Worksite Wellness Info

In our modern and hectic lives filled with the demands of family, work, and much more, it may seem challenging to tackle our wellness on our own.  

A lot of of us develop goals that seem beyond reach and we can’t seem to stick to a specific wellness program for an extended period of time.  

With the numerous struggles that prevent us from reaching our optimum individual wellness, many of us would welcome the assistance and guidance of a professional wellness coach.  

A wellness coach is a trained specialist who works with person to help them to reach their wellness objectives by developing and beginning personal wellness programs.  

A wellness coach is highly educated and ordinarily maintains advanced degrees in areas such as Exercise Physiology, Occupational or Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, and Nutrition.  

A wellness coach sets achievable objectives for the client, holds them accountable, and acts as a guide, motivator, and support system for that individual.  They focus on behavioral change by using individually designed programs to meet the unique needs of the client while offering creative solutions to help them achieve their objectives.  

In order to fully understand the role of a wellness coach it’s important to understand the various factors that involved in overall wellness.  The five major components of wellness are health risks, physical activity, stress management, weight management, and nutrition.  

A wellness coach focuses on each of these areas of wellness while meeting the specific needs of the patron whether they are trying to lose weight, get in shape, reduce stress, or quit smoking.  

They evaluate a person’s needs based on a highly scientific study known as a Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} .  After a wellness coach has determined the specific needs of the patron, he or she’s able to develop the wellness program, set achievable objectives for that individual, and monitor them while they reach success.  

Wellness coaches focus on physical health in addition to mental and emotional health for develop a balance in the customer’s life.  They not only work on assisting the customer with their current wellness issues, but they assist the customer to maintain their individual health by creating future objectives in their wellness program.  

Every individual has unique needs and time constraints that require attention in different ways.  A wellness coach provides convenience with their services by working with patrons in a selection of ways.  

The patron and coach may use telephone meetings, e-mails and instant messaging (electronic coaching), face-to-face interactions, or a combination of these various forms of communication.  

Although electronic coaching is becoming the most popular method due to its lower cost and efficiency, each customer may pick the method or methods will work best for them.  

The wellness coach is available 24 hours a day through internet based communication to make it even more convenient for the client to reach his or her objectives.  

Wellness coaches offer the kind of assistance that fits the needs of each customer in order to make it easier for the customer to embrace their personal wellness program.  

Based on the convenience, knowledge, and assistance that is offered by a wellness coach, it’s easy to see why more individuals  are taking advantage of these coaches to assist them in achieving their ultimate wellness objectives.  

Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that robust wellness programs, or Wellness Programs, can lower healthcare and insurance costs, reduce absenteeism, and improve performance and productivity.

Other benefits demonstrated in studies include improved ability to attract and retain key personnel, greater employee allegiance, and improved public image of the business.

Health Care and Insurance Costs

A number of studies provide evidence of lower medical and insurance costs for participants in wellness programs, specifically wellness programs involving exercise.

For $30 per individuals, the Bank of America conducted a wellness program for retirees using a risk assessment questionnaire, self-care books and other mailed materials. Insurance claims were reduced an average of $164 per year in this group while they increased $15 for the control group.

Since they were able to document significant changes in risk behavior, they anticipate greater savings in future years.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks participants claim $300 less per case for a one-year savings of $700,000. Savings for conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle are $722 per case.

Coca Cola announced a reduction in healthcare claims with an exercise planalone, saving $500 per employee per year for the employees (60%) who joined their HealthWorks fitness program.

Prudential Insurance Business reports that the corporation’s major health costs dropped from $574 to $312 for each participant in its wellness program.

Lowered Absenteeism

Absenteeism has been shown to be impacted by corporate wellness and wellness programs. the evidence indicates a meaningful reduction in absenteeism and resultant dollars saved so of staff member fitness programs.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks program lowered absent days .8% to save $2 million in one year. FitWorks members also spent 3.3 days less on short-term disability for an additional savings of $4.7 million.

Focusing wellness efforts on high-risk workers can lead to better results. A national manufacturing company reports a decrease of 12.2 percent in disease days for these workers.

A two-year study by the DuPont Corporation of the effect of its comprehensive wellness program on absences among employees reports that blue-collar employees at intervention sites had a 14 percent decline in disability days vs. 5.8 percent decline for controls. There were a total of 11,726 fewer net disability days.

