Corporate and company wellness programs may not be an entirely new concept, but companies are investing into these programs at an increasing rate. This is for a good reason: there are considerable benefits to both employees and business owners. Companies that steer resources toward health and wellness experience increased productivity, less downtime and other benefits that improve the bottom line. With more preventative medical care offered at the workplace, many companies are enjoying values that both enhance business and employee morale; a win-win scenario for both employees and business owners.
The History of Employee Wellness Programs
While not the first company to invest in employee health, in 1979 Johnson & Johnson was the first major corporation to invest in employee wellness programming—and their model is still in use to this day. To support the overall health of their workers, they offered stress management and educational programs on topics such as nutrition and fitness. Based on diagnostic screening, Johnson & Johnson was able to focus on areas of high-risk and mitigate danger to their workforce.
Slowly, other companies began to embrace the concept of corporate support of employee wellness beyond offering medical insurance plans. Today, Forbes reports that as many as 80% of companies in the U.S. offer some form of wellness programming. Whatever the reasons are for offering employee support—possibly to enhance employee morale or simply to take care of their employees as an altruistic or societal good—companies are seeing benefits in many different ways.
The Fiscal Benefits of Wellness Training
Yes—employee wellness programs do lead to improved ROI. According to Harvard Business School, US-based companies that invest in employee wellness see their medical expenses decrease by more than $3.00 for every dollar spent on wellness training or programming. That’s good news for businesses that have a tight budget to contend with.
These days, many American businesses are cash-strapped but recognize the heightened need to invest in employee health. There’s no clear answer for how much a company should invest into employee wellness programming, but there are clear indicators that show that the more a company invests, the larger the returns are down the road.
Employee Wellness Programs Lead to Decreased Downtime
Businesses that invest in employee wellness training and programming report less employee downtime. It only stands to reason that healthier employees call in sick less often, because overall they are sick less often. If your business is interested in employee wellness training, you might consider what your workforce’s needs are.
Businesses should always tailor their wellness programs to suit the needs of the employee base. For instance, you may want to consider how many employees smoke and use that number to invest in more effective preventative care. By helping employees manage their health challenges through formal wellness programs, you are supporting their overall health and creating a happier, more productive workforce.
Employee Morale as a Top Priority
Employees that feel healthy tend to be happier—and vice versa. Because of this, your business might want to invest in stress management programs as well as other programs that support the medical needs of employees. Additionally, employees may even see their insurance costs decrease simply because they participated in your wellness programs or training. There are a lot of incentives for securing the health and happiness of your employee, but the biggest payoff is in improved morale.
Pharma-Safe is devoted to providing assistance to oil and gas-industry businesses so that they can ensure the best possible future for themselves and their employees. To learn more about wellness training from the industry’s most experienced HSE leaders, visit our website today.
