Comstock's magazine 1119 - November 2019 | Página 83

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
in. A workplace wellness program is more
likely to be successful if it includes positive
rewards that motivate employees to make
healthy behavior changes and continue
making them. The goal is to achieve long-
term lifestyle changes.”
Lowe explains that wellness incentives
can be anything such as yoga mats, gym
bags, free or discounted gym member-
ships, gift cards, or even cash. Some em-
ployers even choose to offer discounts on
health insurance premiums when certain
biometric criteria are met, such as achiev-
ing a healthy weight or normal blood pres-
sure.
While an Amazon gift card in exchange
for stepping on a scale may seem like a
pretty good trade-off, some people are
concerned about the confidentiality of pro-
grams that request workers to share per-
sonal details like weight or medical issues.
But the program enrollment is not man-
datory, and employees can choose not to
participate — and some companies don’t
offer incentives to employees who opt for
insurance coverage through a spouse’s
program — though some may argue that
any workplace program that offers finan-
cial incentives, like reduced insurance
premiums, in exchange for participation is
inequitable.
The concern over privacy can be over-
come if the program is designed correctly.
“Some employees won’t participate in
work wellness programs out of fear that
their personal health information may
become known by others in the organi-
zation,” Lowe says. “This is really not the
case. If an organization submits biometric
data into an online wellness assessment
from a reputable company, they can rest
assured that their information is secure,
and any data collected and distributed will
be in aggregate form, meaning overall sta-
tistics for the entire group are shared, but
not individual numbers.”
Even if companies have a high partici-
pation rate in a wellness program, do they
really see a return on their investment in
the form of healthier, happier workers?
Some studies suggest an employer will see
a reduction in health care costs for employ-
ees who are more incentivized to take care
of themselves and address medical issues
— or prevent them — that might otherwise
take them away from their desks. Other
studies are emphatic that these programs
don’t produce enough of an uptick in em-
ployee morale or productivity to make the
extra cost worth the investment.
According to a RAND Employer Sur-
vey published in 2013, 51 percent of U.S.
employers with more than 50 employees
offered wellness promotion initiatives.
Employers overwhelmingly expressed
confidence that the programs reduce
medical costs, absenteeism and health-re-
lated productivity losses. But at the same
time, only about half stated that they have
evaluated program impacts formally, and
only 2 percent reported actual savings
estimates. The study’s statistical analyses
suggest that participation in a wellness
program over five years is associated with
a trend toward lower health care costs and
decreasing health care use — an average
annual difference of approximately $157.
In a 2017 study, “Doing Well by Mak-
ing Well: The Impact of Corporate Well-
ness Programs on Employee Productivi-
ty,” researchers found that participation
in a wellness program increased average
worker productivity by 6 percent, roughly
equivalent to adding one additional day of
productive work per month for the average
employee.
“After 2-4 years of a robust wellness
incentive program, reports should show
employees are eating healthier foods,
checking their biometrics, exercising more
often, smoking less, drinking less, wear-
ing seat belts more often and being pretty
good at controlling their stress,” says Ron-
da Herman, a benefits broker for Summit
Health Insurance Services in Granite Bay.
“Wellness incentives can also help allevi-
ate depression and improve life satisfac-
tion. Creating a wellness culture is good for
increasing morale and productivity.”
As Laurie Rodriguez, SMUD’s director
of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclu-
sion, puts it, “It just feels good to be well.”
IN A 2017 STUDY,
RESEARCHERS FOUND
THAT PARTICIPATION IN
A WELLNESS PROGRAM
INCREASED AVERAGE WORKER
PRODUCTIVITY BY 6 PERCENT,
ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO
ADDING ONE ADDITIONAL DAY
OF PRODUCTIVE WORK PER
MONTH FOR THE AVERAGE
EMPLOYEE.
November 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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