Enhanced Performance, Productivity and Morale

A number of businesss with wellness programs report documented betterment in job attitude, work performance, energy level, and/or overall morale among program participants–all vital factors in enhancing productivity.

A Johnson and Johnson study found that employee attitude changes were greater at wellness intervention sites with significant positive attitude changes noted in the categories of organizational commitment, supervision, working conditions, job competence/security, and pay/benefits.

In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Business experimental group realized a 4% increase in productivity after beginning an employee fitness program, compared to the control group.

Further, 47 percent of program participants stated that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their peers, and ordinarily enjoyed their work more.

Swedish investigators found that mental performance was significantly better in physically fit employees than in non-fit employees. Fit employees committed 27% fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the performance of non-fit employees.

The Bottom Line

The following sample of corporate wellness wellness program results have been reported by individual employers -

Company -  Dollars Saved/Dollars Spent

• Bank of America (Fries) -  $5.96/$1

• PacBell -  $3.10/$1

• Wisconsin School District Insurance Group -  $4.47/$1

• Prudential Insurance -  $2.90/$1

• Bank of America (Leigh) -  $4.73/$1

• General Mills -  $3.50/$1

Summary

There’s compelling evidence that a sizable portion of the billions of dollars currently spent by businesss on health-related costs is avoidable by means of wellness programming.

Well-planned, extensive wellness programs (wellness programs and worker wellness programs) have been proven to be cost-effective, especially when the wellness programming is matched to the medical problems of the specific worker

How to Take Control of Stress and Improve Your Wellness

What is Stress?

Stress is the emotional, physiological, and psychological effects caused by internal or external mental pressure.  It is an unavoidable part of life, but despite its negative connotation, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  

Stress may even be advantageous in cases when it enhances performance and helps people  to achieve challenging goals.  Nonetheless, when stress is excessive and causes a personal to feel loss of control, health problems can occur such as headaches, tension, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, irritability, and digestive problems.  

When stress levels elevate to this point, wellness is compromised.  Individuals may seek the assistance of a stress management coach to help them take control of their lives and improve their wellness.  

Who are Stress Management Coaches?

Stress management coaches are educated specialists who develop programs to assist person in developing coping strategies to manage stress and minimize the presence of stressors in daily life.  

Coaches explore the reasons why an individual may react in certain ways to various situations by using health assessments in addition to depression and anxiety screenings.  

After deciding an individual’s causes for their feelings, stress management coaches are better able to develop programs tailored to meet specific needs.  

Coaches set attainable goals, act as a mentor and a support system, and use techniques that are most suitable for each specific individual.  

There are many effective methods to reduce stress, and stress management coaches can help you to achieve your objectives to make yourself happier and healthier.  

How Controlling Stress Improves Your Health

When person are faced with chronic stress it starts to cause physical signs which may range in severity.  Chronic stress can weaken the immune system, consequently making the individual more susceptible to colds and the flu in addition to more serious medical problems like heart disease and diabetes.  

Wellness may also suffer due to the fact that the maintenance of healthful habits is often diminished in priority in the presence of stress.  There are many helpful techniques that a stress management coach can help you develop to protect your health from the dangers of excessive stress.  

Take Control

Stress may be as detrimental to individual health as a poor diet or even tobacco use when it’s out of control.  Managing stress is an achievable goal and will definitely be a reality with the help of a professional.  

With a stress management coach person might work to accept that stress and take action to manage it.  Learning to effectively deal with stress will improve current daily life and protect your wellness in the future.  

Free Wellness Programs and Inexpensive Health Management Alternatives

Start a free wellness program or run a successful health management program in the office for little or no cost to your business. the advantages of corporate wellness and learning how to begin a health management program at work are many.

The articles on health management have generated a selection of questions, primarily from wellness providers but also from companies trying to begin their own wellness workplace programs. There are a number of things to do to implement a successful health management program at work.

Suggestions for Starting a Free or Cheap Wellness Program

Before beginning a low cost or free wellness program for your company, learn more about what employees want. Survey employees to learn more about their wellness concerns.

Keep the survey confidential to protect employees’ identities. Generally the most popular corporate wellness topics are smoking cessation, weight loss concerns and heart and cholesterol health.

Look for Corporate Wellness Freebies

Find out who’ll come in for free to talk to workers and explore partnerships with outside agents related to corporate wellness.

