What Is A Corporate Health Promotion Program?

By Author: John Bates
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A worksite health promotion program is an organized program to aid workers in establishing healthier lifestyles. This can include raising worker awareness on health topics, offering behavior change initiatives, and/or beginning company policies that support health-related goals. Corporate Health Promotion programs and policies that promote increased physical activity, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy food selections are a few examples.

The Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness means more than simply being healthy. The dimensions of wellness can include:

The Spiritual Dimension of Wellness,
Emotional Dimension of Wellness,
The Social Dimension of Wellness
Intellectual Dimension of Wellness and
Physical Dimension of Wellness.

The dimensions of wellness are often shown as a "wellness wheel" with examples of wellness components that include nutrition, fitness purpose of life, financial planning, social connections & support systems, mind-body health, stress management career planning and continued learning. The key to individual wellness is maintaining ...
... a balanced wellness wheel. A truly comprehensive corporate wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these dimensions of wellness.

Why Have a Health Promotion Program?

Workers spend a lot of their time at work, and research continues to show that our traditional work-week is expanding. In fact, the typical U.S. adult now works almost 47 hours each week. Further, modern technology such as laptops, cell phones, email and voice have blurred the boundary between home-life and work-life. These realities reduce the amount of time that the average person is able to devote to wellness and health related activities, and yet workers are expected to be at their peak performance when on the job.

A research study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that Workplace Health Promotion Programs are successful in helping workers make positive health changes due to numerous factors such as environmental support, convenience and social or co-worker acceptance.

What is the Connection between Wellness / Health and the Workplace?

Workplace Health Promotion Programs and Policies that promote healthy behaviors can have a major impact on employee wellness AND have an impact on the company's bottom line. Research indicates that for every dollar invested by companies in Workplace Health Promotion Programs, there were cost reductions ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with the mean corporate wellness program return-on-investment(ROI) being $3.14*. In businesses terms, that's more than a 3:1 minimum wellness return-on-investment(ROI) - a number that is difficult to ignore, and a practice that should garner serious consideration from companies. Additionally, a Corporate Health promotion program literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal found:

19 different studies found a 28.3 percent reduction in sick time
16 different studies found a 5.6:1 return-on-investment(ROI)
23 different studies found a 26.1 percent reduction in medical costs
4 different studies found a 30 percent reduction in direct medical and workers' compensation claims

There is little doubt that a Corporate Health Promotion Program targeted to meet a company's specific needs can save money by reducing absenteeism, reducing health care costs, reducing worker turnover, and enhancing productivity.

For assistance in managing a Corporate Health Promotion Program or to get free wellness quotes you can visit www.WellnessProposals.com or www.InfiniteWellnessSolutions.com

* US Department of Health & Human Services, 2003
Written by John Bates a wellness program expert and entrepreneur that owns / operates more than 200 health and wellness related websites. John's work can be found on www.WellnessProposals.com and www.InfiniteWellnessSolutions.com as well as many other websites.