Workplace Wellness 101

By Greg Cook, HCP Associate

Do workplace wellness programs work? Are they worth the investment by employers? Do employees make full use of them? And what are the goals of workplace wellness? These are the questions U.S. employers, unions, policy makers and public health researchers are asking. Thankfully, there are answers based on solid evidence and rigorous study.

A benchmark for this field is the Health Affairs study published in January of this year. (For a link to an abstract of that article click here.) The authors surveyed published studies in the field and came to this conclusion: “medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.” They do caution that “[a]lthough further exploration of the mechanisms at work and broader applicability of the findings is needed, this return on investment suggests that the wider adoption of such programs could prove beneficial for budgets and productivity as well as health outcomes.” This is the kind of bottom-line proof hard-pressed employers need in order to make decisions that will not hurt their finances and benefit their greatest resource—their employees. Workplace wellness programs are also good news for the field of public health. Researchers in Washington state have laid out the case for such programs as beneficial to both employer and employee and an important part of overall public health strategy.

However, evidence also provides another truth about workplace wellness programs: They need to be targeted and they need to be implemented with thought and attention to the needs of the employer, workplace, and workforce. A study sponsored by the non-profit National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR) shows that there are better and worse examples of implementing these programs. (NIHCR is a joint effort of auto-makers and unions; to see the study click here.)

The broader business community has already done work in this area. For instance, the U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance—co-chaired by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for Prevention—has formulated proposed policies based on scientific research and the needs of businesses. (For a link to USWWA’s website click here.) The Healthiest Community Partnership (HCP) is beginning this work in Washington. HCP is a public-private partnership committed to policies to roll back chronic disease often connected to smoking, nutrition, and lack of healthy physical activity. For more information on HCP, its members, and its goals, click here.

References:

Baicker, Katherine, Cutler, David, & Song, Zirui. (2010, Jan. 14). Workplace wellness programs can generate savings. Health Affairs. Accessed on 11/15/2010 at http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.2009.0626v1.

Harris JR, Lichiello PA, Hannon PA. Workplace health promotion in Washington State. Prev Chronic Dis2009;6(1). http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2009/jan/07_0276.htm. Accessed 11/15/2010.

Tu, Ha T., & Mayrell, Ralph C. (2010). Employer wellness initiatives grow, but effectivenessvaries widely. Accessed at http://www.nihcr.org/Employer-Wellness-Initiatives.html on 11/15/2010.

U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance. The business case for investing in worksite health promotion. Accessed at http://www.uswwa.org/portal/uswwa/case/default on 11/15/2010.