Workplace Health and Safety

A Wellness Program is an organized wellness program to assist and support workforce in establishing healthier lifestyles.  This can include increasing staff member awareness on health topics, scheduling behavior change programs, and/or establishing business policies that support health-related goals.

Programs and policies that promote increased physical activity, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthful food selections are a few examples.

Dimensions of Wellness

Health Promotion is more than fitness.  In addition to fitness, the dimensions of optimal health include

o  Spiritual Dimension of Wellness

o  Emotional Dimension of Wellness

o  Social Dimension of Wellness

o  Intellectual Wellness Dimension

These Wellness Dimensions are often depicted as a “life wheel” with examples of health components that include -

o  fitness,

o  nutrition,

o  purpose in life,

o  financial planning,

o  social connections and support systems,

o  stress management,

o  mind-body health,

o  career planning and

o  continued learning.

The key for individual health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A comprehensive health promotion program addresses most, when not all, of these dimensions.

Why Company Health Promotion?

Employees spend a great deal of time on the job, and the reality is that our traditional work-week is increasing. Indeed, the average American now works about 47 hours per week.

Plus, technologies like modems, laptops, cellular phones, voice and email have blurred the work-life boundary.  These realities lower the amount of time that the typical individual is able to devote to wellness pursuits, and yet workers are expected to be at top performance when at work.

A recent published study  by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that company health promotion or health promotion programs are successful in assisting personnel make positive health changes due to several factors like convenience, environmental support, and peer or social acceptance.

What’s the Link between Health Promotion and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that promote healthful behaviors may make a large difference on worker health promotion AND have an impact on the company’s bottom line.   Studies have shown that for every dollar invested by employers in company health promotion/health promotion programs, there were savings ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.

In company terms, that’s more than a 3 – 1 minimum return on investment – a number that is hard to ignore, and a best practice that should warrant serious consideration from companies.

Indeed, a employee health promotion literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal found -

o  19 studies found a 28.3% reduction in sick time

o  16 studies demonstrated a 5.6 – 1 return on investment

o  23 showed a 26.1% reduction in health costs

o  4 found a 30% reduction in direct medical and workers’ compensation claims

There’s little doubt that a comprehensive wellness program targeted to meet a corporation’s specific needs can reduce costs by decreasing absenteeism, lowering health care expenditures, decreasing worker turnover, and increasing productivity.

o  USA Department of Health and Human Services, 2003

25% Jump in Business Interest in Employee Wellness

Employee wellness for their personnel, corporations are discovering, is good for the health of their organizations as well. Health promotion programs help to cut the costs associated with poor worker health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality.

A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 United States businesses indicated a significant paradigm shift in how businesses view health benefits for their employees.

Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to instituting long-term health care assistance programs (over the next 3-5 years) for their workforce, with the goal of improveing the health and productivity of their workforce. This represents a 25% increase in interest in wellness programs over 2007.

A strong offering of health promotion programs to meet the demand has resulted. Health assistance providers have broadened their health promotion programs with tools that address general lifestyle factors, physical, social and psychological health factors.

Programs look to predict chronic condition in their staff members and give them the tools and the information to prevent it. Corporations also demand a way to measure the effectiveness of their health care spending.

Self-care is our motive, says Vic Lebouthillier, president of progressive wellness provider Exan Wellness.”We really believe giving employees tools to help them manage their own health, and promoting the benefits, while giving people  resources to reach out for help is the key to successful lifestyle change.

Organizations are also telling us they need a cost-effective way to deliver wellness programs.  The kind of wellness program we’ve created over years delivers the highest health care return on investment.”

Combining employee health promotion promotions, internet based assessments and health trackers, internet based medical information, telephone conferences and self-help groups, and access to a wide variety of health professionals, is behind the success of the Exan health promotion program. “Having internet based statistics about employees’ health also makes it easier to track the bottom line – ROI” says Vic Lebouthillier.

Businesses are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of healthcare benefits to create holistic wellness programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their staff member populations, drive staff member behavior change and eliminate barriers to healthcare, says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

Notwithstanding, in a separate survey of 30,000 employees, 74 percent said that, although they felt their company had an obligation to help them understand how to use their health benefits program, only 12 percent felt the company had any right to tell them how to be healthy.

Based on these results, companys need to drive home the fact that improved health is better for their employees as well as the company. It’s a win-win situation.

Employers and employees did find common ground when it came to future health care. Both surveys indicate that 95 percent of employees understand that their taking care of their health today will impact future health care payments.

A similar percentage also understand the important of early detection and prevention when it comes to saving on health care costs.

