Why Perception is Everything to Corporate Wellness

When it comes to the work-life balance debate, perception is everything. If your employees perceive themselves to be cared for in a workplace culture that encourages wellness, you might be able to boast a more committed and happy workforce in the new world of work which is arguably hi-tech, global and 24/7. According to a new survey by Virgin HealthMiles Inc. and Workforce Management Magazine, 77% of employees felt that ‘health and wellness programmes positively impact the culture at work.’

 

Judy Martin, of WorkLifeNation.com, details, ‘HealthMiles, a workplace health engagement company and part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, surveyed about 1,300 businesses and 10,000 employees for its annual survey kicking off National Employee Wellness Month in June. The study found a strong link between the wellness and vitality of an organistion, and the wellness of employees. The result of which was increased job morale, satisfaction, commitment and performance…But measuring a culture of wellness in terms of spreadsheets still evades the bean counters to a degree. And while quantifying the bottom-line impact of such programmes is challenging…the trends in the survey are key to the bigger picture.’

 

Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin HealthMiles, comments, ‘Creating a culture-first mentality is a critical step for employers when it comes to building a highly engaged workforce. Employees become much more motivated and productive when they know that their employer cares about their total quality of life, which goes beyond traditional wellness and includes physical, emotional, financial and social health.’ David Ballard PsyD, MBA, director of the Centre for Organisational Excellence of the American Psychological Association, adds, ‘The impact of wellbeing on the bottom line can be difficult to tease out, since human behaviour is complex and determined by multiple factors. Even hard data like health care claims can be affected by plan design and other changes.’

 

The results of the survey also revealed that just 31% of organisations were ‘satisfied with their health and wellness metrics.’ However, ‘Quantifying such efforts also requires a change in perspective,’ says Martin. She notes, there are employers ‘who understand that wellbeing and performance are inextricably linked, although a return-on-investment might not be directly revealed on the spreadsheets. Every year the APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award highlights organisations that are putting more emphasis on the bigger picture of employee wellbeing. According to statistics from the APA, companies that meet the criterion of a “psychologically healthy workplace” benefit from improved work quality and productivity, lower absenteeism, presenteeism, less turnover, and better customer service ratings.’

 

Ballard points out, ‘Forward-thinking organisations are re-evaluating work practices and providing employees with resources that support wellbeing and performance. They are creating psychologically healthy workplaces that are diverse and productive, resilient and successful.’ However, Martin warns, ‘Alas, communicating those workplace initiatives to employees has been challenging. The Virgin HealthMiles/Workforce survey found that only 51% of employees surveyed said they have a good understanding of how to participate in health and wellness programmes being offered by their employers.’

 

That said, Fran Melmed, Founder of Context Communication Consulting (a communication and change management firm specialising in workplace wellness), argues that while the wellness argument can sometimes be a hard sell and tricky fodder for those in HR who have to communicate the benefits of such programmes, it doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable. ‘I’ve seen health and wellness programmes keep morale up and people on track during seismic change like downsizing, off–shoring, downturns in economy and business slowdowns – and those things can’t be discounted,’ she says. Martin concludes, ‘Perhaps [perception is] a harbinger of things to come in a competitive global marketplace where attracting and retaining skilled talent is crucial for the bottom-line.’

Categories: corporate wellness programme, employees, health, healthy workplace, perception, psychologically healthy, Research, Survey, virgin healthmiles, Wellness, Wellness programmes, workplace

DIY Corporate Wellness Programmes: 5 Things to Consider

If you’re wondering whether or not a corporate wellness programme might benefit your company, make sure you know what you’re doing! According to Joshua Love, the president of national corporate wellness company Kinema Fitness, ‘As the president of a corporate wellness company, Kinema Fitness, I have noticed a recent trend in the way companies are approaching employee-based wellness programmes. Namely, companies are taking employee wellness more seriously now. They are truly trying to figure out the right solution to combat rising health issues and healthcare costs. Unfortunately, too many companies are trying to implement wellness programmes with little to no experience or game plan for success. As a result, more programs fail than succeed.’

