Wellness Library : Are Company Health Promotion Programs Cost-Effective?
Posted in Corporate Wellness, Wellness Library | By admin | Tags: Corporate Wellness, health, medical, Wellness Library
Research studies have repeatedly established that comprehensive Company Wellness Programs, or Company Wellness Programs, have the potential to reduce health care and insurance costs, cut down on absenteeism, and improve performance and productiveness. Other advantages established in studies include improved ability to attract and retain key personnel, greater employee allegiance, and improved public perception of the business.
Health Care and Insurance expenditures
A number of studies offer evidence of lower medical and insurance costs for participants in Workplace Health Promotion Programs, particularly wellness programs involving physical activity.
For $30 per person, the Bank of America implemented a Worksite Wellness Program for retirees using a risk assessment questionnaire, self-care books and other mailed materials. Insurance claims were reduced an average of $164 per year in this group while they increased $15 for the control group. Since they were able to document significant changes in risk behavior, they anticipate greater savings in future years.
Pacific Bell’s FitWorks participants claim $300 less per case for a one-year savings of $700,000. Savings for conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle are $722 per case.
Coca Cola stated a decrease in health care|medical|medical care|healthcare} claims with an physical activity program alone, saving $500 per employee per year for the workers (60%) who joined their HealthWorks exercise program. Prudential Insurance Organization reports that the organization’s major medical costs dropped from $574 to $312 for each attendant in its wellness program.
Decreased Rates of Absenteeism
Absenteeism has been demonstrated to be impacted by wellness programs. The evidence indicates a significant decline in absenteeism and resultant dollars saved as a result of employee fitness programs.
Pacific Bell’s FitWorks program diminished absent days .8 percent to save $2 million in one year. FitWorks members also spent 3.3 days less on short-term disability for an additional savings of $4.7 million.
Focusing Corporate Wellness Program efforts on high-risk employees is able to lead to better results. A national manufacturing corporation reports a reduction of 12.2 percent in illness days for these employees.
A two-year study by The DuPont Corporation of the significance of its all-inclusive Employee Wellness Program on absences among staff members reports that blue-collar staff members at intervention sites had a 14 percent decline in disability days vs. 5.8 percent decline for controls. There were a total of 11,726 fewer net disability days.
Enhanced Performance, Productivity and Morale
A number of employers with Company Wellness Programs report documented improvement in job attitude, work performance, energy level, and/or overall morale among program participants–all critical factors in enhancing productiveness.
A Johnson & Johnson study saw that employee attitude changes were greater at Workplace Health Promotion Program intervention sites with significant beneficial attitude changes noted in the categories of corporation commitment, supervision, working conditions, job competence/security, and pay/benefits.
In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Organization experimental group realized a 4% rise in productiveness after starting a employer physical activity program, compared to the control group. Further, 47% of program participants reported that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their co-workers, and generally enjoyed their work more.
Swedish investigators saw that mental success was significantly better in physically fit staff members than in non-fit staff members. Fit staff members committed 27 percent fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the success of non-fit staff members.
The Bottom Line
The following sample of Worksite Wellness Programs wellness program results have been published by individual employers:
Organization: Dollars Saved/Dollars Spent
• Bank of America (Fries): $5.96/$1
• PacBell: $3.10/$1
• Wisconsin School District Insurance Group: $4.47/$1
• Prudential Insurance: $2.90/$1
• Bank of America (Leigh): $4.73/$1
• General Mills: $3.50/$1
Summary
There is mounting evidence that a large portion of the billions of dollars now being invested by employers on health-related expenditures is preventable by means of Company Wellness Programs. Well-planned, comprehensive Company Wellness Programs (Company Wellness Programs and Company Wellness Programs) have been shown to be cost-effective, especially when the Company Wellness Programs is matched to the health concerns of the specific employee.
Tags: Corporate Wellness, health, medical, Wellness Library