Work Smart Live Happy
Corporate Wellness Programs – Report
A Business Case Study
By
Dr. Don Lester Ph D,
RPCc, Natural Health Consultant, Holistic Life Counsellor
The World Health Organization proposes that Depression will be the leading cause
of disease burden by 2020. Mental health claims are the fastest growing category of disability costs in Canada overtaking cardiovascular disease.
Why Implement A Wellness Program?
The impact of stress on our physical and psychological well-being with its costly negative effects on company productivity and morale, is clearly documented. More and more Canadians are struggling with keeping their mind on their work. Finding themselves preoccupied with personal problems and focusing less and less on their jobs. Without assistance and coping strategies, these formerly productive workers end up costing their company money. By having accidents, using up their sick benefits, and getting into workplace conflicts the costs can quickly spiral. Employee stress lowers work quality as well as overall productivity, negatively affecting the company bottom line.
Even though the cost of employee stress is clear, the effectiveness of corporate wellness programs in reducing these escalating costs is still being documented. The problem with documenting these programs lies in the fact that there is no standard for wellness programs. They range all the way from simple incentives or rewards to participate, to full compulsory education. To get a rough idea we can look at the research on cost-effectiveness, being done by Employee Assistance Programs. Their research shows that for every dollar spent on EAP’s, savings can range from 7 to 14 dollars (Source: Warren Shepell Consultants).
In our evolving global economy, the health of knowledge workers will be key to the financial success of world wide companies. Yet when it comes to the mental health and productivity of Canadian workers, for every dollar spent by Canadian businesses, the U.S. spends double, Japan five times, and Germany eight times as much. In fact, only 31 percent of all Canadian businesses provide any formal wellness training for their employees (Source: Warren Shepell Consultants Corporation). This clearly shows that in order to stay competitive, Canadian companies will have to invest much more in their employees’ well-being.
Where To Start?
A successful wellness program starts with a Program design that insures the strategies offered are responsive to the employee issues and work within the parameters of their lifestyle.
When asked, most workers identify stress management as a top priority for their personal health issues. While businesses consistently identify decreasing absenteeism, and long-term health claims as a top priority for them when looking to increase productivity and product quality. Stress management training is the best first step in a successful plan to ensure a healthy workforce and achieve corporate success. According to one study, ‘a 10% rise in employee education can produce nearly that much in productivity.’ (Source: Perez, Wilkerson, Mindsets, 1998)
Next Steps?
A successful business will provide their employees with an education on healthy lifestyle strategies, then look at organizational issues that may be unnecessarily adding to employee stress levels. Along with decision making, effective communication, shift work practices, physical conditions, appropriate hiring practices that ensure the ‘right’ talent for the ‘right’ job, clear job expectations, opportunity for development, job security, management styles, and office politics. These should all be provided to obtain optimum performance and employee satisfaction.
The most Innovative companies further decrease employee stress by adding more needed services through their wellness program. Such as one on one counselling, for couples, families, and children. As well as things like newage relationship counselling, fitness memberships, Daycare centres, and seniors transition services. When businesses support employees with managing the conflicting pressures of work and family obligations, ‘employee satisfaction goes 69% higher, employee retention goes 200% times higher, quality goes 18% higher and customer service and retention goes 6% and 7% higher respectively’. According to a Johnson and Johnson study of employees who had supervisors who supported them in managing work/family concerns, and had access to family programs at work were among the highest performers in the company, the best providers of internal and external customer service, least likely to leave the company, and least likely to have disciplinary problems.’ (Source: Perez and Wilkerson, Mindsets, 1998)
Companies on the cutting edge understand the importance of stress reduction and prevention so well that many have created Stress Management and Relaxation Centres. These specially designated areas provide access to stress assessment tests, audio, video, and text lending libraries, TV/VCRs, stereo systems, massage bookings or massage chairs, and aromatherapy. In fact, these centres usually also have trained staff that co-ordinate stress breaks and activities. The rooms may also have stress-reducing equipment like light-sound machines (which are fairly inexpensive and facilitate a state of relaxation) EMG monitors (for learning to decrease muscle tension) or even R.E.S.T. flotation rooms. ‘The emphasis of the centre is on providing a number of approaches for the control of harmful stress. A holistic or comprehensive approach provides greater assurance that the employee will receive the assistance they need’. (Source: Ernesto Randolfi, Montana State University, AWHP’s Worksite Health, Vol. 4, No. 3, 1997)
The leaders at Highsmith, a Wisconsin-based marketer of supplies and equipment to schools and libraries, encountered the worst kind of shock: a 53% rise in the company’s health-insurance premiums. Management saw it as an omen of future problems and needed to take steps to keep a lid on costs and claims — so they implemented a workplace wellness program for about 200 employees and experienced a dramatic impact on the company’s productivity and bottom line. Just consider the impact experienced at Highsmith…
The strategy helped the company keep a tight lid on health-insurance costs, with its premium going from 3.1% to 2.9% the following year.
- Turnover also slowed dramatically. In fact, while the average employer in their area was losing 22% of its workforce, turnover at Highsmith was just 8.7%.
- The company’s workers’ compensation costs, actually went down to significantly less than they we were paying in the early ’90s.”
Over time Highsmith broadened the program to address issues beyond mental health that had a profound impact on a worker’s sense of well-being. Highsmith’s wellness program now offers nearly 70 classes on subjects as diverse as resolving workplace disputes, coping with teenage children and caring for elderly parents.
Other results are presented at the Wellness Council of America’s website. There are documents there that report ROI from employee wellness programs can exceed an order of magnitude (over $10 improvement in the bottom line for every $1 invested).
Summary
Stress training, healthy organizational practices, natural therapies, and counselling services are all part of a comprehensive holistic wellness program. Companies dedicated to implementing these strategies demonstrate to their employees that they are committed to facilitating and maintaining their well-being. Employees who are educated about healthy choices and have the support of the company to make these positive choices repay the company by being present at work and performing well. Wellness initiatives make positive contributions to company culture and have a definite impact on the bottom line.
Holistic wellness specialist, Dr. Don Lester Ph D utilizes current research and best practices information in a realistic, holistic and practical approach to his dynamic stress and wellness workshops, on-line articles, e-newsletters and media interviews and through a collaboration called Amazing Workspaces.
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