Rita Matraia
July 19, 2019
Know How
10 Things I know about... Employee wellness programs
By Rita Matraia
10) They save money. Employee wellness programs lower healthcare costs. A 2016 paper by the Centers for Disease Control found employees who exercised more than 150 minutes per week spent about $4,500 a year on health care, those who exercised less spent $5,076 a year and those that didn’t exercise spent $5,813 a year.
9) They reduce absenteeism. Six years after creating a department for employee health and well-being, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston reported an 80% decline in lost work days and 64% decline in partial work days, resulting in annual cost savings of $1.5 million.
8) They boost productivity. According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, when wellness programs motivate employees to make lifestyle changes, their employer benefits from an increase in productivity worth an average of $353 per employee.
7) They’re cost effective. Employers can subsidize health club memberships at a low cost. Some health insurers provide financial incentives, enabling members to stay fit for little or no cost.
6) Your workforce will be healthier. Harvard Men’s Health Watch found regular exercise helps employees sleep better, and lowers employees’ cholesterol.
5) They reduce stress. Today’s workplace is often stressful and demanding. According to Harvard Men’s Health Watch, “exercise has the ability to both exhilarate and to relax and can serve to counter depression and to dissipate stress.”
4) Less turnover. A study by the National Business Group on Health and Towers Watson found companies with wellness programs had less voluntary employee turnover than companies without.
3) Improved teamwork. As Corporate Wellness Magazine reported, “A greater sense of workplace teamwork is a natural outgrowth of participating in an employee fitness program. Employees who exercise together get to know each other better, and those enhanced relationships translate into all kinds of pluses.”
2) They provide a great return on investment. The Community Preventive Services Task Force found for every dollar invested in health intervention, employees avoided $1.40 to $4.60 in medical costs and productivity losses.
1) They’re easy to start. If building a corporate gym requires too big of a commitment of time and money, consider developing a relationship with a fitness center near your workplace.
Rita Matraia is the owner of Northborough fitness studio The Core Connection. She can be reached at rita@thecoreconnection.com.
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