 

But where are these companies going wrong? Love notes, ‘Corporate wellness cannot be treated as a band-aid, and you definitely won’t be able to find it in a fitness app. Engagement, motivation, support and strategy are the keys to a successful programme. If employees are not involved in the solution, it’s difficult to succeed. Preventable wellness is a complete lifestyle and behaviour change and change takes time and commitment.’ So here are a few things to bear in mind when you’re designing a wellness programme for your company:

 

1. A Higher Level of Awareness is Essential: People ‘are becoming more and more health conscious,’ admits Love. ‘But due to higher stress, longer work days and constant multitasking, it is more difficult to find the time to act on wellness goals. Creating an on-site wellness programme is important because the majority of an employee’s time is spent at the workplace.’

 

2. Many Chronic Diseases are Preventable: Love points out, ‘According to the CDC, chronic diseases account for 75% of total healthcare costs. They are also the most preventable type of disease. Such illnesses include heart disease, stroke, cancer and obesity. The only way to prevent disease is with actionable steps to halt progression. When old habits are years in the making, you cannot expect behaviour change to happen overnight. However, when a person is able to commit mentally, emotionally and socially and on a conscious level, progress is possible. An employee wellness programme needs to address this through consistent education and layers of accountability.’

 

3. Be creative: ‘Corporate wellness shouldn’t be boring,’ Love asserts. ‘Creating unique and dynamic programmes that consistently evolve over time ensure the best possibility of long-term success. Human beings need to be challenged and stimulated in different ways and different means to create change. Challenge your programme to stay on the latest trends; it will help to appoint a wellness lead that takes direct responsibility over the operations.’

 

4. Combat Rising Healthcare Costs: ‘Healthcare costs are rising year after year,’ notes Love. ‘Employers, especially those at small companies, can simply not afford to take on this burden any longer. As a result, they are passing the costs on to their employees through higher deductibles. But healthier employees can actually help their own bottom line.  Some employers are now lowering employee’s contributions with rebates if they do participate in a wellness programme.’

 

5. Corporate Wellness is Complex and Long-Term: Love argues, ‘The success of corporate wellness is driven by the unique strategy behind it. It involves a framework that outlines short and long-term goals for the employee and the employer. Corporate wellness needs support, leadership, commitment from the vendor, employer and employees. A successful programme takes time and constantly evolves so it can be integrated into the fabric of the company’s culture. Corporate wellness is not just one solution. It is the culmination of many solutions that work together under one strategy. It involves layers of physical activity, education, communication, incentives, and a long-term commitment.’

Categories: Awareness, behaviour change, Chronic Disease, Chronic Diseases, corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, Employee Wellness, healthcare costs, Long term, takes time

In-House and Outsourcing: Why Corporate Wellness Needs Both

While some corporate wellness practises have changed over the years, most things have remarkably stayed the same. For years, employers have been told to outsource their wellness promotion, administration and delivery, but does that approach to looking after employee wellbeing still hold true today? For the answer, we turned to Rob J. Thurston, President of HR Consulting Group and Bart Sheeler, co-founder of ActivHealth International, in order to take a real time look at the current approach to Wellness Programmes.

 

According to Thurston and Sheeler, ‘Most companies have heard of, would like to implement, or may have even attempted to offer a wellness programme. However, most have found they are too busy fighting tough economic times and watching expenses trying to make a profit to divert attention or expenses into the intangible world of wellness. While the concept of wellness may seem to be much more philosophical than the task of producing a product or service for a profit, they really have more in common than not. As companies strive to improve their processes and focus on the bottom line “health” of their business, the same happens to be true for their most valued assets, their employees. The happier and healthier the employee population, the better the productivity and lower the health care costs against trend – all of which add up to help improve the company’s bottom line.’

 

So how do you implement your own wellness programme without taking your eye off the day-to-day responsibilities of your business? ‘Respecting your culture and designing a programme that meets the unique needs of your population are essential in building a wellness programme,’ say Thurston and Sheeler. ‘We recommend surveying your employees to see what interests them and noting what the circumstances are specific to your company. Do you have one location, branch offices, multiple shifts and/or remote sales staff? All these factors will ultimately need consideration when you sit down to design your programme.’ So that’s that, then, no need to outsource your company’s wellness needs? Not according to Thurston and Sheeler.

