Wellness programs may vary in size and scope, but the general purpose of most is to promote wellness to individuals and organizations and also to encourage healthy behaviors for the long-term. Many corporations use wellness programs to improve the health of employees while also cutting costly health risks, improving employee retention and productivity, and the general well-being of employees. According to the American Institute of Preventive Medicine, health-care costs in the United States made up 14 percent of the gross national product in 1997 and by 2010 had more than doubled.
Because the path to a healthier lifestyle often isn't easy or clear-cut, wellness programs offer support, resources, medically trained professionals, psychiatric assistance, and other health experts to make the change process a bit easier. Fitness, smoking cessation, and back care are among the most common wellness programs available.
Fitness Programs
Overall fitness is an important factor in managing the risk for heart disease. By improving the body's cardiovascular system, it is possible to lower the risk of high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and stroke. Forty-one percent of workplaces offer some type of wellness program. Many corporate wellness programs have on-site fitness rooms and personal fitness trainers, lunch-hour walking groups, corporate-sponsored walking and running races, and membership incentives to local recreation and fitness centers.
Smoking Cessation
There are over 440,000 deaths each year related to tobacco, making it the number one cause of preventable death and disability. Sadly, one in four adults in America is a smoker. It is estimated that companies save $1,000 for each employee who quits a smoking habit. Forty-percent of workplaces now offer smoking cessation assistance, and programs often include assessing the employee's smoking history, performing a health evaluation, developing a personalized, written cessation plan, and offering a finite supply of nicotine patches or gum. Many employees also receive some type of follow-up counseling.
Back Care
One hundred million work days are lost each year due to back related problems, according to statistics published by the Wellness Council of America, costing employers roughly $20 billion annually. For this reason, 32 percent of employers seek to improve the back health of their employees. Some companies educate their employees about back care and injury prevention by utilizing health coaches who give back-care tips to employees via the telephone. Other companies perform comprehensive assessments to identify those employees who are at highest risk for back problems, then directing them to physical fitness programs, weight management, and on-site yoga classes to improve and maintain back health.
Stress Management
Work-related stress is estimated to cost employers $200 billion to $300 billion each year. In addition, nearly one million employees miss work on a typical workday in the United States due to problems linked to stress. To combat this problem, 37 percent of companies help their employees manage stress more effectively through programs such as personal coaching, support groups, mental health evaluations, deep breathing exercises, flex time policies, and self-study programs.
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