Corporate Fitness Programs Bolster Morale, Bottom Lines

Healthy employees make for healthier balance sheets. That’s been proven through various wellness programs at companies of all sizes that are quickly realizing an employee’s weight loss can be their financial gain.

The Emory University Rollins School of Public Health found workplace wellness programs that include weight management interventions were successful in reducing absenteeism at Dow Chemical Co. Of those who participated in moderate to intense programs, the average number of workdays missed due to illness decreased from 3.9 days in 2006 to 3.4 days in 2007.

Businesses are increasingly launching wellness programs in order to reduce their health care costs and improve their bottom line.

According to the American Heart Association, 86 percent of companies with more than 50 employees offer some sort of wellness program.

Courtney Guppy, a senior consultant for Mercy Medical Center’s benefits and wellness division, said the hospital makes healthy employees a priority.

Mercy recently formed a wellness committee to come up with ideas to improve the health and well-being of its employees.

The initiative fits with Mercy’s sustainability goals, Guppy said.

“The idea is to sustain our most valuable resources, which are our co-workers,” she said.

There’s also the potential for significant cost savings to the hospital, in the form of lower health insurance premiums and reduced absenteeism among employees.

According to a recent study by Hewitt Associates, a company can expect to see a $3 to $6 return for every $1 spent on wellness programs. 

A slightly less measurable benefit is the result of happier, healthier employees, which increases morale and productivity in the workplace.

“We see it as a long term investment in our people,” Guppy said.

Mercy has an ongoing healthy lifestyles program, in which employees earn points for participating in healthy activities, such as preventative screenings and exercise.

At the end of each quarter, those points are converted into Mercy bucks that can be used in the hospital’s gift shop and cafeteria. 

This year, Guppy said, Mercy is taking its program a step further, with weight loss as its primary focus.

Over 60 percent of the staff at Mercy falls into the overweight category,  she said, prompting  the wellness committee to design a three-phase “Get Healthy Challenge.”

In the first 12-week phase, employees will compete to achieve the highest percentage of weight loss. Each participant will put $5 into a pool, which will be divided among four winners.

In the second 12-week phase, employees who maintain or lose weight will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

In the final phase, employees can earn up to $500 depending on their starting body-mass-index and their level of weight loss at the end of 18 weeks.

To help employees reach their goals, Mercy is providing healthier options in its cafeteria, conducting exercise classes on site and giving employees access to the hospital’s Cardiac Wellness Center. 

Guppy said the majority of Mercy’s employees are women and many of them have children at home, making it difficult to exercise once they leave work. That’s why she thinks it’s important to provide employees with the tools to get fit and healthy at work.

In addition to its weight loss program, Mercy just launched a tobacco cessation incentive for 2010.

Employees that can prove they’ve quit using tobacco products at the end of the year will get a $500 bonus, paid right before Christmas.

While a cash bonus is certainly a good incentive, employees cite other reasons for participating in wellness programs.

According to a survey released by the Principal Financial Group, 28 percent of employees participate to receive incentives, 30 percent are motivated by reduced personal health costs, another 30 percent cite a greater chance for living healthier and longer lives as their primary reason for participating, and 28 percent participate for the benefit of reduced stress.

Employees at J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. are encouraged to participate in wellness programs in order to avoid health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesteral levels.

The company has been working with TrestleTree of Fayetteville since 2000 to provide health coaching to employees along with their health insurance plans.

Spouses and children of employees are also eligible for the service.

Employees nationwide can call in and discuss their particular health needs with a counselor.

Employees also receive important information about weight loss, nutrition and disease management.

The company’s truck drivers are given tips for exercising and eating healthy on the road.

Rick George, director of benefits for J.B. Hunt, said the company also put in a 1.1-mile walking trail around it’s main campus in Lowell as well as locker facilities and showers.

“We have a lot of people that bike, run or walk during lunch,” he said.

Two years ago, J.B. Hunt started a partnership with the Fayetteville Athletic Club.

Four days a week, certified athletic trainers come to the campus and provide strength training and cardio and endurance classes during the lunch hour.

The company set aside one of its training rooms for use as a fitness studio.

“We’ve really grown the program quite a bit,” George said. “We started at two days a week and that group just took off.

“People were losing weight, people that had been on medications were able to get off those medications, we were seeing amazing results.”

The company also encourages its breakfast and lunch vendors to provide healthy options for employees.

In addition, employees can attend monthly lunch workshops, organized by area hospitals, on topics such as heart disease, nutrition and stress management.

George, who also works as a fitness instructor, said health and wellness is a priority in his own life and he wanted to bring that to J.B. Hunt.

“It’s my passion to make sure every day that we’re thinking about wellness, we’re thinking about how we can make our employees feel better,” he said.

“It really makes a difference in their lives, there are many positives around it.”

One of those positives is the reduction in health care claims.

“Overall wellness can help prevent future catastrophic claims, and that benefits both the company and the employee,” George said.

“Anytime that we can avoid those expensive claims, there’s a cost savings and it’s a win-win for both sides,” he said.

 

 

 

Healthy Numbers

 

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year over $33 billion in medical costs and $9 billion in lost productivity due to heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are attributed to diet.

 

If 10 percent of adults began a regular walking program, $5.6 billion in heart disease costs could be saved.

 

According to the actuary firm used by the Arkansas Employee Benefits Division, insuring smokers costs an additional $116 a month and for obese members is an additional $55 a month.

 

According to the American Cancer Society, medical costs decline by $47 in the first year a smoker quits, and by $853 more in the next seven years.

 

Employers with physical activity programs have reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent, reduced short-term sick leave by 6 to 32 percent, and increased productivity by 2 to 52 percent.

 

 

Source: Arkansas Health Department