Workplace Health and Safety

It is clear to virtually every American (especially those of us in business) that health care 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.

Corporations 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 company and vice versa.

Corporate wellness as an operational perspective instead of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising health care costs.

The Insurance Problem

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

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

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

Then, allow staff members to buy 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 businesses that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Employees can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own physicians. Corporations 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, when an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your company offers excellent insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they are going to cost you more money in the future?

Develop a “Wellness Culture”

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

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

Staff Members would be reimbursed for successful completion of smoking cessation and weight-loss programs. Businesses would invest in corporate memberships at local fitness centers so every employee can participate.

Workers would be offered in-house wellness programs on a selection of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, businesses would commit to hiring and retaining healthy workforce.

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

While this might seem harsh, it rewards those workers whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the company 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 usually healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the typical American.

Since these person 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 must be discarded in order for businesses to improve productivity and increase profitability

Conclusion

Healthcare costs are increasing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an awful failure. Businesses are buckling below the pressure of providing health coverage to their personnel.

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

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

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 decreasing absenteeism, sick day usage and by lowering insurance costs.

Furthermore it is noted that there are marked improvements in worker performance and productivity in corporations that implement a health promotion program.

Healthy organizations enjoy increased employee morale and an improved ability to attract and retain key individuals . Additionally, staff members are more alert and productive.

For  instance, Coca Cola reports that they save close to $500 a year per worker once they implemented a fitness program in which 60 percent of their employees participate.

Coors Brewing Corporation announced that personnel who participated in their wellness programs lowered their absentee rate by 18%.

Staff Members enjoy their share of benefits from wellness programs too. A healthful 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. Also, workers who work at a company that implements a health promotion program know that their company is concerned about their wellness.

Workers often report a reduction in their stress levels as a result of wellness programs.

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

Staff Members 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 is a wise move for a organization to start a wellness program, especially when they incorporate some form of psychological health aspect into it.

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

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

HRAs

Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is a top wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that implement it determine the safety and health concerns of staff by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the staff.

It can, for instance, guide the company 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 Health Risk Assessment (HRA) can also evaluate the level of exposure workforce have to certain perilous or perilous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Notwithstanding, it has also become an important component of the top staff member health promotion programs in many businesses in North America.

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

Employee Assistance Programs

Employee 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 companies, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet and nutrition drives

This is another wellness program that organizations use, namely those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer choices 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 begin is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign.

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

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

Some workers, for example, might not read 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 Fitness

Another top wellness program for businesses is one that involves physical activities. Businesses 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 might even pay for health and fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Wellness Incentives

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by organizations involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored wellness programs that reward workforce for achieving specific wellness-related 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 over time obtained points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash might also be used.

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

Peer Pressure

In many companies, companies take benefit of peer pressure to encourage workers 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.

Colleague pressure is usually leveraged to help promote competitions referring to company wellness and to persuade employees to be active in company-sponsored health fairs.

Wellness is a great concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a indeed holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of wellness.

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

They begin from the assumption that ailment 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 wellness is also exploding but in a very different direction.

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

They’re actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthy 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 corporations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make corporations liable for stress-related illness in their workforce.

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

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new life choices the businesses 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 does not have solutions for the problems that individuals  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a physician to get happy, because a physician does not 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’s no medical cure.

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

Imagine walking into a company where the employees 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 corporation would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because individuals  would be working to their optimum capacity.

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

First of all we’ve 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, haven’t been solved by the current system.

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

We also cannot rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, such as the on-site massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most individuals  unaffected. They are easy to organize but have little or no real effect on employee wellness.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness organizations that are springing up simply do not have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

Notwithstanding it’s in the best interest of both organizations and staff to find and develop systems of wellness that really work – that benefit people  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the concept of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It is time to increase the vision and find out how to make in truth healthful, happy workplaces where individuals  thrive.

High rates of staff member turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits.  The high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in sum cost the average business.

A lot of companies are finding the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of wellness programs that yield a reduction in these costs.

It has become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.

Management’s goals for a productive wellness program must be viewed through the perspective of increased worker productivity, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved worker morale, lowered utilisation of company subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.

It’s obvious that an betterment in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an staff members point of view can be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, lowered body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and workplace.

To be most productive a wellness program needs to achieve both managements and staff goals, and this can be accomplished through a wellness program that will provide the individual staff member with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and wellness, and the advantages of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that will allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that can be applied of their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Wellness Programs

Reduced Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5 percent over six years for the participants of their staff exercise program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Lowered Healthcare Costs – Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55% for staff fitness initiative participants over non-participants over a six year period – an average of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Lowered Turnover – Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Company was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross and Blue Shield  of Indiana found that its staff exercise initiative had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 organizations to consider making workforce health a CEO issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.

After a few years of double-digit rate increases for medical insurance, companies are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have staff members take more responsibility for both costs and health options.

