Wellness Programs : What’s a Health Promotion Program?
A Health Promotion Program is an organized wellness program to assist and support staff in establishing healthier lifestyles. This can include increasing worker awareness on health topics, scheduling behavior modification programs, and/or establishing business policies that support health-related goals.
Programs and policies that promote increased exercise, smoking avoidance and cessation, and healthy food selections are a few examples.
Wellness Dimensions
Wellness is more than physical fitness. In addition to physical fitness, the dimensions of optimal health include
• Spiritual Dimension of Wellness
• Emotional Wellness Dimension
• Social Wellness Dimension
• Intellectual Wellness Dimension
These Dimensions of Wellness are often depicted as a “life wheel” with examples of health components that include –
• fitness,
• nutrition,
• purpose in life,
• financial planning,
• social connections and support systems,
• stress management,
• mind-body health,
• career planning and
• continued learning.
The key for individual health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance. A extensive health promotion program addresses most, if not all, of these dimensions.
Why Employee Wellness?
Employees spend a excellent deal of time on the job, and the truth is that our traditional work-week is increasing. In truth, the average American now works about 47 hours per week.
Plus, technologies such as modems, laptops, cellular phones, voice and email have blurred the work-life boundary. These realities cut down on the amount of time that the average individual can devote to wellness pursuits, and yet staff members are expected to be at top performance when at work.
A recent published study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that company wellness or wellness programs are successful in helping staff make positive health changes as a result of several factors such as convenience, environmental support, and coworker or social acceptance.
What’s the Link between Wellness and the Workplace?
Programs and policies that promote healthful behaviors may make a big difference on worker wellness AND have an impact on the corporation’s bottom line. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested by corporations in corporate wellness/wellness programs, there were savings ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.
In company terms, that is more than a 3 – 1 minimum return on investment – a number that is hard to ignore, and a best practice that should warrant serious consideration from businesses.
Truly, a company wellness literature review posted in Wellness Practitioner Journal found –
• 19 studies found a 28.3 percent reduction in sick leave
• 16 studies demonstrated a 5.6 – 1 return on investment
• 23 showed a 26.1% reduction in medical costs
• 4 found a 30 percent reduction in direct medical and workers’ compensation claims
There’s little doubt that a robust health promotion program targeted to meet a corporation’s specific needs can save money by decreasing absenteeism, lowering health care expenditures, decreasing staff member turnover, and increasing productivity.
• USA Department of Health and Human Services, 2003