Health Promotion Blog

Who needs Corporate Health Promotion Programs? If you work in an office or a worksite or are a member of an corporation who spends a considerable amount of time at work, you will benefit from a well-designed worker Corporate Health Promotion Program. Employees spend a minimum of about 200 hours a month at work – a considerable amount of time.

Furthermore, stress, distractions and the pressures of the job can take its toll on the worker, which makes it important that a Corporate Health Promotion Program is implemented. Today, all across America, Canada, Europe and Asia, top Corporate Health Promotion Programs are being used to help improve worker conditions at work and reduce the cost of worker healthcare.

Some of the top Corporate Health Promotion Programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments (HRAs)

Health Risk Assessment is a top Corporate Health Promotion Program currently in use globally. Organizations that implement it determine the safety and health concerns of workers by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the employees.

It can, for example, guide the corporation into determining how much air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure workers have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. However, it has also become an important component of the top Corporate Health Promotion Programs in many businesses in North America.

Immunization, flu shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are offered to workers for free.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to employees regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

Weight Management Programs

This is another Corporate Health Promotion Program that businesses use, particularly those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

Employee Wellness Newsletters – Health Education Programs

One of the top Corporate Health Promotion Programs that businesses can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the worksite, etc.

The newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to employees or members of an corporation but it is far from perfect. Some employees, for example, may not read the newsletter in its entirety or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Physical Fitness and Exercise Programs

Another top health promotion program for businesses is one that involves physical activities. Companies often sponsor physical fitness-related events such as marathons and corporation sports programs to encourage employees to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized businesses, businesses may even pay for gym memberships or in-house physical fitness facilities.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Incentives

Some of the top Corporate Health Promotion Programs implemented by businesses involve incentive rewards. This involves corporation-sponsored programs that reward employees for achieving specific wellness goals. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for Corporate Health Promotion Programs are two of the most commonly rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among businesses who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Group Activities

In many businesses, businesses take advantage of peer pressure in order to encourage workers to take part in Corporate Health Promotion Programs. This is currently one of the favorite worker Corporate Health Promotion Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions and to persuade employees to be active in corporation-sponsored health fairs.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: A Long-Term Committment

“Corporate Health Promotion Programs” – what does that phrase mean to you? To many of us, it evokes an array of ambivalent thoughts — the fitness center membership we barely used, the nagging ankle injury from last year’s organization picnic, the backaches, the bratwurst we had for lunch, the love handles and of course, the fad diets that failed us or that we failed. Usually, Corporate Health Promotion Programs is a guilt trigger that causes us to feel remorse about our bodies and the health management we know we should be doing for them.

Unfortunately we live in a society where our survival is dependent on sitting at a desk, not hunting game, picking berries and sprinting away from wolves. We also live in such luxury, nutritionally, that we can gain weight steadily without being wealthy. Cardiovascular disease, obesity and poor dietary habits cause most of the heath issues that weigh down worker attendance and erode a company’s productivity.

Ironically the poorest societies in the world – the ones furthest from the conveniences of modern life – often have the healthier, most physically hardy members. And as for the animal kingdom — don’t look there for commiseration. In the wild, it is extremely rare to find an animal that suffers from our kind of wellness issues.

Prescription Drug dependency degrades Health and Wellness

It doesn’t help that United States citizens are descending into a deadly love affair with drugs — and drug testing won’t help you with these drugs.

For example, Greg Critser’s book Generation RX details how United States citizens spend about $180 billion dollars on Prescription Drugs each year, with the estimated 2011 tally at a whopping $414 billion. The average number of Prescription Drugs per U.S citizen in 2004 stood at twelve.

Twelve! That means that your average worker is taking 14, 18, or even more than 20 medications in an attempt to improve their Health and Wellness.

Is this effective, though? Critser is not convinced that the drugs help U.S. health. In fact, he points out a bevy of negative consequences for America’s legal prescription addition, which include prescription interactions, liver damage, and the legions of people who now depend on drugs to deal with ordinary trials and stresses.

An corporation has the potential to improve Health

It’s not all bad news, though. Occupational Health Testings and well-designed Corporate Health Promotion Programs can help you fight the downward spiral for you and your workforce. In fact, good Corporate Health Promotion Programs – like a strong walking Corporate Health Promotion Programs initiative – can literally save lives and reduce the symptoms that cause staff members to turn to drugs in the first place.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: The Grand Slam

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are as close to a grand slam proposition as you’ll find, according to most researchers and Corporate Health Promotion Program experts.

But if you have skeptics in your organization who are questioning the time and expense of beginning an Corporate Health Promotion Program, you may be wary too. Aren’t worker Corporate Health Promotion Programs subject to the adage “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”?

Corporate Health Promotion Programs Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Fortunately, worker Corporate Health Promotion Programs don’t require a big investment. Like any other corporate project, mismanagement and “death by committee” can inflate the cost of Corporate Health Promotion Programs, but it’s hard to spend too much time and money on them. After all, Corporate Health Promotion Programs are mostly informational in nature. Flyers, e-mails, maps, and Corporate Health Promotion Program Wellness Fairs can only cost so much. There’s no expensive, specialized Corporate Health Promotion Program machinery.