A majority of organizations surveyed feel that the best way for reducing costs is financial incentives to encourage staff members to adopt healthier life choices.

Almost 100 percent of employers surveyed say that medical costs will be a vital or meaningful concern over the next five years, according to a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.

More employers are adopting higher deductible healthcare plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and expanded disease management (DM) programs for control ever-increasing healthcare costs.

Failure to deal with these issues could be disastrous for an employer. Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health recently stated, “I think that we’ve built a healthcare machinery we cannot afford. I think we are choking the economic engine of America.”

In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California organizations billions of dollars each year.

Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect health costs, employee’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced among the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it’s an economic crisis.” What is frightening is that most people don’t even realize that they’re obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight.

There is a excellent need for more education on weight and resulting illnesses, and the worksite is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can lead to a significant return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce leads to a very short period of time.

Although many employers have attempted some form of health promotion program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.

In many cases, the healthier workforce participated for incentives, such as fitness center memberships, but those who needed it most did not take advantage of the wellness program in a meaningful way.

Companies are looking at ways to encourage more workers to buy into the wellness movement.

A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource (HR) Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line –  Engaging Employees is the Missing Link in Managing Health Care Costs,” drove this point home.

This session provided actionable advice on how companies are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on employee engagement. It also highlighted how you can develop an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your corporation.

Companys can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthful lifestyles and must act to engage them in a meaningful health promotion program to reduce healthcare costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Workers also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and expert lives.  The alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the company.

A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal worker Wellness Committee.

Nutrition Category

o  Low-fat campaign/food groups

o  Team salad bars

o  Vending machine changes

o  Diet analysis by a nutritionist

o  Produce on parade

o  Consuming disorder support group

o  Restaurant education

Exercise/Exercise Category

o  ”Elevoiders” – stair climbing

o  Poker walk

o  Mall walking program

o  Facilities â.” showers, bike lockers, exercise space, etc.

o  Team treks

o  Walk-a-block trails

o  Recreational tournaments

o  How-to-select equipment talks

o  Running maps

o  Biking maps

o  Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)

o  Fit-over-forty club

o  Tennis shoe Tuesday

o  Walk 100 miles in 100 days

o  Walking “buddies”

o  NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category

o  House calls

o  Meet your benefits providers

o  Dental health

o  Fire safety

o  Ergonomic assessments

o  Self-help learning

o  CPR/first aid course

o  Hearing test

o  Hand washing campaign

o  Cancer screenings

o  Back class

o  Passports to health

o  Vision screenings

Stress Management Category

o  Comedy hour

o  Stress Pest

o  Humor newsletter

o  Money management seminars

o  Time management seminars

o  Relaxation class

o  Better sleep campaign

o  Relaxation room

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Health Promotion activities are a natural partner to many other HR, employee motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which could  be coordinated together.

o  Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains –  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. Many medical insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Health Promotion and safety efforts can focus on -

o  Warm up stretches before starting work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they may begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

o  The wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness professional to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for employee groups throughout the year.

o  Make available body mechanics training on an annual basis or more frequently if possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

o  Partner with your business’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which could help staff work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

o  Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Be certain to encourage staff members to report safety and/or injury concerns. Be certain to help executive management to establish policy to recognize and reward staff members who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

o  A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

o  Partner with upper management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

o  The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

o  Give ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These person can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

o  It’s often more effective to have an observer evaluate workforce for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it’s for individuals to assess themselves.

o  One suggestion is to have personnel remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

o  Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.

o  Partner with the business’s workers’ compensation carrier to help create ergonomic policies and practices and to provide worker training.

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy widely used to create interest and participation. Nonetheless, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can create issues.

Your worksite may have policies and guidelines already in place about issues such as appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be certain to check with senior management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Don’t forget to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is usually safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that aren’t specific to one culture, as others might feel left out.

Indeed, acknowledging diverse holidays, when done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

Several topical ideas for holiday themes include -

o  Health Promotion committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.

o  Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local grocery store or donated).

o  Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.

o  Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.

Each person can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food does not have to be low fat or in particular healthful, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain could be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps employees monitor their weight during the holiday season.

o  Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident before Thanksgiving.  The weigh-ins could  be conducted on the honor system, but weight must be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You could invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

o  Workers set a personal goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

o  Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

o  Give weekly weight control hints. These should be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in brochure form.

o  Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthful recipe choices.

o  Remind workers of the necessity to continue physical activity during the busy holiday season.

o  Weigh everybody the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.

o  Workers who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

o  Staff Members who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which may either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.

Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in bigger events. Health observances are tied to almost every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider -

o  National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate bigger events and celebrations.

o  A wellness message is more likely to stick with people if the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on television.

o  National Worker Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to start.

o  A word of advice – don’t go overboard in attempting to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Pick one to three events a year and stick with these.

Create and promote events well ensuring that staff will come to expect and anticipate these health promotion programs each year. It is best to do several wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.