The New Direction of Worksite Wellness by Kristie Howard
Kristie Howard
Vice President, Employee Benefits Services
Wellness Director
Hello friends!
I wanted to share some thoughts about exciting new developments in Worksite Wellness. I recently attended the annual National Wellness Conference held in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and am as energized as I’ve ever been about the direction the wellness industry is taking!
The national conversation is shifting from “wellness” - which is perceived by many as the physical aspects of health (nutrition and exercise programs) - to “well-being”, which encompasses all aspects of individual wellbeing: Social, Work-life, Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual.
Through the work of organizations like Gallup / Healthways and their Well-Being Index, new insights have emerged about the relationship between physical, social, and emotional factors; improved health; and business performance. The measurement of factors not usually addressed in wellness programs, such as life satisfaction, work engagement, caring for elderly family members, and even work commute times, are shown to have direct correlation with other risk factors and higher health care costs. One example is Life Satisfaction, which is categorized in three areas (from best to worst): Thriving, Struggling, and Suffering. Individuals who are thriving have 20% lower health care costs than those who are struggling, and those who are suffering have 50% higher health care costs.
Here is another interesting insight. Current approaches to tackling obesity recognize that high BMI (body mass index) is correlated with unhealthy eating, lack of exercise, and stress/lack of coping skills. But newer research also highlights links between BMI, financial stress and recognition at work, suggesting future potential areas of exploration. These areas, previously unexplored, are now being recognized by the wellness community as serious drains on health and productivity. It would behoove us as employers, consultants, and wellness professionals to take a look at addressing the real underlying causes of poor health and productivity, and do what we can to make an impact.
The good news is we can! Forward thinking companies have already started by making a commitment to support employee well-being in all areas of their lives. An easy first step would be to understand what risk factors exist in your own employee population through a survey or health assessment questionnaire so you can target your programs to meet employee needs. For example, Health Advocate services, a strong Employee Assistance Program, and a backup child care benefit might help an employee population where caring for children or elderly parents is a prevalent issue.
Another possible area for expansion would be financial well-being. Many employers offer 401k benefits, but what about seminars on budgeting or credit? Did you know Longfellow Advisors’ retirement team has Certified Financial Planners on staff that can assist with financial education? You can also check with your EAP provider to see what kinds of financial education resources or discounts are available. For more ideas on the topic of financial well-being, check out my article from the November 2009 issue of BLR Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits. And lastly, if your organization struggles with employee engagement, you may want to consider ways to improve engagement as part of your overall health and productivity management strategy.
I am extremely optimistic about the opportunity to bring worksite wellness programs further into the spotlight as a business management strategy and not just a health cost management initiative. As co-founder of the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts, I can promise we will help keep worksite wellness programs relevant by incorporating these new concepts into our educational programs and best practices toolkit!
As always, I welcome your thoughts and feedback. Please feel free to contact me at
khoward@lf-ben.com.
Be well!
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