Cost is important for most organizations as well. Over 80 percent of those surveyed made cost mitigation a priority for 2008, but those cuts didn’t involve shifting responsibility for health care onto personnel.

Although 64% of organizations have shifted costs to their staff, only 17% plan to do so in the next 3-5 years. Similarly with health reimbursement accounts, 20% now offer these, but only about 5% plan to use them in 2008.

These survey causesdicate companies are getting more proactive in helping their personnel to change behaviors and take ownership of their own health futures. This is obviously good for the wellness of personnel, but also for the wellness of the companies they work for.

Nearly half the corporations surveyed were convinced that changing health behaviors was key to increased productivity and lower absentee rates. Over 60 percent plan to institute health promotion programs that help personnel change and/or sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Nearly of these organizations will also use data and measurements to ensure their health care strategies meet their health care objectives?

Ten Steps Toward Strategic Wellness Programs

The Health Promotion Program management world is evolving quickly. Each month, there are new research findings that support the premise that Health Promotion Programs and disease management (DM) have a long-term impact on healthcare costs.

Many large corporations that started Wellness Programs three to five years ago are showing savings in health, disability, and staff compensation costs. Small to mid-size corporations are watching all this and wondering where to start with wellness.

Getting senior level management support and budget approval is one of the challenges at the beginning of a Health Promotion Program. This is the case because Health Promotion Programs can be expensive, averaging $150-300 per employee each year in big corporations.

Most of the savings aren’t realized for a number of years. This long-term investing is hard for organizations on the move.

The key to success for Wellness Programs is to take a strategic approach. Here are ten steps to consider when starting a Wellness Program.

1. Begin with upper management. Without upper management support, a wellness strategy can fall flat. Begin with the health of your executive team and discover your wellness champions at the top of the corporation.

2. Analyze the problem. Look at your healthcare claims and analyze the trends. Which conditions are driving your medical, disability, and workers’ compensation claims and which are modifiable? What is worked and what has not consequently far? What is the long-term impact of doing nothing?

3. Hold an initial wellness meeting. Invite your key stakeholders both inside and outside the company. Ask your broker to facilitate the meeting and invite key health providers including health, disability, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), fitness, and occupational nursing.

Review claims and utilization data and identify key areas of concern. Look at current offerings and see how they are able to be tailored to the needs of the population.

4. Consider both healthy and unhealthy workforce. Since 85 percent of claims are normally attributed to 15 percent of claimants, it’s essential to reach those with the most expensive conditions while also reaching people  who are at risk for developing avoidable diseases in the future.

Voluntary wellness programs like lunchtime wellness workshops miss many of the individuals  who need them most. Consider wellness programs that are population-wide or target intact workgroups. Wellness incentives help but don’t motivate everyone.

5. Make sure to set short-term objectives for the wellness programs. Make sure to set some realistic short-term objectives based on your key areas of concern. Are there any plan design changes that could have an immediate impact on spending? Are there some programmatic actions that could have immediate results?

6. Find out what staff are thinking. Hold some focus groups to determine where people  are with wellness. What is working? What isn’t? Precisely how much interest do people  have in the Wellness Programs? What obstacles and barriers are staff experiencing when they try to change behavior?

7. Make certain you have a high-impact Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Your first wellness dollars ought to go into upgrading your Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A highly utilized Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide a foundation for all your future wellness activities.

A good Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a trusted link to the hearts and minds of staff members.  At no additional cost, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide needed follow-up coaching and personal attention for staff members who are working on modifiable health behaviors or involved in disease management programs.

Nutritionists, fitness, pregnancy, and stress management experts are all part of a high-value Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

8. Be sure to set three to five year goals for healthcare savings and measure them. Get help from your broker and insurance carrier help you on long-term goals for your health, disability, and staff compensation plans.

Establish program metrics that’ll help you to measure ROI. Go beyond participation rates, completion rates and program satisfaction. Measure changes in readiness, changes in behavior, and changes in risk factors. Establish rigorous methods to measure healthcare savings over the long term.

9. Make certain to set objectives for organizational health. Consider the more intangible benefits of a health promotion program and quantify them whenever possible. Include staff member turnover rates, cost of new hires, staff member morale, benefit satisfaction data, and business of choice issues in establishing objectives. Establish ways to measure success in these areas.

10. Add specifics to your short and long-term plan. Include a program strategy, a communication strategy, and an incentive strategy that will fit with your corporate culture. Focus on integration of related components along a health continuum with communications that are focused, simple, and human.

Establish a budget that includes key components like consumer education, wellness, health risk appraisals, and regular biometric screens.

It’s clear to virtually every American (especially those of us in business) that healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control.

No one doubts that either the market will solve the problem OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective.

