Corporate wellness programs are designed to make employees healthier, more competitive and productive. These programs have been designed to boost employees’ morale and lower absenteeism. Most of these programs work by encouraging concerned individuals to lead a healthier lifestyle and pay closer attention to the physiological problems they might have.

Benefit from Corporate Wellness Programs

Recent studies published by the Principal Financial Group show that in companies with established corporate wellness programs 26% of workers show decreased absenteeism and about 45% of employees stick to their current companies. Companies which have started corporate wellness programs are now saving $700 per employee per year by reducing health costs and hiking productivity levels. For example, by implementing such programs in the last decade, Johnson & Johnson saved $250 million just on healthcare costs.

How to assess the health risk of your employees?

For devising the most effective wellness program you should first conduct an employee risk assessment program to determine what diseases or conditions may threaten your employees. For instance, while some employees could be prone to diabetes and obesity, there could be others prone to respiratory problems due to excessive smoking. Your employees should be grouped according to risk groups and assessed by individual health care costs.

While forming the programs, keep the following details in mind:

• The employee incentive provided must not exceed 20% of the employee health care coverage.
• It must be pro-health and not too demanding.
• It must be designed to prevent age-related and stress-related diseases.
• Do not forget to disclose program details on your website and printed policies.

What are the most effective corporate wellness programs?

These fitness programs can include regular exercise programs, relaxing on-site massages, smoking cessation programs, yoga sessions, outdoor sports, and activities etc. Among all of these on-site corporate massages are especially famous among most MNCs. Here are a few reasons why:

• Everyone gets to keep their clothes on; no need for changing rooms.
• No sweating, one can sit through the entire procedure.
• Complete lumbar and cervical support provides optimal relaxation.
• No oil required, only lotion may be used for hand massages.

What are the benefits of the employer?

Although the introduction of fitness programs may seem like an extra expenditure in the beginning, it actually turns out to be a fantastic and sagacious investment. These programs are a smart way to increase employee productivity by:

• Lowering the levels of absenteeism.
• Boosting morale of employees.
• Lowering the turnover.
• Improving job-time utilization.
• Increase in employee cooperation and improvement of staff quality.

A study by the Health Affairs published in 2010 shows that every dollar which is invested in corporate wellness programs and in reducing absenteeism garners returns of $3.27 and $2.73 respectively, in terms of health care savings. In the age of an ongoing recession and high taxes, you cannot beat that!