 

The wellness experts write, ‘We believe that certain items must remain under your control, while other features will be better delivered via outsourced solutions. With this in mind, the question is not whether it makes sense for a company to offer a wellness programme, but more importantly, how to incorporate a programme that will capture the attention of the employees, drive engagement on a personal level and ultimately create a culture of health improvement. Every company is different, so the solutions will not all look the same. The key is to match a company’s available “internal” resources with a complimentary set of outsourced “external” resources.’

 

In terms of what you can do internally, it again comes down to culture. ‘Outside influences can be enlisted,’ note Thurston and Sheeler. ‘But in the end, your employees are internal and will shape your culture from the ground up. There are internal components that must be maintained within the company to be effective. Leadership must be involved, “walking the talk” and communications that are reinforced through internal “programme champions” are a necessity to be successful in the integration of healthy living into a company’s culture.’

 

So what do you outsource for? Thurston and Sheeler explain, ‘Employers use outsourcing to maintain or improve service to employees; reduce workload to existing staff; reduce programme costs; and to free up resources to focus on other key objectives, like building their widgets for a profit…Such firms will offer Health Risk Appraisals, Biometric testing, onsite Fitness and Challenges, onsite coaching, online coaching and a variety of platforms that offer real-time programming via internet access.’

Categories: company, corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, culture, outsourcing, Programme, real time, sheeler, thurston, Wellness, Wellness Programme

How to Make Your Employees Take Part in Wellness Programmes

Corporate wellness programmes have been proven to provide positive results, both for you as an employer, and for your workers’ wellbeing. Why, then, do you struggle to get your employees to participate in the company’s health schemes? There are certain theories and employee surveys that point to several reasons why your workers might not want to participant in a wellness programme, and if you address these head-on, you might be able to encourage greater participation. Reasons why your employees don’t participate in corporate wellness programmes include:

 

• They think you’re trying to learn about their health issues to somehow use that information against them.


• They believe that Health Risk Assessments are not reported about collective workers but individually, and won’t have their name associated with their individual results.


• They don’t want to improve their health, despite knowing it’s good for them.


• They don’t need help and are already living a healthy lifestyle.


• You send mixed messages by offering wellness programmes but also having junk food available in workplace vending machines.


• You don’t participate, so your employees don’t believe it’s important.


• They know it will save you money, but don’t think there’s anything in it for them.

 

In order to tackle these issues, you and your employees need to comprehend exactly what a wellness programme entails. Barb Hendrickson, President of Visible Communication, explains, ‘Today, it can mean everything from a company gym membership to a simple smoking cessation programme offered to employees, to a full-blown, structured programme where employees can choose their areas to track, set their own goals, and have access to professional health coaches along the way. Structured programmes offer the best way to track results, especially if you start with a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) for each participant. HRAs are conducted by third-party companies and report results only in the aggregate. The more you stress this to employees, the better.’

 

As well as addressing the concerns listed above, how can you get your employees to engage in your wellness programme? Hendrickson puts her faith in two strategies: offering incentives and inserting game mechanics.

 

1. Incentives: According to Hendrickson, ‘Incentives can dramatically increase participation, as well as results. One study conducted by MED-STAT of Ann Arbor, Michigan, documents an almost 250% increase in participation with the introduction of non-cash incentives.’ So which incentives work best? Hendrickson details, ‘AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals invited employees in their Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters to participate in healthy cooking classes hosted by local celebrity chefs and to attend a health-tips seminar given by an Olympic runner.’ Other incentive ideas include:

 

• name-brand merchandise


• gift cards


• corporate-identified merchandise such as tote bags and apparel (especially when used in exchange for registration)


• gym memberships


• perks unique to the company (prime parking spots, preferred vacation times, etc.)


