Wellness in work: Employees expand efforts

Are your employees well?

According to a recent survey, employers are acutely aware of how critical the health of their staff is to the success of their companies and want to expand wellness efforts in order to help create and maintain a happy and healthy workforce.

The survey, conducted by the Chicago-based Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), in partnership with Business Insurance, revealed that 78 percent of employers agreed or at least somewhat agreed that the costs of healthcare reform law mean that it is more important than ever to motivate their employees to lead healthy lifestyles and keep in good physical shape.

From January 1, 2014, employers will be able to gain 30 percent off individual employees' healthcare coverage if they expand wellness efforts, through the introduction and incorporation of wellness program rewards - an increase of 10 percent.

60 percent of employers are likely, or very likely, to create or expand wellness efforts as a result of this provision, the survey discovered. Only 33 percent said that they were unlikely or not very likely to do so, and seven percent refrained from answering the question.

Employee health equals company success

The president and chief executive of MBGH, Larry Boress, thought that the survey's most noteworthy finding is the recognition of employers as to how important their employees' health is to the success of their companies.

"Employers have recognized that under health reform, more than ever, the investment in human capital is what they need to be looking at as opposed to thinking of benefits as just an expense of doing business" said Mr. Boress.

The survey, which 1,300 employers participated in, revealed that 52 percent of employers are educating staff about the the ways in which the healthcare reform law affects their benefits. 36 percent are describing potential future changes to their employees and 35 percent are relaying details of the forthcoming law to their staff.

However, 38 percent of employers said during the survey that they hadn't made any decision as to what they might communicate to employees and six percent said they had no plans to inform employees about the law whatsoever.

Mr. Boress said that these results were unsurprising and pointed out that many employers do not appear to fully understand what the new healthcare reform law will really mean for their company. Employees are "running scared" Mr. Boress said, because "they don't know if they're going to have benefits" in the future.

However, he said, "In the immediate case...I think employers have an obligation to tell people what they know [about the law] and what they don't know and start with that."

According to Scott Foster, president and ROI expert of Wellco Corporation, claimed that employers reap huge benefits when they expand wellness efforts and should not be deterred by the costs this may entail as, ultimately, it will save the company money.

"Do not dilute the quality of your program because of a less than perfect budget!" Mr. Foster wrote. "Provide a comprehensive wellness program to as many employees as you can afford within your wellness budget. If the number of participants is less than your entire group, provide a pilot program. You will achieve much greater outcomes and will be ensured that your program "grows" rather than "goes"."

Relevant articles:

The health implications of workplace stress | Stress and productivity: Friends or enemies? | Reduce the stress in moving | How healthy is your company?

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: