the workplace should be a top priority regardless of gender, age or special needs.

Living healthy requires time and attention and often special wellness activities designed by a wellness committee can help reach certain health goals.

Most wellness programs allow for each staff member to dictate the objectives and activities that will make up their wellness objectives.

Usually, the business will jump in with wellness programs or incentives.  As if sponsoring a competition, some businesss will pay employees for reaching weight loss objectives.

Other wellness ideas could include special benefits or compensation for reaching health objectives. It can be difficult to gage what’ll motivate some staff members, but knowing that most staff members don’t want to pay more for health care is a good begin.

A solid health promotion program is a surefire way to lower healthcare costs, lost vacation time, and other miscellaneous medical testing.

With a unified wellness committee taking staff opinions into account, there must be objectives set up across the board that’ll help focus and monitor health care objectives for all involved staff.

Some personnel may choose to focus on specific health concerns while others may want to improve their overall health through diet, exercise and stress relief techniques.

When some workers seem adamant about admitting health concerns, it might be helpful to reaffirm confidentiality with each employee.

Other personnel might find it helpful to become a member of  group or a partner in working toward health care objectives. Studies have proven that working on any kind of goal with another individual increases the percentage of completion and success.

Corporate wellness can come in any shape, form or timeframe. It is more crucial to have resources in place for staff to ensure a balanced and healthful lifestyle.

Health promotion programs encourage people  to begin taking steps toward healthcare avoidance by teaching healthful decision making. These wellness programs are designed to decrease healthcare costs, lower absenteeism, and increase productivity.

It’s believed that many diseases in America are avoidable by proper health testings and small changes toward a healthier lifestyle.  The most valuable resource a organization has is its workers.

By investing time and money into them, the corporation would reap the advantages of having more focused and healthier staff.

For an staff member, health promotion programs can lead you towards living a healthier lifestyle and becoming a much healthier person. Depending on what a corporation offers you can learn how to reduce stress, keep your sugar levels in control, and even lose weight.

The support you’ll receive from your peers will help you achieveyour health objectives. From eating a healthy lunch together to forming a racquetball tournament, you’ll create a feeling of friendship between peers.

Social influences are a major part of a healthful life style. You will be getting encouragement from coworkers in addition to encouraging others around you to live healthful.

For businesss, these wellness programs proved to have a considerable return on the investment put into them.

The small amount of funds it costs to begin these health promotion programs and continue with them is insurmountable compared to what they save with increased productivity and reduced costs spent on sick time and insurance premiums.

Having company support is a good begin to living a healthier lifestyle. No matter what the approach, Health promotion programs can help make a positive change in your job, life and the community.

Starting these health promotion programs is just one way corporations around the country are building a healthier and more productive workforce.

Around the U.S. companies everywhere are implementing wellness programs. There are several advantages to offering worker wellness programs.

These health promotion programs vary in intricacy, from only offering information to staff on staying healthy to offering a corporation health and fitness center and nutritious meal plans.  The bottom line of health promotion programs is that healthy staff are happy staff, and they are what make a corporation run.

As an staff member, health promotion programs have several wellness benefits including helping you live a healthy lifestyle. Depending on the wellness efforts your corporation has put into place you can learn how to reduce stress, keep your sugar levels in control, and even lose weight if desired.

The support peers will give each other will help in improving employee health. Social influences are a major part of a healthy life style. You’ll be getting encouragement from peers as well as encouraging others around you to promote wellness in the workplace.

There are several barriers to health promotion programming in the worksite. Aligning cultural touch points will aid in the effort to promote employee health promotion. From resource commitment to rewards and recognition it is the job of the company to support a healthful lifestyle as much as possible.

Hiring wellness professionals who have a shared wellness vision with the corporation’s senior level management is another choice to promote wellness in the worksite. They can give wellness coaching and advice on how to live healthy and make healthy decisions.

Employees are a corporation’s most valuable assets and it is vital that you create opportunities for personal health management, with an emphasis on shared responsibility. A healthy workforce is critical to the growth of the American organization and in the long run is fundamental for the progress of the American economy.

While many companies have extraordinary health wellness programs, others do not. Sometimes it isn’t the business who determines that a wellness program would be beneficial, but the employees themselves are the ones requesting such an office benefit.

With the correct steps, workers have often been very successful at changing the environment of a workplace.

When an staff member or group of staff members wishes to begin a health health promotion program within the corporation, she must first talk with other staff members to see when there’s a mutual interest.

Very often times, many individuals  are thinking about starting something, but no one has taken the first step. A team may  be formed with those interested, and information may  be gathered from other personnel about their needs and interests.

When one is considering the proposal of a health promotion program to her corporation, not only must the requests be made clear (like a request for a lunchtime yoga class) but the logistics should be known before presenting it to the boss. Some of the questions that should be considered include -

o  Where’ll the class be held?

o  Who will teach the class?

o  Precisely how will the instructor be paid?

Regrettably, there are organizations where employers do not see the advantage of health health promotion programs until they are presented to them in a clear manner. Workers themselves need to be proactive.

If there is stress, fatigue, and unhealthful snacking because staff members are overwhelmed and feeling easily replaceable, then the corporation could  be in too distant of a position to realize that the staff members are unhappy.

Rather than continue to complain and be frustrated with the current situation, workers need to be the ones to make the first step in building a wellness program that will enable everybody to learn more about how to take care of themselves.

Is your corporation’s ROI decreasing? Are the costs of your corporation’s medical insurance premiums increasing?

When you said yes to either or both of these questions it’s most likely because your workers are not getting what they need to work at their highest potential. A good way to change this is through the use of health promotion programs.

