Corporate Wellness with Sportsclub…
Did you know the average employee will spend over 1800 hours a year at work? This is a huge amount of time in which employers can have a real impact on their employees by educating them on the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Research from organizations such as the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control, and Harvard Business Review continues to show that promoting healthy habits to employees through comprehensive programs and organizational culture support effectively, benefits both employer and employee.
Most corporate health and wellness programs are started because employers want to help employees stay healthy, reduce health care costs, and mitigate absenteeism. Well-designed employee wellness programs will accomplish these goals. An enormous amount of published scientific evidence supports the impact of well-run wellness programs.
- The World Health Organization reported that in the United States an investment of $1 in physical activity leads to $3.20 in medical costs savings.
- Employees who actively took part in a corporate wellness program regained an average of 10.3 hours in additional productivity annually.
- Evidence indicates that instituting workplace health programs can reduce the average sick leave, health plan, workers’ compensation claims, and disability insurance costs by approximately 25%.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control, productivity losses related to employee health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year, or $225.8 billion annually.
- The Lancet found that physical inactivity by employees is deadlier and costlier than smoking.
There is no question that a properly implemented corporate wellness program does positively affect the health of a workforce. However, undoing years of poor health habits will not be an easy task. Unless motivated, most employees will have a hard time beginning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Get Help from Local Experts. Once the decision has been made to develop or revitalize a corporate wellness program, seek out help from your community partners. Experts are available in the Upstate to help you get the process started including health clubs such as Sportsclub Health & Wellness, hospital systems such as Bon Secours, and non-profit organizations such as Live Well Greenville and the South Carolina Business Coalition on Health.
About the writer, Kevin Dehlinger is the Executive Director at Sportsclub Fitness & Wellness.
References for this feature:
Black, Alexandra. “5 Reasons Employee Wellness is Worth the Investment.” Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, May 17, 2017, www.health.gov.
Hector De La Torre and Ron Goetzel, Ph.D. “How to Design a Corporate Wellness Program that Actually Works.” Harvard Business Review, March 31, 2016, www.hbr.org.