STAGE IV—Taking Action. I’m Doing It!
Resources & Programs Offered by SHH
The Benefits of a Health Promotion Initiative
Healthier Work Force—One of the appeals of a well-constructed workplace wellness program is the possibility for improved health. A smoking-cessation, nutrition and exercise program has been shown to positively impact employees.
Improved Moral—A culture change is good and can result in a new level of energy throughout the organization.
Reduced Employee Turnover— Businesses use health promotion to help prevent employees from switching jobs. This reduces employee replacement costs , saving expenses such as running employment ads, conducting job interviews, and training new employees.
Recruitment—The promotion of health in the workplace can allow small businesses a better opportunity to recruit employees. Healthy employees will reduce the turnover rate as well as saving costs on job interviews.
Reduce Absenteeism—By promoting health and educating employees about preventing illnesses, and injury, absenteeism can be reduced. Small changes made to an employees’ lifestyle can significantly reduce sick days.
Mis”con”ceptions…Shattered!
Cost—While there may be some cost to starting a worksite wellness program the money saved more than make up for it. Partnering your business with local health organizations (Somerset Heart Health, Redington-Fairview General Hospital) can also make costs marginal.
Employee Involvement—When looking at statistics, it is common to see wellness programs that have low participation rates that also have poorly-design programs. Organizing company-wide walks, nutrition meetings, or supplying healthy snacks for meetings can energize employees and assist with involvement in the program.
It’s none of my business—If you are responsible for health insurance of any sort, you should be interested in what is causing rising insurance rates. Caring for employees’ health and implementing a program can assist in lowering sick rates and increasing worker’s morale.
Time—A common misconception is that health promotion takes too much time. This can be offset by prepacked programs that take little time to distribute amongst employees. Self-study materials, home-based work, and computers have also made it easier to develop a proper program without taking away from valuable work time.
Need for Onsite Healthcare Professional—A common misconception is that in order for a wellness program to get off the ground, there needs to be a health promotion professional. Most programs are run by current employees. Resources such as books, pamphlets, and training manuals are readily available for anyone in need of assistance about a topic.
Lack of Evidence—There are growing amounts of studies that show that carefully-designed programs and interventions can and do work. It is easier to promote wellness within small businesses – most troubles with programs come from larger company settings.