Wellness in the worksite

Good for waistlines & your bottom line

By Sandra Simpson, APRN, BC, COHN-S, manager in Occupational Health Services at a Fortune 500 employer  in Memphis, Tenn., and a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Occupational  Health Nurses (AAOHN). For a copy of the AAOHN wellness survey, visit www.aaohn.org, or call (800)  241-8014, x0.

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, corporations have understood the benefits associated with  keeping workers well – increased productivity from reduced absenteeism and lowered disability claims.  For these reasons, coupled with the fact that many corporations realized double-digit health care costs  last year, corporations should consider Employee Wellness Programs as a way to keep employees healthy.

But just how important are these initiatives to employees? How often are they willing to take part in  initiatives designed to positively impact their health and wellness? Who do employees trust to provide  them with important information about their health?

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

The AAOHN survey questioned 500 employees nationwide about their perceptions of Employee Wellness  Programs. More than three-quarters of all participants indicated these initiatives are a good way to  improve their overall health, and nearly 60% consider these offerings an incentive to remain with their  current employer. worker retention and turnover impact the bottom line, so building Employee Wellness  Programs into the work site culture is a valuable way to help retain talented employees in addition to  enhancing personal health and worksite productivity.

The Health wish list

Employees appear to have their own agenda when it comes to their health. With new economic pressures,  national security threats and work/balance issues, it’s not surprising that 85% of survey respondents  cited Stress Management Programs as a priority topic for work site wellness.

In addition to stress, other preferred topic areas include testing initiatives (84%), exercise/physical  fitness initiatives (84%), medical insurance education (81%) and disease management seminars (80%).

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 due to computer work and  worksite violence.

What you should do

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

Printed materials such as brochures, posters, fliers or pamphlets present an easy solution. But it’s  important to remember that different staff members require different formats for learning. A good rule  of thumb: provide information in a variety of learning formats such as videos, pamphlets,  health-related quizzes, display boards, Lunch & Learn presentations and reimbursement or incentive  programs.

This assumes you’ve overcome the first hurdle – getting staff members to sign on to a Employee Wellness  Program. While survey respondents indicated health and Employee Wellness Programs are important, just  six out of 10 (60%) reported that they participated in the Employee Wellness Programs at their  corporations. The other 40% cited lack of interest and lack of time as deterrents.

This points to the need for a comprehensive, structured Company Health and Wellness Program using a  innovative approach, with an incentive for participation and effective program marketing.

By investing in an organized Company Health and Wellness Program headed by a qualified health care  professional such as an on-site nurse, corporations can give employees 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 own health.  And healthier employees make for a healthier bottom line.