For  instance, contact a local branch of a well-known weight loss business and ask if someone can come in and talk to workers. Look for agencies that are willing to come in and talk about topics related to wellness at no cost to workers, in exchange for something from you.

Find Corporate Wellness Partnerships

Working with a weight loss business to set up a speaking engagement for workers is the perfect opportunity to explore a potential wellness partnership.

The weight loss corporation may say that if 10 workers join the program, they’ll hold weekly meetings at corporation headquarters for the people  who joined. the weight loss group also may offer corporation workers a discount if several people  join the program.

Nonprofits an Untapped Health Management Resource

There are also plenty of nonprofit agencies who would be thrilled to visit a business to discuss health management. But it’s up to you to offer them something in return.

For example, if the MS Society came in and talked about the signs of MS, the business could offer to organize an MS walk (in keeping with business health management objectives, right?), or an auction with staff member and company-donated items where the proceeds go to MS.

The individuals  at the nonprofit agencies would be glad to open a dialog with your corporation and to talk about what they would want in return for a speaking engagement. In many cases, they will not need anything at all for a first meeting.

Collecting Data and Investigating Wellness Program Results

Collecting data and analyzing  results of a wellness program can be tricky because of HIPPA laws. Nonetheless, if at least 10 workers joined the weight loss program, or 20 individuals  participate daily in the all-new “Let’s Walk a Mile at Lunch” program, that sort of progress can speak strongly to senior-level management.

And, corporation successes will potentially give management more incentive to provide money for additional health management and wellness programs in the future.

Do you find it difficult to stay motivated when trying to make changes to your health? Are you aware that changes ought to be made in your daily life but you do not know where to begin?

Wellness coaches are trained specialists who work with you individually to help you reach your wellness objectives by developing and starting personal wellness programs.  

They motivate, guide, and support you to reach sustainable behavioral changes by offering creative wellness solutions.  

Wellness coaches provide individually designed programs to meet your unique needs by focusing on physical, mental, and emotional health.  

They help you become proactive in your life by eliminating unhealthful behaviors and making wellness a priority.  

Advantages of Wellness Coaching for Your Employees

Staff Members could benefit  greatly from wellness coaching in a selection of ways.  Wellness coaching is one aspect of a wellness program that can help individuals decrease major health risks in their lives by changing high risk behaviors.  

Some of the many reasons why workers work with wellness coaches are to get in shape, lose weight, reduce stress, quit tobacco use, and create balance in their lives. Wellness coaches assist individuals with current health problems as well as preventing future wellness issues.  

Because each program that a wellness coach creates is unique to suit the needs of the customer, they can make certain that it’ll be a program that is right for them.

Many busy workers may feel that they do not have the time to spend working individually with a coach so these wellness experts offer coaching sessions in a selection of ways.  

While electronic coaching through the use of e-mails and instant messaging has become a well-liked method due to its convenience, telephone and face-to-face interactions may also be used.  

Employees have the ability to achieve their wellness goals and improve their health and well being through the assistance of their wellness coach.

Benefits of Wellness Coaching for the Company

The overall benefits of wellness coaching for a company are remarkable.  Employee high risk behaviors such as tobacco use and obesity cost companies millions of dollars every year.  

These high risk behaviors often cause preventable disease and keep staff members from coming to work. Wellness coaches guide, support, hold customers accountable, and ensure that they receive continued motivation to help them achieve their wellness objectives and eliminate unhealthy behaviors in their lives.  

By starting wellness programs and using wellness coaching in their organizations, corporations reduce the risk of avoidable illness in their organizations.  

This improves the overall health of workers, reduces health care and insurance costs, reduces absenteeism, and ultimately enhances performance and productivity.  

When employees experience the benefits of higher levels wellness in their lives it causes an improvement in job attitude, energy, and morale.  

Companies that utilize wellness coaching for their staff members experience the advantages of higher productivity.

Small corporation wellness programs are catching on. A well-designed wellness program can increase productivity, boost morale and vitality, reduce stress, lower rates of absenteeism, and control avoidable health care costs within an organization.

The beauty of it’s that you’re simply assisting workers to make smart choices so the costs of implementing a wellness program are minimal compared to the benefits.

Employee health is a major concern for small company owners. In a small shop, even several sick staff members can disrupt the flow of the workplace and bring the operation to a standstill.

Instead of sitting back and hoping for the best, some owners are taking the matter of staff member health into their own hands by starting staff member wellness programs. Here’s how they work . . .

Overview of employee wellness programs

Employee wellness programs are programs initiated by the company to improve the overall health of their labor force and to help individual staff members overcome specific health-related hurdles.

These programs may be offered in a selection of formats -  In mandatory staff training sessions, as voluntary seminars, or through a third-party provider offering a wide-range of employee assistance programs.

In every case, notwithstanding, the corporation foots the bill for the programs because an investment in employee health is a company investment that directly impacts the corporation’s bottom line.

Why offer employee wellness programs?

Apart from the obvious concern for the health of your workers, there are several other reasons why worker wellness programs make sense for small companies. Right off the bat, your business will benefit from the reduced level of absenteeism that goes hand in hand with a healthful workforce.

Wellness programs will also reduce the number of injuries that occur in the workplace, not just from accidents, but also from repetitive motion and other recurring sources.

Since even a minor blip in employee attendance can have a big impact on a small business, a more reliable workforce will inevitably translate into a smoother work cycle and a more robust bottom line.

Wellness Program Features

Wellness programs can cover a broad range of health-related topics. Based on your employees’ needs, it’s entirely up to you to determine the type of programming you want to offer.

Notwithstanding, most staff member wellness programs offer some at least some programs in the following areas -

• Nutrition. Diet can significantly impact an employee’s ability to do their job effectively. Nutritional programs educate staff members about food choices and equip them to make healthy dietary choices.

• Physical Fitness. In addition to diet, exercise is an important factor in a healthy lifestyle. Wellness programs frequently provide staff members with opportunities to incorporate exercise into their daily lives.

• Tobacco use Cessation. Statistics prove that smokers tend to fall ill more frequently than their non-use of tobacco coworkers. Since sick employees disrupt the workplace, use of tobacco cessation programs are a no-brainer for both businesss and employees.

• Physiological Testing. Many employers offer physiological as a regular part of their wellness programs. Cholesterol tests, blood pressure screenings, and other simple exams can provide early warning signs for additional serious problems.

• Stress Management. Stress itself takes a toll on workers. Nonetheless, stress is also linked to other medical problems such as depression, cardiovascular illness, diabetes, and obesity. Wellness programs that help workers deal with stress improve not only the psychological health of your workers, but their physical health as well.

Hiring a health coach will affect your life in more ways than you can imagine. the benefits of hiring a health coach are so great that even the largest corporations in the world are getting in on the action.

But before you get began, you owe it to yourself to consider the ways that your life will change. After all, anytime that you are faced with a major life change you should really consider everything that is going to be brought to the forefront.

There are three primary ways that a health coach will affect your life. of course, everyone is different, but in most cases these details will come into play.

And the good thing is that they’re all beneficial to your life in one way or the next. In other words, hiring a health coach is not something that’ll have a negative impact on your lifestyle.

A health coach will help you to take the way that you look and feel to the next level. Not only will this help with the way that individuals  perceive you, but it will also do a lot for your inner emotions as well.

When you look better and feel good about what you are doing, this is going to show in the way that you act in addition to the way that you see yourself. All in all, a health coach will allow you to gain more self esteem than you ever thought possible.

You only have one life, so making the most of it is important. A health coach will be sure that you’re doing what is best to help you live a long and healthy life.

This may  be the largest impact that a health coach has on the way that you live. After all, when minor changes in your lifestyle can help you to live healthier and longer you would be a fool to pass this by.

In most cases, working with a health coach will change the way that you see the world around you. Do not forget, not only do they take excellent pride in shaping your body but the same thing holds true when it comes to your mental state.

Not everyone may be a model, but everyone can feel good about themselves. With a health coach, you will realize the good that is within in addition to the good in others.  

A health coach can and will affect your life from day one. When you’re looking for a positive influence to shape your mind and body also help you to live healthy, a health coach is right for you.

Begin a Wellness Program for Your Staff Members Today

The benefits to beginning a wellness program are many.

Several corporate wellness tips to get employees started on the path to a healthier lifestyle -

1. Look around, and determine if staff members lead a healthful lifestyle before beginning an employee wellness program.

• How many staff members dash outside during lunchtime for a smoke break?
• Would a smoking cessation program help?
• How often do the junk food-laden vending machines have to be replenished?
• is anybody exercising or taking benefit of local walking trails as part of their healthy living goals?

The answers to these questions will give businesses a better idea of the worker wellness program that’s right for them.

2. Survey workers to determine their healthful lifestyle habits.

• Are they exercising regularly?
• Eat three square meals a day?
Have regular physicals? Really? Then what planet are they on?

Because we’d love to visit! A wellness program benefits most corporations because staff members do not have the time or energy to stay on top of wellness concerns at work or when they leave the office to go home.

3. Provide wellness programs a large kick-off with a healthful living “fair.” Offer workers free flu shots, blood pressure (BP) checks, cholesterol screenings, body/fat ratio assessments, smoking cessation programs and free mammograms- and contact the local hospital, because there’s plenty more where this came from.

Corporations keep their staff members hopping during the week. Provide staff members a chance to amp up their healthful lifestyle on the business dime. A wellness program is an added benefit that staff members get for working for the company!

4. Incent to live- offer cash for employees to lose weight, commit to a smoking cessation program and ordinarily enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

Make sure to encourage humankind’s innate competitive nature by offering prizes for wellness staff member “winners.” And, encourage a healthier lifestyle by sponsoring staff members who want to enter a local 5K for charity race, run a marathon or play a sport.

How can a health coach help me? This is a question that many individuals  ask themselves time and time again. After all, the thought of having somebody to help reach your objectives has to be somewhat appealing, right?

But with that in mind, until you know what a health coach can do for you, you will probably never move forward with hiring one. Luckily, with a bit of research and soul searching you will be able to determine the advantages of working with a health coach.

Ordinarily speaking, the most basic way that a health coach can help is by helping you in reaching your health and exercise related goals. While it is easy for individuals  to set goals, when it comes to actually carrying out the work to reach them things can get a bit more challenging.

This is where a health coach can come into play. They will be able to assess your objectives, let you know when they’re feasible, and then work with you every step of the way. This way, you will not be on your own when times get tough and you feel like throwing in the towel.

Now that you know the general details, the next thing is to consider the more in depth areas in which a health coach can assist you. as you can imagine, a health coach devotes most of their time to coaching others as far as their physical and sometimes mental health is concerned.

A lot of people  decide to hire a health coach because they need simple help in getting their body back in shape. After all, as you begin to get older and time gets tight, keeping in shape is not always the easiest thing to do.

This is specifically true when you spend the majority of your time at work and/or with your family. But luckily, a health coach can work with you either in person, on the phone, or even online. This makes it easy to get the assistance that you need without really changing your lifestyle.

One thing that you need to know about hiring a health coach is that they will work with any type of customer. If you think that your problem is too simple, you’re wrong. and in the same thought, there is no issue that is too large either.

The fact of the matter is that a health coach takes great pride in assisting whoever who needs it. So before you pass this opportunity by, keep in mindthat no matter what you are up against you will qualify for help.

To find out exactly what a health coach can do for you, touch base with one of them to discuss your situation. From there, you’ll have a much better feel for how to move forward.

Wellness Program Introduction

The last ten years has brought major changes in business attitudes toward wellness programs. Interest in self-help and self-care programs has increased as growth in healthcare costs have encroached substantially into profits.

Changes in the organizational structures of healthcare facilities, particularly the growth of the for-profit healthcare sector, and the need to contain costs are changing the ways in which purchasers of healthcare plans are viewing their own efforts toward provision of worksite healthcare programs and facilities.

Projections for the next decade indicate that worksite health programs will continue to become important factors in the provision of health care, including avoidance activities, for both government and private industry.

In businesses with existing wellness programs, administrative rationale for sponsoring these activities ranged from bettering employee health (28%) to bettering employee morale (9.7%).

Programs include interventions associated with safety, health risk (assessment|appraisal}, tobacco use cessation, blood pressure control, nutrition programs and stress management. Benefits cited range from improved health and productivity to decling health care costs.

Demographics of the USA  Workforce

• 110 million Americans were in the civilian labor force in 1981; by the year 2000 the civilian labor force is expected to be almost 140 million.

• 44 percent of the 1984 labor force was female; 10 percent was Black.

• the median age of the workforce is 32 years and is expected to increase to 32 years by 2030.

• 57.9 percent of all employees work in businesses with between 2 and 500 employees; 45 percent work in businesses with fewer than 100 employees. an additional 7.5 million Americans are self-employed and 3 million are farmers.

• 18 percent of all wage and salaried employees in 1985 were union members.            

• 45% of all staff members are employed in offices.            

Prevalence of Corporate Wellness Activities            

Based on a 1985 survey, nearly 66% of worksites with 50 or more workers had corporate wellness activities in 1985.  The frequency of worksite-based activities by selected categories in 1985 was -             

Wellness Program Activities            

Tobacco use Control          35.60%   

Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}    29.50%         

Back Care             28.60%

Stress Management       26.60%      

Exercise             22.10%

Off the Job Accidents    19.80%         

Nutrition             16.80%

Blood Pressure (BP) Control    16.50%         

Weight Control          14.70%   

Worksite size is the strongest indicator of program prevalence.            

Most employees believe the advantages of their corporate wellness activities outweigh the costs, even though few formal examinations exist.            

The most frequently cited reason for starting programs and perceived benefit from programs is improved staff member health.

At most worksites with activities (85.4%), all staff members are eligible to participate. 30 percent of worksites with activities offer them to corporation dependents, and an equal percent offer them to retirees.

When worksites seek outside program assistance, they turn to voluntary, not-for-profit organizations (57.1%), private for-profit providers-consultants (50%), local hospitals (44%), and insurance businesses (43%).

Tobacco use Cessation Programs

Use of tobacco related health problems cost United States  businesses $26 billion per year in lost productivity and $7 to $8 billion in tobacco-related health care costs.

Workers who smoke are 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized than nonsmokers, have 2 times as many job-related accidents as nonsmokers and have absenteeism rates approximately 50 percent higher than nonsmokers.

Individuals  who smoked an average of one or more packs of cigarettes per day had 118% higher health expenses than nonsmokers.

76% of current smokers and 80% of former smokers and nonsmokers feel that businesses should restrict tobacco use to certain areas.

In 1985, 65% of smokers, 85% of nonsmokers and 78% of former smokers, felt that smokers should refrain from use of tobacco in the presence of nonsmokers.

In 1986, 17 states had laws regulating smoking in offices or workplaces either in government-controlled offices or offices of private staff members.

Examples of use of tobacco cessation intervention program used by companies include -

• offering nonsmokers a discount of health and life insurance;

• paying full or partial fees for smoking cessation programs;

• providing cessation programs on corporation or shared time;

• offering cash payments to quitters after 6 of 12 smoke-free months;

• participating in national quit smoking days; and

• adopting a smoke free business policy and establishing deadlines for starting the policy.

Fitness Programs

An active 55-year-old man can lead as vigorous a lifestyle as a sedentary 35-year-old.

Differences in work-related activity has been proven to yield a two- to three-fold difference in cardiovascular deaths between active workers and their more sedentary counterparts.

In addition to bettering strength, balance, and flexibility, fitness plans could reduce  the probability of back injuries among certain occupational groups.

93 million workdays in the USA are lost yearly as the result of back problems.

Research findings support the notion that worksite fitness programs improve fitness and help reduce other health risks, although results related to improved productivity are weak due to lack of methods for accurately measuring productivity.

A very small proportion of worksites have on-site physical fitness facilities.

The majority of staff members sponsored fitness programs involve skills training such as aerobic dance, low impact aerobics, strength training, preand post-natal exercise classes, and walking/jogging groups.

Some corporations subsidize worker participation in community “Ys,” fitness clubs or other community programs when no onsite facilities are available.

Worksite fitness programs can reduce costs to employers by lowering worker healthcare claims and expenditures.

Individuals  whose weekly exercise was equivalent to climbing less than five flights of stairs or walking less than a half mile, spent 114% more on health claims than those who ascended at least 15 flights of stairs or walked 1 1/2 miles weekly.

Health care costs for obese individuals  are roughly 11% higher than those for thin individuals .

Nutrition and Weight Control

One-third of the USA  population is obese to the extent of decreasing their life expectancy.

Improvements in eating habits may reduce  the risk of serious medical problems like high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and is instrumental in the control of non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

The workplace offers a few advantages for nutrition education; support and influence of colleagues and management, availability of a daily consuming situation, and opportunities for follow-up and monitoring.

