Integrating Wellness and Behavioral Health for Greater, Lasting Results

eni’s Approach to a Total Wellness Benefit

Employer-based wellness programs are commonly used as a strategy to reduce the cost of business associated with unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles. However, many employers underestimate how deeply connected physical health can be to mental health. Physical symptoms identified through a corporate wellness program often mask a deeper mental health issue that should be addressed in order to achieve total health and lasting lifestyle changes.

An integrated approach to wellness and behavioral health addresses the multiple stressors that employees face each day. eni – a New York- based Employee Assistance and Wellness provider – has found great success over the past 25 years by effectively addressing both emotional and physical symptoms for lasting solutions.

"The way people feel about themselves can impact day to day experiences, and easily affect physical health,” explains Emily Mancini, Director of Marketing for eni. The benefit of having a program that addresses the total wellness approach; mind, body and spirit is immeasurable. “Especially in this current economic climate, our clients with an integrated wellness and EAP work/life program are seeing a real return-on-investment with productivity and engagement while also lowering stress levels, absenteeism and presenteeism."

The goal is to identify and treat the root of the cause before it manifests itself in physical illness, unnecessary stress, or inability to perform both at work, and at home.

A complete integration of all services under one roof allows employees a single point of contact to experts trained to recognize underlying issues or triggers, and offer a seamless referral to the most appropriate level of care. Therefore, whatever situation or issue an employee chooses to reach out for, they have the opportunity to achieve total wellness.

This comprehensive approach to physical and mental health includes stress reduction (including support for personal financial and legal stressors) as well as screening for conditions such as depression, grief and substance abuse. An employee experiencing stress within their workplace might suddenly develop physical discomfort. An employee with depression might lose the desire to exercise, thus causing him/her to gain weight and increase the risk for other medical conditions. Not only is this stressful on the employee, but it also weighs heavily on the corporate bottom-line. Employees are using healthcare dollars to treat physical symptoms. This medical approach may be a temporary solution to an underlying emotional issue easily identified and treated within their Wellness or Employee Assistance Program. 

eni's wellness service, BalanceHealth® was created with a flexibility that allows eni to customize specific elements to fit the unique corporate culture and goals of each organization. “We strive to engage, educate and employer employees toward healthy decisions and behaviors by offering convenient online services as well as a one-on-one approach with trained and certified experts,” explains Mancini. “We’re initially helping with specific issues and motivation, but ultimately providing each employee with the guidance, tools, information and skills to achieve lasting change.”

Case Study
By linking their Employee Assistance Program with their Wellness Service, eni clients are seeing an increase in utilization with both programs, as well as a greater return-on-investment with each program. One client closed out 2008 with EAP/work life utilization reaching as high as 38 percent, and wellness participation reached 93 percent. These are impressive statistics compared to the national average of 41 percent with other highly incentivized worksite wellness programs.  These utilization results created a measureable decrease in stress, cholesterol levels, and increases in healthy diets, exercise levels, and smoking cessation program success. This eni client reports a shift in the corporate culture, with a more engaged and productive workforce of happier, healthier employees that utilize less health care dollars.

Wellness Coaching
eni’s wellness coaches, who also take on the role of lifestyle coach, are typically nurses trained in behavioral science who screen for underlying triggers for physical symptoms and conditions. Employees work with the same coach throughout the program. “This approach creates a commitment on the part of the employee but also creates a truly cohesive relationship that should last the roller coaster ride of behavioral change,” states Mancini. "It may not be success at the first step, but we act as a motivator until their goals are met. In the wellness program, we don't ever consider a case closed." 

The Total Wellness Lifestyle 
An equally important service for achieving total wellness through work/life balance is eni’s work/life Personal Assistant service. This unique concierge service offers each employee their very own Personal Assistant to perform a variety of unlimited research requests.

"Employees that are dealing with personal challenges have trouble focusing while at work, and their Personal Assistant helps take some of their duties off their task list," says Mancini. The requests can be health related, but employees are also able to use the service for any personal project that needs research, planning or coordination. Popular requests for this service are for elder or childcare services, financial planning, as well as research and coordination of travel plans. By utilizing this valuable service, employees are able to save a great deal of time and stress, and make smart, informed decisions without taking the focus off of their professional responsibilities.

eni's Wellness Coaches, EAP Counselors and Personal Assistants often communicate with each other to the benefit of the employee. A wellness coach might ask a Personal Assistant to research and send an employee information on ways to reduce stress. A Personal Assistant also might refer an employee to an EAP Counselor for support with smoking cessation. eni has a database of health topics, resources, referrals and information to assist in the total wellness approach.

The additional benefits an employer chooses to offer their employees and members of their family can be as influential in changing health behaviors as targeted health promotion interventions.  By including work, family and mental wellness as an integrated behavioral approach to the physical elements of the health promotion plan, an employer communicates that they recognize the multiple pressures and priorities that influence the quality of life among their employees, and is willing to provide helpful solutions in achieving total wellness.