Wellness programs are a great way to lessen the stress felt by staff members while working, help the physical and psychological health of all individuals, develop a safer, more fun work environment, and therefore increase the productivity of all staff members and decrease the cost of health insurance for the corporation.

There are many ways that businesses can go about increasing company health promotion. One of the most popular ways is by building a health and fitness center that the workforce of the company can use before or after working.

By building an onsite health and fitness center, organizations are showing that they are concerned with the health of their workers and that they are willing to help with the physical and mental wellness of their workers.

A fitness club is also promoting necessary healthy strategies such as weight reduction, needed daily aerobic exercise, and just in general, everyone’s want/ need to stay healthy and fit. In order for all staff to stay safe while exercising, a organization must employ staff whom are properly trained and certified as fitness trainers.

There are also many other options that companies have, to go about creating staff member wellness programs. One other option is to hold exercise courses like yoga, spinning, or walking, or to hold educational courses that teach about how to eat healthy, give general health education, or teach more, fun ways to exercise.

Another great way to improve a wellness program is to hold support groups for smoking cessation, weight reduction, or dealing with cancer. With a combination of all these different ideas and wellness programs, organizations can develop successful wellness programs that help not only the individual personnel, but also the corporation as a whole.

In order for corporations to be performing at their maximum potential they must develop fitness and health promotion programs that all their staff members can participate in.

Fitness and wellness programs are essential for a successful business because they decrease the stress felt by workers, they help the physical and psychological health of individuals, and they develop safer and sometimes more fun work environments.

The effect of those changes is an increase in productivity by workers because there are less sick days and when they’re at work they’re more willing and able to do so.

In order to have a successful fitness and wellness program the company must create an outcome-oriented operating plan. There are eight steps to create a complete and successful operating plan for wellness programs.

1. Come up with a vision statement which includes goals the organization is attempting to meet.  The fitness and health promotion program vision statement must also satisfy the overall organization’s vision statement.

2. Be sure to set goals that the company and the workforce are attempting to accomplish through the use of a fitness and wellness program.

3. Come up with goals that the business and staff can use to accomplish their goals.

4. Create a timeline which tells when the wellness program is being implemented and when the objectives and objectives set should be accomplished.

5. Come up with a realistic budget which includes the cost of the incentives used to encourage staff members, materials used for the wellness program, and person employed to teach classes, or promote safety while exercising.

6. Advertise and market the health promotion program to all workers via email, bulletin boards, newsletters, and meetings.

7. Create an implementation plan which includes detailed information on what health promotion programs are going to be offered, and when.

8. Come up with an examination plan which includes surveys and participant evaluations to determine whether the health promotion program is working or not.

With these eight steps companies can create successful fitness and wellness programs that better the health of workforce while decling stress and increasing the overall productivity of the person and the corporation in general.

In order for a company to be the most productive and successful it may be it needs to incorporate the use of wellness programs. Health promotion programs use different forms of disease prevention, stress management, and exercise, to create and maintain a high level of well being in all staff members.

Worker health promotion programs are becoming increasingly more popular in businesses because research has been done proving that health promotion programs increase the productivity in employees and decrease the costs of providing medical insurance premiums for employees.

There are many ways a corporation can go about building wellness programs, but the most successful way is to come up with an outcome oriented operating plan. In order to create a successful operating plan, there are several steps that a corporation must follow.

First, the business must come up with a vision statement for the health promotion program which also incorporates and helps to strive towards the overall vision statement for the business.

Second, they have to come up with goals for which the workers and the company as a whole must strive towards, and goals which provide ways for the goals to be met.

Thirdly, a timeline ought to be created which includes when the employees and the company should strive to meet the goals set for them, and dates for when the wellness program will be implemented and eventually be examined.

Next, a budget must be developed which includes costs for individuals employed to carry out the health promotion programs, materials used for the health promotion programs, and the health promotion programs given to workers to encourage them to participate in the health promotion programs.

After the budget is finalized, the wellness program must be advertised to the staff through the use of newsletters, meetings, emails, and bulletin boards. Finally, the wellness program must be initiated and sign-ups should become available for staff to attend the classes, groups, and wellness programs provided.

After the health promotion programs have gone on for a while, they ought to be analyzed through the use of surveys and personal wellness evaluations.

Hopefully, after assessing  the surveys and investigations, companies will find that the worker health promotion programs were a success and that the productivity of all staff members has gone up.

Wellness programs are among the many ways for corporations to encourage their employees to become healthier individuals.  The ways that employees behave, eat, and live inside and outside of the workplace directly affects their work ethics, productivity, and mental health.

Businesss can hope that their staff members have healthful habits, but unless action is taking place and health promotion programs are created, the employer isn’t taking an active role in gaining healthier and more productive staff members.

While the physical attributes of an staff member are often most noticeable, often overlooked is the worker’s mental health, which is just as important as physical health.

One way that corporations can include mental health in their wellness programs is to provide cheap alternatives or assistance with mental health and counseling services.

Stress can also be relieved by massage therapy, which is a benefit that businesss can offer as an incentive.

Physical health also directly relates to mental health; as people  who are in better physical health usually find that physical exercise assists to alleviate stress.

Businesses can encourage physical fitness by authorizing workers to take short breaks to go for a walk, discounts on fitness club memberships, and informational meetings to give tips and ideas about keeping in shape.

Many businesses also offer lunchtime courses like group fitness or yoga to encourage mid-day exercise. A number of businesses even offer contests with prizes for staff who lose the most weight over a reasonable amount of time.

While physical health is sometimes more apparent than mental health, mental health often has a greater affect on staff members. Without wellness programs and encouragement to remain mentally healthy, staff members are more likely to become stressed.

And when an employee is stressed, burned out, or distracted by personal issues, that employee becomes less productive and a greater financial burden on the corporation.