Businesses have reached the point where the cost of providing health insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It is time for some new thinking on healthcare and its impact on business and vice versa.

Employee health promotion as an operational perspective instead of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising healthcare costs.

The Insurance Problem

The first step in correcting the problem is to realize that an staff member’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting companys to provide unlimited health insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable.

It is time for corporations (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing medical insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all staff through group plans, businesses should begin to shift the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here is the approach. Give catastrophic health insurance as a group benefit to all workforce with a big enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost low cost for the organization.

Then, allow workforce to purchase their own health insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings.

There are numerous insurance organizations that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Workers can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Companies win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans.

And when person become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health.

Besides, if an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your company offers excellent insurance benefits are not they telling you they are going to cost you more money in the future?

Develop a “Health Promotion Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the health care crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health problems in lieu of on having a healthful workplace and performance culture.

Additionally, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, in lieu of paid sick days, personnel might  be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus.

Employees would be reimbursed for successful completion of smoking cessation and weight-loss programs. Companies would invest in corporate memberships at local fitness centers so every staff member can participate.

Employees would be offered in-house health promotion programs on a selection of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, companies would commit to hiring and retaining healthy staff members.

Simply put, healthy staff cost less and are more productive than unhealthy ones. Applicants should be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productivity and increase the likelihood of future expense.

While this may seem harsh, it rewards those staff whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the organization committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in major medical journals reveal that person who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are generally healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the average American.

Since these individuals look for ways to stay healthy without drugs and surgery, they end up being a net benefit for attendance and productivity. Old prejudices in this area ought to be discarded in order for organizations to improve productivity and increase profitability

Conclusion

Health Care costs are increasing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an awful failure. Businesses are buckling beneath the pressure of providing health coverage to their employees.

American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for amazing solutions. It is time for American businesses to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the health care crisis.

Employee health promotion is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All choices should be considered while we still have a chance.

Wellness Programs are crucial to improving the health of our nations. Most adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, making it a excellent venue for promoting healthy habits.

The workplace organizational culture and environment are powerful influences on behavior and this needs to be put to use to helping employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Benefits to Wellness Programs include -

o  Weight reduction

o  Increased physical fitness

o  Improved stamina

o  Reduced levels of stress

o  Improved wellness, self-image and self-esteem

Companys can also benefit from Wellness Programs. As reported by recent research, businesss’ benefits are -

o  Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy personnel

o  Decreased healthcare costs

o  Decreased rates of illness and injuries

o  Reduced worker absenteeism

o  Improved staff member relations and morale

o  Increased productivity

o  Losing weight

o  Enhanced fitness

o  Improved stamina

o  Reduced levels of stress

o  Enhanced well-being, self-image and self-esteem

Companys can also benefit from Wellness Programs. As reported by recent research, businesss’ benefits are -

o  Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees

o  Reduced healthcare costs

o  Reduced rates of illness and injuries

o  Lowered worker absenteeism

o  Better staff member relations and morale

o  Enhanced productivity

A U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services report revealed that at workplaces with physical activity programs as components of their Health Promotion Programs have -

o  Decreased healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent

o  Decreased short-term sick leave by six to 32%

o  Increased productivity by two to 52 percent

Thanks to modern medicine, life expectancy for American Citizens has continually increased. Precisely how much we enjoy these additional years, nonetheless, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives.

When our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these additional years, we must practice good eating habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products.

Research spanning more than a decade has consistently shown wellness programs to be financially effective and that every dollar invested on a wellness program can return $2.30 and $10.10 by lowering absenteeism, sick day usage and by lowering insurance costs.

Also it’s noted that there are marked improvements in staff member performance and productivity in businesses that implement a health promotion program.

Healthy organizations enjoy increased staff member morale and an improved ability to attract and retain key people . Furthermore, employees are more alert and productive.

For  instance, Coca Cola reports that they save nearly $500 a year per worker once they implemented a fitness plan in which 60 percent of their staff members participate.

Coors Brewing Corporation reported that workers who participated in their health promotion programs lowered their absentee rate by 18 percent.

Employees enjoy their share of benefits from health promotion programs too. A healthy lifestyle affects every part of a person’s life, including their work environment.

Wellness programs result in fewer injuries, less human error and a work environment that is more harmonious and relaxed. Additionally, personnel who work at a company that starts a health promotion program know that their company is concerned about their wellness.

Workers often report a reduction in their stress levels because of health promotion programs.

As workforce feel better, more relaxed, more valued and more human to their company; they enjoy an increase in productivity. This increase in productivity, while advantageous to the organization, is also essential to the employee as it increases their own sense of self worth and confidence levels.

