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

Getting different levels of management and employees involved on the wellness team will provide many different ideas and activities that can be done in the workplace. Have IT test systems that will be used in tracking events so there are no system problems. Some programs have measurable results and some do not, if you are testing hoping for measurable results use factors that can produce the best results.

Communicating to employees regarding launching a new Wellness Program in the workplace can be tricky. Sometimes companies may have wellness programs however,

will not have only on our employees but also the company. For the program to be successful we need

Berry, L.L. and Mirabito, A.M. (2011). Partnering for prevention with workplace health promotion programs. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 86(4): 335-337.

Prochaska, J. O., Butterworth, S., Redding, C. A., Burden, V., Perrin, N., Leo, M., Flaherty-Robb, M., & Prochaska, J. M. (2008). Initial efficacy of MI, TTM tailoring and HRI’s with multiple behaviors for employee health promotion. Preventive Medicine, 46,

Direct Observation during access to food. Settings varied but study was conducted over 28 days.

Specific programs that Lynne should launch include an Employee assistance program (EAP), “to help employees cope with physical, mental, or emotional problems (including stress) that are undermining their job performance” (Gomez-Melia et al., 2011, p. 561). In additional, Lynne should look at implementing wellness programs which are “preventive efforts designed to help employees identify potential health risk and deal with them before they become problems” (Gomez-Melia et al., 2011, p. 561). A wellness program will “encourage

Wellness in the workplace needs to be taken seriously by all employers, and employees. There has been evidence that making sure employees eat healthier leads to lower call out rates and more savings on health plans. In an article in Employee Benefits magazine it states that “Wellness management does not need to be complicated, or costly. A few simple steps could help to mitigate long-term problems, such as introducing early intervention activities that red flag cases identified via an absence reporting mechanism, the proactive management of musculo-skeletal conditions and stress, introducing a smoking cessation program or running regular health wellbeing days. “Workplace wellness as a concept has been used extensively in recent years by management in business and industry, health professionals, fitness experts, and others. This is a policy that should be implanted in all jobs. Wellness may not

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

When an employee must leave, the employer encounters substantial costs in relation to hiring new employees to replace those who have left. Additional costs such as temporary employees can also accrue, when there is an immediate need for replacement, and training for new hires is significant. One way employers are attempting to retain employees is job perks. Employee perception of the benefits they receive can impact how long they stay with a particular employer. According to the Aflac Workforce Report, employee perception of wellness programs can lead to employee retention through job satisfaction and morale (Aflac, 2012).

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.

In the article, there are six options what company can do to help their employees to stay healthy and at the same time cut their costs.