Health and Wellness Program

An employee can help reduce the cost of health cost by doing several things. There has been an outcry from organizations due to the rising number of competitors with high expenses catering for health benefits during employment periods and on retiring. The employee can be of great help by being participative in the programs set by their employers to benefit more from other advantages far from health costs (Kerzner, 2013). Some of the choices an employee may consider to help control health costs are by boosting consumerism, use technology to manage benefits, and indulge in fitness and health programs.

Allow employees to register for company-sponsored classes and programs to help them manage their weight, reduce stress, stop smoking, and manage other health

The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 to make sure that most people had medical insurance. With this new healthcare system came the responsibility that individuals would have to take initiatives to try to stay or get healthy. The preventative care portion included in the Affordable Car Act is a big item and very important in health care reform and very positive for the American people. Wellness in the workplace has become a very important issue to help reduce companies medical cost, and to help employees get on track to know their numbers, get healthy, and have a positive healthy mental attitude. Many employees do not understand or know how to get healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. With the rising cost of healthcare relating to

In order to improve healthcare nationally and cut cost spending, preventative care and wellness should be at the fore front of every healthcare organization. Recommendations to emphasize preventative and wellness services include building a workplace that support healthy lifestyles, expand the roles of advanced providers, and expand preventative services at no cost.

The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, with the intent of ensuring that most people in the United States have medical insurance. With this new healthcare system came the responsibility that individuals would have to take initiatives in an effort to stay healthy or at the least, increase their level of activity and health awareness, making them more responsible for their own wellness. The preventative care portion included in the Affordable Care Act is one of the fundamental items of the law and is a particularly meaningful, very positive attribute in health care reform for the American people. Wellness in the workplace has become an essential issue to help reduce companies’ medical cost, and to help employees get on track to know their numbers, get healthy, and have a positive healthy mental attitude. Many employees do not understand or know how to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. With the rising cost of healthcare, especially relating to people not taking care of their bodies, wellness in the workplace has become even more critical. Author Lori Breiner (2007) “believes wellness in the workplace has economic benefits for organizations, because if workers are healthy, they miss less time from work.” Breiner’s theory would suggest that better health increases productivity and profits in the workplace.

The Affordable Care Act made changes to current health plans to show additional support for wellness programs. These changes continue to enable employers to add incentives for healthy living by reimbursing employees for gym memberships or giving a reward to those who complete a health assessment showing the employee is currently in good health. The changes ensure that wellness programs are simple to understand and reasonable accommodations must be made so that all workers can be included in the programs. A final change made increased the reward amount to 30% of health coverage cost, and the reward for programs that reduce smoking habits was increased to 50%. (United States Department of Labor, 2014).

Discuss the critical components necessary for implementing a worksite wellness program at your hospital, and what steps you would take to get a new program

General motors have a great wellness program that keeps their workforce healthy. They use a program called LifeSteps which helps employees identify controllable health risk.

Most adults may spend more time during the day at work than anywhere else. Therefore, it may be important for worksites to be more conducive to employee health and is an excellent place to promote health and wellness. According to the Wellness Councils of America, more than 81% of businesses with more than 50 employees have some type of health promotion program in place [1]. Employee wellness centers have been shown to provide numerous benefits for employees including: weight reduction, increased physical fitness and stamina, and decreased stress [2]. Recent research has also discovered that employers benefit from such programs by experiencing reduced healthcare costs, increased productivity, reduced

Health and wellness in the work place is a vital part to a company’s success. Employees who are healthier and more productive are less likely to call out from sickness. There are not many companies that have affordable health care coverage for employees. More companies should make healthcare affordable for their employees and their family. Research has been done on how effective health and wellness programs can be in the workplace. Throughout the reading these points will be discussed. The effectiveness of health and wellness in the workplace will also be spoken of. Health and wellness activities in the workplace will be a positive move for companies and employees.

This will allow for increased spending in other areas of our company, creating a more productive budget. In addition, participation in the Wellness Program will provide employees that are able to work more often and more efficiently. This will undoubtedly increase productivity and decrease turnover. With 39,000 employees in the United States and 30 foreign nations, it is imperative that we maintain healthy and productive employees. Because of these significant benefits, it is crucial that we maintain and improve participation in the program. However, there are several concerns that may hinder such participation: 1. Despite Whirlpool’s guarantee of confidentiality, many employees do not trust the company with such private information. a. Employees have expressed their fear in the use of the information. They are concerned that their health status may negatively affect their position in the company. b. Although it is assured that no records are kept, employees fear the leak of private health information to their peers. If information was leaked, they fear the effects on their reputation and social standing within the company. 2. In order for the new addition to our program to be successful, it is important that we stress the benefits to our current employees. a. If our employees do not

Research indicates that employers can increase employee retention, increase employee productivity, and reduce employee healthcare costs by implementing a workplace wellness program.

Setting the stage for starting a workplace-based wellness program will be the most difficult part. The program can be achieved by getting upper management support and forming a wellness/health services unit to help plan, promote, implement and maintain the program.

Health and wellness in the workplace is crucial to business success. Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people’s health. When people are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When employees feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed. Stress has a large impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity. Companies that promote healthy lifestyle habits for employees to improve their health, often take the success of the company to heart and are likely to be absent less often for health related reasons.

And the last but certainly not the least is money bonus. Money is an all-time favourite form of incentive, with various monetary incentive schemes in existence. Organisations, such as Burger King vows to