Prescription for Healthy Behavior – Employee Wellness

January 30, 2014 by

Prescription for Healthy Behavior – Employee WellnessThe importance of employee wellness programs has greatly increased over the past several years. As heath care expenditures are soaring, there is an increasing interest among policy-makers, insurers and employers in methods of improving health while lowering cost. Karen Smith points out in her article entitled Why Workplace Wellness is Important  that “changing our behavior is ultimately up to each of us as individuals. However, employers have a tremendous opportunity to help their employees see the value of adopting healthier behaviors so that they can live healthier lives.”  Below are my top two reasons why you should implement an employee wellness program.

  • Healthy employees cost you less. Studies have shown that nearly 50% of an organization’s profits are consumed by employee healthcare costs. Medical claim costs can go down, as well as a reduction in lost work days. Not to mention, highly effective wellness programs report significantly lower voluntary turn-over than do those whose programs have low effectiveness, according to this Harvard article by Katherine Baicker, David Cutler, Zirhui Song entitled Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings.
  •  “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t!” –Elle Woods (Sorry, I had to work in this quote from the movie Legally Blonde somehow).  But really, studies show that when you exercise, endorphins (your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters) are released. Employee wellness programs can help to increase productivity, boost employee morale, and decrease stress levels. When your employees are happy, the company is happy.

Now is the perfect time to implement an employee wellness program. Many have made New Year’s resolutions to begin exercise programs and eat healthier, so why not encourage their efforts by creating a “healthy work culture”?  Most companies find that wellness programs are more cost effective when they are implemented as part of a larger companywide recognition and incentive program. The best thing about employee wellness programs is that they don’t have to center around exercise. Sure, exercise is great, but so are stress management classes, smoking cessation, and back care programs.  When it comes to employee wellness programs and employee’s health, disease prevention and health promotion are key in lowering costs.

There are many ways you can begin to implement an employee wellness program for you company – Contact us to learn more.

Managing to Motivate – Improving Employee Engagement

January 29, 2014 by

Monday I referred to Gallup’s study entitled The State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders – and its finding that managers and leaders hold a powerful influence on workers’ engagement levels.  Employee engagement is enhanced when leaders focus on employee strengths – motivating them to participate in the success of… Read more »

Employee Recognition: Meet the New Boss – Same as the Old Boss?

January 27, 2014 by

The need for effective employee recognition programs is driven by many factors – obstacles to your efforts to improve employee engagement and develop a true culture of recognition.  Some are the result of “external” factors, as mentioned by Sarah White in her article entitled Top 3 Employee Rewards and Recognition Trends for 2014 – company… Read more »

Recognition and Incentive Rewards – Trophy Value Lasts a Lifetime

January 23, 2014 by

In the Incentive and Reward Recognition industry, there are many articles, whitepapers, etc. written about this idea of Trophy Value as it relates to the rewards offering.  Trophy Value meaning the continued reminder tangible rewards, as opposed to non-tangible rewards (e.g., cash and gift cards), provide of the task completed and the work performed in… Read more »

Employee Engagement: Are you In or Out?

January 21, 2014 by

“You’re either in or you’re out.”  A long-time friend and former partner is oft-times heard uttering these words – his way of sizing up situations and dealing with indecision or ambiguity.  While applicable in a good number of life and business scenarios, it doesn’t reflect employee engagement in the American workplace, according to Gallup’s 2013… Read more »

The Rippling Effect of Recognition and Gratitude

January 17, 2014 by

Alison Newman’s post – Expressions of Gratitude: Building Blocks of Recognition – was inspired by January’s designation as National Thank You month.  Alison discusses the positive impact expressions of gratitude and appreciation have on individuals when they and their efforts are valued by others – and the organization.  The individual, however, isn’t the only benefactor… Read more »