• formal employee recognition by management and peers


• one-on-one time with the CEO or other executives

 

2. Wellness as a Game: Making wellness more fun and engaging encourages participation, especially if you have a lot of younger workers who grew up on video games. Hendrickson notes, ‘Medical information is notoriously dry, boring, and can be confusing; the use of game components allows for the information to be broken into small bites the employee can comprehend and remember.’ To make your wellness programme more game-centred, remember the following tips:

 

• Make it simple. ‘Clear rules and a simple, point-based format that is consistent throughout the program will be easy to understand,’ says Hendrickson.


• Make it interesting. Hendrickson advises, ‘Mixing in periodic challenges or competitions will keep the participants engaged.’


• Make it social. Hendrickson recommends, ‘Provide ways that employees can socialise to compare scores, exchange tips, and encourage one another. Just the knowledge that others will see their progress provides some motivation, but support and encouragement from peers also contributes to success.’

Categories: corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, employees, employees don, Health Risk, hendrickson, include nbsp, participation, Wellness, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes

Corporate Wellness Programmes: What Works, & What Doesn’t?

There are many people who are for corporate wellness programmes, or the promotion of workplace health. According to a recent article in the American Journal of Health Promotion by Michael O’Donnell, comprehensive programmes are extremely beneficial to employees’ wellbeing, providing education, engagement strategies, skill building as well as social and environmental support. However, Wolf Kirsten, the Founder and President of International Health Consulting and President of the International Association for Worksite Health Promotion (IAWHP), argues, ‘While these elements no doubt play a role in the success of programmes; a distinctive blueprint does not yet exist, and most programmes in place are not able to produce the desired outcomes. Therefore, more focus should be given to the “how” of workplace health promotion.’

 

Kirsten details, ‘The rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a global phenomenon…63% of all deaths worldwide currently stem from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), approximately 500 million people are obese and more than one in seven are overweight. Coupled with the global ageing trend, the need for enhanced prevention and health promotion has become a priority. The workplace has been established as one of the priority settings for health promotion in the 21st century, including by the World Health Organization (WHO). The majority of adults spend most of their waking hours at the workplace, often as a captive audience, and thus the workplace provides a huge opportunity to inform and help workers to improve their health.’

 

Thanks to the increased awareness of the workplace as a viable setting for wellness practises, there are more corporate wellness programmes than ever before. The results of the Global Survey on Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies have shown that, since 2007, there has been a steady increase with regards to employers recognising their role in employee health and wellbeing. But why should you, as an employer, implement a corporate wellness programme in your workplace? Promoting workplace health not only improves the morale of your workforce, the 2012 Global Survey shows that it also makes your employees more productive, and reduces absenteeism.

 

Kirsten notes, ‘The issue of workforce morale and work engagement coupled with rising work-related mental illness has become a major challenge for enterprises worldwide and many programmes are addressing this gap. Employees feel constantly overstressed, pressured, worried about their job security and often display a lack of motivation thus affecting productivity and customer service. Other big drivers for employers are corporate image as well as recruitment and retention. The main health issues driving health promotion and wellness strategies are strikingly similar across the globe: stress (a key contributing factor to mental illness), physical activity, nutrition, work-life issues and chronic disease.’

 

So what works for corporate wellness programmes, and what doesn’t? Kirsten points out, ‘A notable global initiative is the Global Healthy Workplace Awards programme, which has set the ambitious goal to gather and disseminate better practices globally for the creation of healthy workplaces based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Workplace framework. The WHO model provides guidance for a comprehensive and systematic approach on a global scale.’ The four main areas of influence WHO identifies are physical work environment, psychosocial work environment, personal health resources and enterprise-community involvement.

 

Kirsten adds, ‘The Healthy Workplace model also follows a continual improvement process, such as highlighting the need for evaluation, and places leadership engagement and worker involvement as central priorities. Perhaps most importantly, the very centre of the model exemplifies that promoting health at the workplace is both the right thing (ethical) and the smart thing (adds value) to do…Based on the existing evidence in the US, and elsewhere, it is much more likely for a corporate wellness programme to work if it follows the eight-step process outlined in the WHO model.’

Categories: Chronic Disease, corporate wellness programme, World Health Organisation