It's no secret that
runaway healthcare costs pose a serious threat
to corporate profitability. Preventable disease
and illness caused by unhealthy lifestyles is
responsible for over 80% of America’s healthcare
crisis.
Perhaps knowing
that Starbuck’s Coffee spends more money on
health care costs than they do on coffee beans
and General Motors spends more on health care
costs than they do on steel helps put the
problem in perspective. Everyone agrees
that the system is broken and whether we like it
or not, something’s got to give.
Can
your company afford NOT to manage healthcare
costs? Its not unusual for
healthcare to take a hefty bite out of a
company’s profits. Profits that have already
been diminished by increasedpresenteeism and
the poor performance and productivity of an
unhealthy, stressed-out workforce. Double-digit
increases are already the norm and there is no
end to the insanity in sight.
Cutting employee
costs and benefits can’t keep pace with the
mushrooming expenses. The only way any
organization can affect its costs is to reduce
claims with a prevention-based wellness program.
It’s shrewd business strategy. Investing in employee
health returns between 165% and 1300% of your
investment.
What
does a healthy corporation look like? Healthy
corporations have a high performance culture and
employees who:
Have genuine positive attitudes and high
motivational levels
Bring all of themselves to work and give
100%
Communicate clearly, cooperate, encourage
team members, and know how to resolve
conflicts
Display a high degree of wellness and
performance especially under pressure
Are innovative because they recognize
that their human capacity to perform is great
and appreciated
Consistently reduce the workload, rather
than add to it
Everyone
benefits Corporate wellness programs
are a win-win for your business as well as your
employees. A well-designed wellness program will
increase productivity, boost vitality and
morale, reduce stress-related problems, improve
attendance, and control preventable healthcare
costs within your organization. Participating
employees feel better about themselves and about
your company, which leads to a more energetic,
positive and productive workplace because of
their new found work / life balance. The beauty
of it is that you’re simply helping employees to
make smart choices, so the that the investment
into implementing a wellness program is minimal
compared to the benefits.
It used to be that corporate wellness
programs were only sponsored by large
corporations. Today growing numbers of small and
mid-size businesses are reaping the benefits of
workplace wellness and earning a positive return
on their investments. Wellness programs are
especially important for small firms that
struggle with costs or the impact of employee
problems. In a small shop, even a few sick or
non-productive workers can disrupt the flow of
the workplace and bring the operation to a
standstill.
Employee
wellness is good business Wellness
programs can be implemented at a fraction of the
cost of health insurance and pay for themselves
several times over. A recent national review of
wellness programs found a positive return on
investment for EVERY program
surveyed.
The average savings was $4.00
per $1.00 invested. Companies can buy an awful
lot of wellness for their buck, with a sizeable
return. The same cannot be said for the bucks
spent on health insurance.
