Posts from — August 2009

A more modern and systemic solution may incorporate corporations implementing Worksite Wellness , which allow corporations to be proactive in preventing illness and promoting healthier lifestyles for employees. When implemented effectively, this approach can guide to decreased direct costs from claims, a reduction in Medical Care premiums and increased employee work rate. Yet while Worksite Wellness potentially offer corporations substantial cost savings, the success of the program is dependent upon the ability to engage employees in them. In Addition, corporations must navigate the legal and cultural challenges posed by Worksite Wellness : Employers have to be careful that initiatives respect protected classes and the privacy of employees. Furthermore, corporations must battle resistance from employees wary of their organization regulating off-the-clock actions. Over the next 6-12 posts we’ll layout the case for Worksite Wellness in today’s employment environment, arguing that the cost savings and raised employee engagement outweigh potential restrictions. We will investigate the considerations a organization must make before starting a Worksite Wellness and the communication necessary to create successful engagement from employees. Finally, we will discuss several successful Worksite Wellness and support a list of resources that corporations can use for guidance.

Over the past decade health care insurance costs have climbed steadily. This is taking a toll on the bottom-line of corporations, cutting into profits, limiting growth and forcing a reevaluation of the employee benefit system. According to a projection by McKinsey & Co., at the present rate, by 2008 health benefits will eclipse profits at the average Fortune 500 organization. Employers, through private health care insurance corporations, are the leading provider of medical services in America. In 2004, 59.8 percent of Americans were covered by a organization-based health care insurance program, accounting for 88 percent of all private health care insurance. Yet the increasing costs of Medical Care, ever-rising prescription prices and a steady rise in chronic illnesses have brought the corporate society to a breaking point. For many corporations the increasing burden has become too difficult to carry. Over the past five years health care insurance premiums have raised an average of 11.6 percent annually, more than four times the average rate of inflation and employee earnings over that time.3 Not surprisingly, this exponential growth in costs has caused the number of corporations offering Medical Care services during that time to drop from 69 percent to 60 percent.4 In addition, in 2005, health care insurance premiums jumped 9.2 percent, more than three times the rate of inflation – and that was the lowest increase in the past five years. In this environment corporations need to find innovative ways to stem the increasing costs of Medical Care coverage. Seemingly, the easiest strategies to accomplish this goal would be to lower benefits coverage or pass on arising burden to employees and retirees. Greater than 80 percent of corporations have chosen one or both of these cost saving measures in the past few years and almost half of all sizable corporations are likely to increase the amount employees pay in 2007.5 However, these approaches do nothing to mitigate the primary causes of increasing costs, one of which is a population that needs increased healthcare. To make a lasting and substantial impact on costs and overall health, corporations need to look beyond a old-school reactive-based approach.

Coordinating organization fitness and Worksite Wellness is not about starting a grand scheme that is so complicated it is underutilized. Worksite Wellness are about starting an environment that encourages fitness and active living. The program must be accessible and make sense to the people it is directed at throughout the day. The outcomes will be a plan that gives plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health concerns beneficial to the employees. The outcomes will be a plan that gives plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health concerns beneficial to the employees.

Coordinating Organization Fitness Programs and Worksite Wellness – Making a Proposition

Coordinating organization fitness and Worksite Wellness means understanding there are many directions the program can take. For starters, it must be of interest to employees at all echelons. The company’s proposal to the employee is this: you take better care of yourselves and we will help you accomplish your intention. To be effective, the Worksite Wellness must be pervasive. In other words, it must address the needs of the top executives as well as the warehouse employees. The variety of jobs within a organization usually indicate wide differences in stress and strain levels on the body and differences in mental and emotional stress. The program must also take into account employee habits on the job and at home. A organization with a organization fitness and Worksite Wellness in place sends the message to its employees and customers is that the organization takes health seriously. Coordinating organization fitness and Worksite Wellness involves determining the types of exercises that will be most effective for the situation. Every organization will need a different plan. A organization fitness plan can include a lot more than just an fitness program and dietary planning. It can provide real opportunity to improve the entire organization environment. A Worksite Wellness can include the following:

• Health intervention for existing health problems
• Recreational programs that engage employees and their families
• Ergonomics to lower work strain and resulting injuries
• Specialized programs that target employees with physical conditions interfering with job achievement
• Addressing health and fitness concerns related to an aging work force
• Creating fitness programs specifically designed to broaden employee work-specific strength

The advantages of carefully designing organization fitness and Worksite Wellness are obvious. Staff Members get access to the fitness program either worksite or through organization membership at the gym. Coordinating organization fitness and Worksite Wellness means including those components important to great health.

• Meal designing and healthy eating choices
• Classes instructing on the food pyramid and how the body processes nutrients
• Instruction on exercising safely
• Weight loss and weight management

The advantages for the organization are endless.

• Savings on Medical Care costs
• Fewer employee sick days
• Staff Members with a sense of health fitness
• Lowerincidences of chronic ailments
• Attracts new employees dedicated to fitness

Coordinating Organization Fitness Programs and Worksite Wellness – Closing the Deal

Implementing and designing organization fitness and Worksite Wellness nets big advantages for employees and the organization. employees are happier, feel better, are more satisfied with their work, are healthier and have more vitality. Stress is lowerd which positively impacts the attitudes of employees, lowers injuries and makes employees more positive. Closing the deal on a fitness program means the organization and employees sign on the dotted line of health. Do not let Medical Care care costs continue to rise. Begin now designing organization fitness and Worksite Wellness .

Worksite Wellness proposals must be designed so that they meet organization intention. Worksite Wellness for employees are the newest attack on employee unhealthy lifestyles that are equating to high medical care expenditures. Worksite Wellness Proposals for implementing a program must take into consideration the type of organization, the budget and the makeup of the employee population. Worksite Wellness for office employee will be different than programs for construction employees The intention will be same, but the approach to reaching those intention will be different. For a program to be considered successful, outcomes must be measurable.

• employees achieve better overall conditioning
• Medical Care claims lower
• Work rates rise
• employees experience less sick days
• Number of injuries declines
• Physical problems like high Blood Pressure (BP) are lowerd

In general, Worksite Wellness proposals must target the fitness concerns at the organization and provide plans for improvement.

Worksite Wellness Proposals – Going the Distance

There are many different kinds of wellness proposals.

• One-one-one employee evaluations by a professional medical care provider
• Outside specialist assistance for program design and implementation only
• Ongoing program monitoring by a personal trainer
• In-house program design
• fitness center memberships
• Worksite Wellness
• All-inclusive Worksite Wellness including nutrition and fitness
• Programs that address a specific concern like injury at the workplace

These are just a few forms Worksite Wellness proposals can take. A Wellness program can be very basic or elaborate depending on the organization budget. A program can include up to 4 components.

• Education on health concerns
• Assessment programs with follow-up assessment
• Organization culture of health change
• Fitness and nutrition programs – supervised and unsupervised programs can include a myriad of health and fitness information and exercises. The rewards for implementing a Worksite Wellness are unlimited.

Worksite Wellness proposals provide a way for management to invest in their employees with a promise of returns in the form of productivity and cost savings.

Wellness Proposals – Healthy Alternatives

Worksite Wellness proposals provide employees alternatives to specific health problems. Proposals can address particular concerns in addition to overall fitness. These concerns include stopping smoking, increasing flexibility for job achievement, preventing back injuries, preventing repetitive motion strain, improving loss of functionality due to age and prenatal programs. Worksite Wellness proposals must have intention that include improving employee morale, increasing work rate, reducing absenteeism, increasing employee vitality and netting Medical Care savings to the organization. Worksite Wellness costs can significantly vary and many include cost sharing between the employee and the organization to cover gym fees. The bottom line is that a organization can design a Worksite Wellness proposal that suits the organization budget, employee lifestyles, and employee and organization intention. In any of the Worksite Wellness proposals, active alternatives to current organization concerns must be spelled out. Employee health is a top priority for any organization that cares about its success. Research internet-based the different Worksite Wellness proposals that are available for corporations. Then select the one that works as if your employees’ lives depended on it, because that very well may be the case.