Workers who feel successful and who feel that they accomplish goals are overall happier and in a better frame of mind.

The benefits of wellness programs, both tangible and intangible, are evident. It’s a wise move for a organization to begin a wellness program, specifically when they incorporate some form of mental health aspect into it.

This also has social benefits as domestic violence and child abuse is shown to be reduced in areas where wellness programs are implemented. These days, an organization can almost not afford to have some sort of wellness program to offer to their employees.

Who needs Wellness Programs? When you work in an office or a jobsite or are a member of an organization who spends a considerable amount of time at work, you will benefit from a well-designed staff member health promotion program. Employees spend a minimum of about 200 hours a month at work – a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, stress, distractions and the pressures of the job can take its toll on the employee, which makes it important that a health promotion program is implemented.

Today, all across America, Canada, Europe and Asia, top corporate Wellness Programs are being used to help improve staff member conditions at work and reduce the cost of staff member health care.

Some of the top Health Promotion Programs currently in use today include -

Health Promotion Programs – Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) (HRAs)

HRA is a top Health Promotion Program currently in use globally. Organizations that start it determine the safety and health concerns of workers by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the workers.

It can, for instance, guide the company into determining how much air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem.

An Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) can also evaluate the level of exposure staff have to certain hazardous or hazardous materials and practices.

Wellness Programs – Immunizations.

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Nonetheless, it’s also become an important component of the top Health Promotion Programs in many companies in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for instance, are offered to personnel for free.

Worker Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to staff regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

Weight Management Programs

This is another wellness program that companies use, especially those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer choices for a healthier diet, typically in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

Employee Health Promotion Newsletters – Health Education Programs

One of the top Wellness Programs that organizations can begin is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign.

The campaign might  be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.

The newsletter in itself may be an effective means to deliver information to personnel or members of an organization but it is far from perfect. Some personnel, for example, might not read the newsletter in its entirety or even pay attention to it.

When the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Fitness and Fitness Plans

Another top health promotion program for corporations is one that involves physical activities. Corporations often sponsor exercise-related events such as marathons and company sports programs to encourage personnel to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized corporations, corporations may even pay for fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Wellness Program Incentives.

Some of the top Health Promotion Programs implemented by organizations involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored programs that reward personnel for achieving specific wellness objectives.

Participation in health campaigns and signing up for Wellness Programs are two of the most commonly rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to points (for larger rewards) to specific gifts. In several cases, cash may also be used.

However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top options among businesses who are willing to modify it to fit their unique needs.

Wellness Programs – Group Activities

In many businesses, businesses take advantage of coworker pressure in order to encourage staff to participate in Wellness Programs. This is currently among the favorite staff member Wellness Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity.

Peer pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions referring to employee health promotion and to persuade employees to be active in company-sponsored wellness fairs.

Some of the top health promotion programs currently in use today include –

Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs)

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) is a top health promotion program currently in use globally. Organizations that start it determine the safety and health concerns of workforce by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the workforce.

It can, for example, guide the corporation into determining how the air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem.  An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure workforce have to certain hazardous or hazardous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This is not always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. However, it has also become an important component of the top worker wellness programs in many corporations in North America.

Immunization shots, like those used to combat flu, for example, are offered to employees for free.

Employee Assistance Programs

Worker Assistance Programs consist of a broad variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to staff regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet and nutrition drives

This is another health promotion program that businesses use, especially those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, ordinarily in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

In-house wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top health promotion programs that organizations can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign.

The campaign might  be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, like tobacco use hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the worksite, etc.

The newsletter in itself could be an effective means to deliver information to employees or members of an organization but it’s far from perfect.

Some staff, for instance, may not peruse the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Exercise and Physical Activity

Another top health promotion program for corporations is one that involves physical activities. Companies often sponsor exercise-related events such as marathons and organization sports programs to encourage staff members to remain fit or lose excess weight.

In mid- to large-sized companies, companies may even pay for health and fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Wellness Incentives

Some of the top health promotion programs implemented by organizations involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored health promotion programs that reward staff members for achieving specific wellness-related goals.

Participation in health campaigns and signing up for health promotion programs are two of the most widely rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time obtained points (for larger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top options among companies who are willing to modify it for fit their unique needs.

Coworker Pressure

In many businesses, businesses take benefit of coworker pressure to encourage staff to participate in health promotion programs. This is currently one of the favorite staff member health promotion programs currently in use today and growing in popularity.

Coworker pressure is usually leveraged to help promote competitions referring to corporate wellness and to persuade workforce to be active in company-sponsored wellness fairs.

Wellness programs at the corporate level are beneficial, right? Wellness statistics obviously show that such wellness programs aren’t only cost-effective to the corporation but can assist the worker in developing a healthier lifestyle.