Corporate Health Promotion Program statistics on successful programs are particularly persuasive. Unlike many cost-saving measures, Corporate Health Promotion Programs actually add to worker satisfaction – but they also reduce Health Insurance premiums and worker absenteeism.

What are some common Corporate Health Promotion Programs?

Corporate Health Promotion Programs run the gamut, depending on your workplace demographic, from exercise for health patients to nutritional initiatives that encourage workers to replace unhealthy snack foods with healthy fare like dried fruit and shelled nuts.

Following are some examples of Corporate Health Promotion Programs:

ergonomic safety
cardiovascular disease education and testing
worker safety
Health Risk Appraisals
walking Corporate Health Promotion Programs
drug testing

What Are Corporate Health Promotion Programs?

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are designed to promote and support employee health and wellness through education and awareness programs primarily based at the worksite. The program is a win-win in that workers benefit from learning and staying well, and the employer has increased loyalty and less absenteeism.

As corporations become more aware of the importance of employee health on productivity, there is increased interest in encouraging and supporting healthy lifestyle choices. Employer costs for Corporate Health Promotion Programs can rapidly be offset with fewer work-related injuries, improved attendance, less turnover, and increased morale.

Types of Corporate Health Promotion Programs

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Lunch & Learn Wellness Presentations

The easiest Corporate Health Promotion Programs are one’s where the employer arranges to have quarterly presentations during lunchtime on topics such as stress management, nutrition, and exercise. A local mental health clinic, hospital, or the Employee Assistance Program (Employee Assistance Program) may provide these. This type of corporate health and Corporate Health Promotion Program is usually arranged through HR, the health department, or the safety manager. Participation is generally voluntary.

Before determining topics for wellness seminars, it is a good idea to do some type of worker polling to see what topics people are interested in. This can be as simple as an e-mail to all staff asking for suggestions or as formal as having an outside group come in to conduct interviews and design a complete corporate health and Corporate Health Promotion Program.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Health Risk Assessments

An employer can provide comprehensive Health Risk Assessments for workers. Health Risk Assessments are detailed questionnaires that covers all areas of behavior (seatbelt use, smoking, alcohol use, frequency of exercise, family history of disease and illness, etc.). This is usually done in conjunction with employee biometric testing for things like cholesterol and blood sugar screening.

Once the Health Risk Assessments are scored, the results are shared with workers along with suggestions for changes. The employer is able to get aggregate statistics that will show trends that he or she may want to address. For example, if a lot of people have high blood pressure, the employer may consider an educational seminar, biweekly onsite blood pressure readings, and low-salt, low-fat selections in the cafeteria or snack machines as interventions to include in the corporate health and Corporate Health Promotion Program.

If the Health Risk Assessments show that there is a “trend” toward not wearing seatbelts, perhaps having the State police come in and give a seminar about what occurs in an accident when you don’t have a seatbelt on would change some behavior.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: smoking Cessation

smoking cessation programs are very popular components of Corporate Health Promotion Programs. Often, the local chapter of the American Cancer Society or American Lung Association will come in to run a group. Another option is for workers to attend a smoking cessation group in the community. Costs for the smoking cessation group can be offset by the employer after workers complete the program.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Stress Management

Stress is a major area of concern for corporations. Stressed out employees get sick more often, make more errors, and generally do not perform up to capacity. As a result, Corporate Health Promotion Programs often take steps to address employee stress. There are many ways to address stress within your Corporate Health Promotion Programs, and the beauty of these ideas is that everyone can benefit from them.

Certainly, stress management presentations are educational and informative and should be included in any corporate health and Corporate Health Promotion Program.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs and Work/Life Programs

Many corporations offer a work/life program that offers assistance with things from finding day care for a child or elderly parent and information on obscure college scholarship funds to information on which PC to buy and where to find someone to walk your dog. These programs fit into Corporate Health Promotion Programs because they help your workers handle many of the things that are taking up work time and increasing stress.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs and Employee Assistance Programs

An Employee Assistance Programs are integral parts of effective Corporate Health Promotion Programs. By helping workers address personal/mental health problems and concerns, an Employee Assistance Program can go a long way toward improving overall health and productivity. Representatives from your Employee Assistance Program can also work closely with you to design Corporate Health Promotion Programs that are integrated and effective.

Time Management and Corporate Health Promotion Programs

Time is one of our most precious commodities, and anything you can do as an employer to help your workers manage their time is going to be welcome. Although not traditionally thought to be a component of Corporate Health Promotion Programs, providing flextime and telecommuting are two ways to lower stress and raise productivity.

These programs take thought and planning and are not appropriate for all workers or all positions; however, in many workplaces, they are underused. Either your HR manager or an outside consultant can help you design a program. If you belong to a business group or Chamber of Commerce, you may find assistance there. Also, talk to colleagues who are doing this in their companies to see how it is working.

The Culture of Wellness

Worker wellness has to be a component of your company culture, not just something you throw in as an afterthought. It isn’t a Band-Aid, but rather a thoughtful piece of your business strategy. For example, if productivity is down due to smoking breaks, providing smoking cessation classes can help. But it’s also important to establish a no smoking policy.

When workers feel valued, they are more loyal and tend to work harder. They take pride in their work and talk about what a great company they work for. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce.