Worksite Wellness Benefits
Worksites are crucial to improving the health of their workers. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a prime venue for promoting healthful habits. The worksite organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use as a means of assisting employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Employee Benefits of Wellness
- Weight reduction
- Improved physical fitness
- Increased stamina
- Lower levels of stress
- Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem
Employer Benefits of Wellness
- Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees
- Reduced healthcare costs
- Decreased rates of illness and injuries
- Reduced employee absenteeism
- Improved employee relations and morale
- Increased productivity
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report in 2002 revealed that at worksites with physical activity programs, employers have:
- Reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent
- Reduced short-term sick leave by six to 32 percent
- Increased productivity by two to 52 percent
For further proof of how worksite interventions can benefit the workplace, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obesity cost calculator. This tool can be used to calculate an estimate of the costs to an organization that are obesity-related.
Starting a Worksite Wellness Program
Worksite wellness programs can help support healthy behaviors. Take advantage of these benefits in your organization.
Sedgwick County Health Department offers worksite wellness programs with free technical assistance to get your business on the path to good health. We'll even help you decide which programs will best fit the atmosphere, goals and culture of your workplace.
Three programs that have produced high participation rates for Sedgwick County include:
- Take Charge of Your Health
Challenge: A 10-week program designed to motivate participants to:
- Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes per day
- Steppers Challenge (10,000 steps a
day): It is recommended that individuals get at least 30 minutes of
physical activity in daily. But, to add an extra challenge, you can
begin to track your steps daily. A sedentary person may only average
1,000 to 3,000 steps each day. By making just a couple of changes
to your routine, you can walk 10,000 steps, which is
close to five miles! Wear a pedometer and set your goals according to how
much you currently walk.
- Stairway to better health: The
option to take the stairs vs. the escalator/elevator presents itself
every day. Choosing the stairs is a quick way to add physical activity
to your day, with added benefits:
- It requires little additional time
- It requires no wardrobe change
- You don’t have to wait for an elevator
The CDC’s Division of Physical Activity and Nutrition provides information to make stairwells more attractive and safe. Below are some basic tips to help turn your workplace stairs into StairWELLS!
- Paint your stairwells to make them bright and colorful.
- Insert rubber stair treads; this is necessary for extra safety!
- Hang art work; this gives people something extra to look at while they use the stairs.
- Use motivational signs to remind them of how this helps their health.
Another educational resource provided by the Health Department is a free lunch and presentation. Topics include:
- Guide to Healthy Eating Out
- Take Charge of Your Health Challenge
- Super Foods
- Food Labeling and Serving Size Education
Tobacco-Free Workplace
The costs of employee tobacco use to the employer are significant. Direct costs to the employer include healthcare costs associated with tobacco use. Indirect costs include lost productivity, absenteeism and recruitment and retraining costs resulting from death and disability related to tobacco use.
Tobacco-free workplaces can enhance productivity in two ways. The effects of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers is reduced. Additionally, smokers who are motivated to quit as a result of the tobacco-free policy will have reduced absenteeism. Especially for small businesses that have employees who handle a variety of tasks, productivity can be greatly increased by reduced absenteeism.
A smoker who quits could save his/her employer an estimated $960 in excess illness costs each year. Persons who quit smoking before age 65 are estimated to save from 40 to 67 percent of the lifetime excess medical costs of persons who continue to smoke. Smokers are absent from work 50 percent more often than nonsmokers, have twice as many on-the-job accidents, and are 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized than workers who do not smoke. Recognizing that employees of smoke-free companies may be healthier year-round, many insurers are inclined to give those companies a break on premiums. Some fire and casualty companies, for example, will cut their premiums by 50 percent.
Finally, managers in tobacco-free workplaces are relieved to have a clear process for dealing with tobacco use in the workplace. Maintenance costs go down when smoke, matches and cigarette butts are eliminated from facilities. Office equipment, carpets, and furniture last longer. Besides being wise for health-related reasons, being a tobacco-free workplace just makes good business sense!
For help creating smoke-free policies in your workplace, visit the tobacco page.
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