Corporate Wellness Programs: The No Name Version
Health care costs have spiraled upwards cutting drastic chunks out of company profits. Billions of dollars are spent on illness yearly, yet finding a place in the corporate budget for a company wellness program is a challenge in itself. Furthermore, finding
corporate wellness programs that fit the needs of your company is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
There are many company wellness programs available for purchase, but no centralized method for deciding which one is right for the needs of your company. How do you coordinate a budget shift from the funding of illnesses to the support of wellness when your health care costs are already splitting the seams of the profit margin? Is there a generic wellness version for companies who do not have the resources to invest in a large-scale company wellness program, but whose limited resources require it the most? The answer is, yes.
Corporate Wellness Programs: Create a Health Conscious Culture
How can unhealthy lifestyle choices be changed? Education and motivation are contagious states of mind that can be generated from economical and free resources. Customizing the corporate health care plan can encourage a move from unhealthy habits into an arena where there is motivation toward health. Successful corporate wellness programs try to reward healthy habits.
Currently, employees get money back after they spend it on illness-related expenditures which is similar to rewarding employees for being sick. Motivating people to make better lifestyle choices means rewarding employees for spending money on wellness-related activities. People get time off to visit a doctor, but is there an equivalent for visiting a gym? Employees receive financial assistance when they need physio-therapy for injuries, but can they get help to pay for smoking cessation treatments? The answer is, yes.
Corporate Wellness Programs: An Ounce of Prevention…
Although reducing health care costs by establishing corporate wellness programs may seem to be an impossible task, it has an equally imposing bright side. Most health care dollars are spent managing diseases that are preventable or self-inflicted. This gives us cause for hope.
According to the National Health Care Statistics, the typical American diet is responsible for most of the preventable diseases including, ninety-one percent of diabetes, eighty-two percent of heart disease, seventy-one percent of colon cancers, and forty percent of cancers.
Changing what people eat, the serving size and the frequency of snacking, is a major step in the right direction. Losing excess weight and learning how weight is gained are two milestones in the prevention of health risks that gobble up the corporate profits.
There are independent wellness vendors, such as Wellness Proposals, who can provide sound advice, low-cost actions, and help coordinate the needs of your business with the wide range of corporate wellness companies available. Can disease be prevented? The answer is, yes.
Corporate Wellness Programs: Motivation Moves Quickly through the Ranks
Although putting the entire employee population on a healthy diet, investing in a workplace exercise facility and campaigning to stop smoking would save the corporate coffers most of their health care dollars over the long-term, it is a monumental task that most average-sized companies cannot afford to tackle at the onset.
Choosing a few realistic objectives and learning what motivates employees to seek their own wellness can be a lucrative first step. Changing lifestyle habits and altering the view we have of ourselves as healthy individuals with a long life ahead of us is challenging, but still within our grasp.
Writer Bio: John Bates is a leading wellness industry consultant and prolific writer about all aspects of health and wellness programs. His work can be found on numerous wellness websites including his own: Wellness Proposals, Infinite Wellness Solution's and Infinite Health Coach.
