Employee benefits in the workplace are becoming increasingly costly for employers in North America....
Corporate Wellness is a $6 billion industry in countries like the US, and there is no doubt that the good health of employees boosts their company’s performance. However, the conventional method of directing the resources exclusively to the unwell doesn’t turn out to be too economical for a company. Each organization must gauge their corporate wellness requirements and choose a tailored wellness program to suit – that is, to gain maximum cost vs. savings benefits, without compromising on the health of the employees. Corporate wellness programs, if done correctly, actually help in revenue gain in the long run.
Talking about the Return on Investment (ROI), apart from all other wellness programs, Smoking
Cessation programs give earnings of about $3.50 for every $1 spent by the company. If we calculate the difference between the cost of average lost work days and expenditure on wellness programs, an overall profit of about 64% is usually recorded and the rate of insurance claims also decline by about 50% every year.
Besides the usual measurement of body mass index, cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar, lifestyle choices such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and stress affect the productivity of an employee. Smoking cessation programs can help a company identify the actual age of an employee who is a regular smoker and then personalize a program for these people.
Corporate Smoking Cessation programs should be designed after a detailed examination of all employees in the corporation, and lifestyle and disease management training should be provided accordingly. An employee who exercises regularly and is fit produces more endorphins, which naturally reduces the stress level. The return for disease management and fitness through corporate wellness program is usually $6, whereas the ROI for lifestyle management is about $0.5 per person per dollar spent by the company. The profit numbers are drastically increased if there is reduced number of absenteeism and organizational commitment that is fully dedicated to the wellbeing of each employee.
What is really required for an effective corporate smoking cessation and other corporate wellness programs is investment of time and effort. And if we talk about the money, then upon successful implementation of the program, the benefits are generally much higher than the pre-calculated ROI. There is an approximate loss of about 16% in productivity due to ill health every year. Not only can companies make huge savings by reduction on expenditure on health insurance, but a fit employee helps to increase productivity and bring in profits for the company.
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Trista Chan is a Wellness Strategy Advisor at Optimity. She leverages her education in nutrition and experience in corpoate health to guide organizations in building healthy, engaged employees. Her "me-time" activities include yoga, reading health blogs, cooking....did she mention she likes wellness? Her passion for all things health-related shines through in both her work and personal life.
About Optimity
We believe in 3 things: living well should be easy, energizing and fun; small actions can go a long way in leading you to success; and a culture of health is imperative to highly productive teams.
Working with physicians, trainers, nutritionists, and researchers, Optimity mindfully connects you with your habits on day to day making it fun to engage in self-improvement and self-actualization regularly. Optimity has created a way to make choosing a healthier way of life at the office and on the go both effortless and rewarding, by providing our users with personalized daily health challenges.
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