Worksite nutrition programs may be grouped in 6 wide categories -

• cafeteria programs;

• multi-component programs;

• weight control programs;

• cholesterol reduction programs;

• programs for pregnant and lactating women; and

• other nutrition education topics.

Men are less likely to participate in weight-loss programs than are female staff members.

Stress Management

Estimates suggest that 50% to 80% of physician visits may be attributed to psychosomatic or stress-related origins.

Corporation pays many of the costs related to worker stress, both directly in the form of health care costs and in lower productivity.

Job factors which are associated with stress include -

• not authorizing workers to participate in decisions about the work process;

• positions which require more or less skill than the worker has;

• changes in work demands;

• lack of clarity about expectations and standards; and

• conflict with colleagues or supervisors.

Most worksite stress management programs are implemented thus of requests from employees.

Stress management programs focus on three kinds of skills -  relaxation skills, coping skills, and interpersonal skills.

Worksite stress management programs are often delivered in one of three formats -

• seminars conducted by trained experts;

• self-learning tools; and

• personal teaching to assist with self-assessment, planning for changes, learning new skills and responding to life crises.

The two major techniques used in worksite stress management programs are -

• teaching individuals  to reduce the negative physical effects of stress; and

• teaching individuals  to recognize and control sources of stress at work and in personal life.

Seat Belt Usage

Motor automobile accidents are the largest single cause of lost work time and on-the-job fatalities of U.S.  corporation.

Motor car accidents account for 27% of all work-related deaths and 45 million days of lost work yearly.

More than 36% of the 11,300 accidental work deaths in 1983 involved cars.

Employees who routinely fail to use seat belts may spend up to 54 percent more days in the hospital.

Traffic accidents caused about 3 times as many days of restricted activity as any other kind of disability.

Motor car crashes cost $15.2 billion in lost productivity, 88% of which is attributed to losses from workforce activities and future earnings.

In corporate settings where safety belt policies, requiring use of belts by anyone riding in a corporation car or using a private car on corporation corporation, have been enforced, 60 percent to 90 percent use has been reported.

Incentive programs, accompanied by education and use requirement restrictions have resulted in 40% to 70% initial usage rates.

Factors influencing the sources of worksite safety belt programs include -

• active commitment for management;

• clearly defined and well enforced policy of required belt use on the job;

• positive incentives; and

• ongoing education and training programs.

Case Studies of Wellness Programs

Based on an comprehensive examination of its comprehensive staff member wellness program, LIVE FOR LIFE, Johnson and Johnson reported the break-even point for the program occurs in year 3 and by year 5 they have a net benefit of $316 per staff member. Their year 9 projected benefit is $677 per staff member.

Staff Members at four Johnson and Johnson companies who were exposed to the wellness program increased their daily energy expenditure in vigorous activity by 104 percent compared to an increase of 33 percent among workers at companies that were offered only an annual biometric test.

Participants in the United Methodist Publishing House’s wellness program submitted more claims (1.14 per participating worker and .82 for the control in 1984, 1.44 and 1.3 respectively in 1985), but the typical cost per claim was less for participants ($316 for participants and $567 for control, in 1984, $262 and $602 respectively in 1985, $270 and $566 respectively in the first four months of 1986).

The United Methodist Publishing House attributes some of the lower than projected use in health care costs for 1985 ($902,116 projected with actual costs $142,884) to the wellness program even though the results are not conclusive.

In 1985, the Adolph Coors Business conducted a telephone interview of a random sample of its 10,000 staff members to determine changes in health practices since the introduction of an worker wellness program 4 years earlier.

The sample of 495 employees was stratified to match the company profile for age, sex and job description.

The survey announced that 65 percent of respondents started exercising in the last 4 years, 37 percent had improved their diets, 20 percent were regular users of the wellness center, 9 percent had stopped use of tobacco as the result of the corporation’s use of tobacco cessation program and regular participants of the wellness center miss an typical of 1.96 workdays yearly because of disease or injury compared to 3.08 days for non-participating staff members.

The Coors Corporation also achieved a cost savings from a cardiac rehabilitation program that was implemented in 1981. In 1980 employees were out of work 7.2 months after a heart attack or bypass operation.

In 1984, cardiac patients were out an average 1.9 months saving $152,000 in lost work time and in 1985 cardiac patients missed an average of 2.6 months, saving $125,000 that year.