Wellness has become the new buzzword in the health care world of the 21st century. Everyone wants to talk about wellness, especially insurance companies and major employers.

With wellness programs we can cure the common cause of large butts and employees who are listed as MIA. Billions of dollars are lost every year in productivity and profits as employees and insurance claimants are sick due to causes related to bad habits and poor health choices. But with wellness programs, we can make these all go away. Yeah, right.

Most Americans make New Year’s resolutions about their health, but in the vast majority of cases there is extremely poor to no follow through. Or, those resolutions fade away shortly after their program starts, and the wellness plan melts away like a snowflake on a warm woolen mitten. Wellness programs are one way to help reduce employee absences and decrease insurance claims, but they are not the only way. The biggest way to stop the bleeding is to get people to change the way they think about their personal health and the way they live.

Lifestyle choices are largely based on how people see themselves in the mirror. To make a difference in your health, you need to analyze your daily routine and see what you want to change to become a healthier person. If you are already in great physical, mental, and spiritual shape, then good for you! However, you may want to develop a maintenance program involving all those aspects that will keep you at the top of your game. But the bottom line is that most people are not proactive about their health.

A recent study released by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona said that 87% of the respondents revealed their health could be improved. About 25% of employees surveyed admitted missing at least one day of work per quarter due to poor health, and over 50% said that their health impaired work performance. The Phoenix Business Journal stated that the U.S. Surgeon General reported that 75% of the health care dollars spent in the U.S. is to treat chronic diseases that could be prevented by healthier lifestyles. Employers are tired of paying for sick workers. Yet, more and more employees are signing up for company wellness programs in order to reduce health care expenses.

Participation in wellness programs has been proven to increase employee retention and productivity, and the primary motivation is to stay healthy. The motivation must have an incentive for it to work.

According to a study published February 2007 on Inc.com, Principal Financial and Harris Interactive reported increased rates of participation in wellness programs including health screenings, fitness plans, and additional modules like smoking cessation and more. The survey proved that both employers and employees want the same thing–a healthier workplace and lifestyle. Wellness benefits encourage workers to work harder and have an increased incentive to stay with their current employer.

Yet with all this increased activity, employees need to have a carrot at the end of the stick in order for them to want to get involved with a wellness plan. Some may do it just for the end result of a healthier life, but most employees want additional benefits beyond a smaller waist line and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Employers want to know how to get their workers to buy into a wellness program. By and large, wellness, wellness programs themselves have been proven to be successful. But employers are looking for ways to increase profits and improve employee motivation to stay on the job. Stimulating workers to exercise and diet is not easy, and just telling someone to improve their health for themselves and for the good of the company and they will feel better does not jump start a high rate of participation. And saying to the employee “Lose weight or get fired,” doesn’t help much either. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. Some forward thinking companies use rewards–gift cards, keepsakes, travel packages, bonuses, etc–as incentives. They make a short term impact with long term results. Tracking participation, progress, and costs will help improve profitability and employee satisfaction.

Keeping the cost of employee insurance down is one way to make wellness programs worthwhile, but the best return is to have an increase in the number of employees who don’t miss work due to illness and who want to work. Change in behavior and attitude are the real reasons that wellness programs are successful. Profits and a happy workforce are the benefits from instituting wellness programs. A pleasant workplace environment with healthy employees is a much better way to get more work done, and healthy workers have a much better attitude about themselves, their employer, and their jobs.

Wellness works, but attitudes and behavior have to change first. Old habits die hard, but new ones are easier to form.

Your Best Health Care is a blog that was created in 2007 to relay
information to readers interested in how to navigate various health
care topics. The notes contained on each topic are credited to sources
relative to the material. Not all information is original, but the blog
references additional sources that have been edited for the benefit of
readers. Over the past 10 years as I have been involved in the health
care industry, I have found that good information gives value to people
who need help finding out how things work in the health care market
place. This Blog also links to other valuable sources for health care
information from sources like the CDC, the Mayo Clinic, Time, CNN, and
many other news feeds. This material is for informational purposes only
and should not be used for medical advice, which is only available from
your doctor or a licensed health care professional. I hope you find the
topics informative and helpful.

Until next time.

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About Mark Roberts

My professional sales background includes almost 30 years of sales and marketing \ in the tax, insurance, and investment markets. I have contributed to the CAREINGTON sales team in a variety of aspects, such as developing marketing materials and designing benefit plans, responding to RFPs, and adding both individuals and new groups to CAREINGTON membership. Part of my responsibilities include attending client conferences as a vendor rep for the company; and since September, 2001, I have also worked with the company to help recruit a network of hundreds of outside agents, re-sellers, and affinity groups to market CAREINGTON products. Currently serving as Manager of National Accounts, my key focus is developing relationships with large national membership groups, insurance plans, employers, unions, and financial institutions. I am known as the hunter on our sales team, and have been privileged to work with many of our top clients in various areas of responsibility. Additionally, I assist individual retail consumers interested in our services.My specialties also include almost 30 years experience in Sales and Marketing. I also serve as account manager to clients including financial institutions, insurance companies and national association groups. I am also a licensed life, health and accident insurance agent in all 50 states and DC, and I have participated in multiple large national employer open enrollments for worksite products including limited medical benefit plans, short term disability, term and universal life policies, cancer and critical illness policies, and many other insurance products offered through our sister company, Core Five Solutions, a nationwide insurance agency and licensed third party administrator.Additionally, I have been writing a health care blog for the past 2 years, found at www.yourbesthealthcare.blogspot.com
which is a topical weblog about various health care issues.  

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