With the rising cost of healthcare, wellness programs simply make sense. So where does the problem come in? Let us examine the topic from both perspectives.

Health Promotion Programs –  the Good

o  A sampling of corporate returns on investment for health promotion programs –  Bank of America –  600%; General Motors – 370%; Pepsico –  300%; Citibank –  465%; and the Washoe County School District leading the pack at a whopping 1,560%. (Campbell,J., Wellness Improvement Experts, www.wellnessimprovementprofessionals.com, Albuquerque, New Mexico.)

o  Companies with health promotion programs have realized a 28 percent reduction in sick time, a 26 percent reduction in adjunctive healthcare costs and a 30 percent reduction in disability and personnel compensation costs. (Health Affairs, Volume 21, No.2, March, 2002.)

o  The Washoe county School District in Northern Nevada realized a $15.60 return on investment for every dollar spent as a result of a 20 percent reduction in absenteeism. (Hardy,A. (2005).  At the Top of the Class. WELCOA’s Absolute Advantage Magazine, 5(1), 14-20.)

o  Health promotion programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many individuals need to make lifestyle changes.

o  Workers also realize returns on their efforts. FiServ, a financial services technology organization, gave workers who filled out a health risk appraisal a significant discount on their medical insurance premium. (Holland, Kelley, the New York Times, July 22, 2007.)

Wellness Programs –  the Bad

The flip side of the argument centers on basic human rights. Do we want/need our company to tell us to eat our veggies or lose 30 pounds? A lot of businesses are doing just that and at least one lawsuit has resulted because of it.

o  Three hundred businesses have requested assistance from a national employment and labor law firm to institute more aggressive health promotion programs.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

o  Clarian Health, based in Indianapolis, Will begin lowering employee paychecks by $10.00 for every employee who has a BMI  of greater than 29.9 because not enough workers were utilizing their wellness services.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

o  Scott Rodrigues filed a suit against his prospective company, Scotts Miracle-Gro, because he believed the corporation’s antismoking policy violated his civil rights.  The business has a policy against hiring staff members who smoke and Mr. Rodrigues’drug screen was positive for nicotine.(Holland, Kelley, the New York Times,July 22,2007.)

o  Worker advocates are concerned that health discrimination may not be covered underneath the Americans with Disabilities Act.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

Penalizing staff members by hitting them hardest where it hurts the most,their pocketbook, does not appear to be a favorable approach to molding human behavior.

Such tactics may lead to increased resentments and retaliation, mainly in the form of absenteeism and presenteeism (decreased productivity on the job.) Voluntary, incentive-based health promotion programs, like the one in the Washoe County School District, can and do produce results.

A positive attitude for senior management along with an opportunity for staff members to have a stake in the decision-making may yield the greatest dividends to both business and employee.

The motivation and resolve needed to change unhealthful lifestyle habits can best be derived from the basic tenets of encouragement, respect and support.

Health Promotion is a great concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a in truth holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthful balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being.

It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you begin to talk about corporate health promotion, or corporate health promotion, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management (DM) and medical screening do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.

They begin from the assumption that sickness is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.

The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Health Promotion guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.

On the one hand there are the small corporations – individuals  working from home or in small centers selling all types of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating quickly.

On the other hand employee health promotion is also exploding but in a very different direction.

The baby boomers who are driving the well-liked wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.

They are actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthful into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.

The organizations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make organizations liable for stress-related ailment in their personnel.

It is also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the gigantic costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the organizations are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, such as doctors, nurses, insurance and screening systems.

The problem is that the traditional health system doesn’t have solutions for the problems that people  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a doctor to get happy, because a doctor doesn’t have any clue how to make people  happy.  And many stress-related health problems are described as chronic conditions, which means that they last for a very long time – or maybe for the rest of your life – because there is no medical cure.

Counseling is a common offering in corporations for emotional problems, but whilst it may provide a useful pressure valve it isn’t a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.

Imagine walking into a organization where the personnel are happy, healthy, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.

That type of organization would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people  would be working to their optimum capacity.

So can we create a system of true wellness that will serve the development of the corporations and their workers and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?

First of all we have to face the fact that we cannot place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, have not been solved by the current system.

If they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we’d all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

We also can’t rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, like the onsite massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most people  unaffected. They’re easy to organize but have little or no real effect on staff member wellness.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness businesses that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

Nonetheless it’s in the best interest of both corporations and employees to find and create systems of wellness that really work – that benefit individuals  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home after the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the theory of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It’s time to increase the vision and figure out how to make truly healthy, happy workplaces where people  thrive.