Workplace Health And Wellness

How can our business increase participation in the corporate wellness program?

Having a corporate wellness program in place can boost morale, improve health and fitness and increase productivity in the workplace. Now that you have taken the steps necessary to implement a corporate wellness program, how do you get your workers interested and willing to participate?

By implementing healthy consuming habits, exercise and offering incentives, your staff members won’t only sign up for the wellness program, but they will stick with it.

Does your business have an onsite fitness club that employees have access to? When not, offering free or discounted fitness club memberships to a local fitness club could be an effective method for getting employees to exercise. Whether the fitness club is on or off-site nonetheless, allowing employees to use the facility during work hours, like on their lunch break, will increase the likelihood that they will exercise.

Rewarding employees’ achievements is another way to keep them aroused and living a healthful lifestyle. Setting company objectives such as collectively walking a certain number of miles, supports team building. Offering incentives such as gift cards, certificates of achievement, and even a day off work may be effective ways to keep participation levels up.

Since there will likely be less sick days being used due to illness, your business might  be able to afford to offer a day off pass as an incentive. These incentives do not have to be expensive, just valuable to the worker.

Providing a healthy lunch once a week for employees participating in the corporate health plan, is a excellent way to promote healthy eating. Offering an incentive of healthy, delicious, free food is one way to reward employees for their efforts while supporting their new healthy lifestyle.

Having a corporate wellness program in place will provide long term benefits to both the business and the workers. This is one corporate plan that is definitely worth your time and money!

Why should our company host a corporate health fair?

Do you work in your corporation’s HR department? Are you looking for events to plan for your corporation this year? If so, it’d be a great idea to look into hosting a corporate wellness fair. Corporate wellness fairs are valuable to both the business and the staff member because they promote overall health, awareness and prevention.

What type of providers are at a wellness fair?

There are many providers to pick from when bringing a corporate wellness fair to your business. the most well-liked providers include dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists and the American Red Cross. These few well-liked providers are a part of a long list available to attend wellness fairs.

How do we select which vendors to include in the health fair?

While most providers are great for all employees, there are some providers available for corporations with a specific demographic. for  instance, when your business has a lot of pregnant women or women of child bearing age, it may be a good idea to have a provider namely talking about prenatal care.

When there are a lot of smokers at your business, you may want to have the American Lung Association present. Attempt to pick providers that meet your employees’ needs. Remember that hosting a corporate health fair is meant to be beneficial to them.

When should we hold a wellness fair?

Anytime is a excellent time to host a health fair. Notwithstanding, you might want to consider not scheduling around holidays or busy seasons so that you can maximize participation. Another excellent choice is having the corporate health fair on a weekend and making it family friendly. Corporate health fairs help keep everybody healthy, therefore increasing work productivity.

Not only does hosting a corporate health fair promote health, it also builds friendship between coworkers, bettering team building and communication in the office. It’s a win-win for both the employer and the employee!

Wellness programs have been shown to decrease absenteeism, employee turnover rates, and healthcare costs. It is a key piece of a corporation’s success. the results of these programs lead to higher productivity, which in the end leads to a more profitable business.

In order for these programs to run properly and produce results they must’ve a clear operating plan with an attainable and measurable goal. the programs must also encourage all staff members to lead a healthful lifestyle while at work and at home.

Wellness programs have been introduced to companies all over the U.S. in an effort to make employees healthier and in turn happier. Businesses which implement these programs do so to varying degrees. Some simply offer literature about how to live a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress while at work.

Some corporations offer biometric screenings and health risk (assessment|appraisal}s for free during the year to help workers understand what is going on with their health and what they can do to improve it.

At the top of the list, there are the businesses which offer free, on-site fitness clubs and aerobics programs to be used during lunchtime breaks or after work. No matter what is offered it’d be a waste not to take benefit of these wellness programs.

It requires careful planning and thought to begin wellness programs. Once a program is put into place it’s very important to reassess and analyze it several times in order to reach the main goal -  healthier staff members.

All the programs that are put in place should be examined after a determined time frame to help the business understand what needs to be changed or kept in place to maintain corporate wellness.

Everyone knows today that working in corporate America may be a stressful situation. It seems that staff members are expected to work longer hours and spend more time away from home. Long commutes and large amounts of work are taking its toll on American office workers. Something should be done; corporation wellness is a good way to begin to help all those stressed out workers.

Beginning corporation wellness programs can help develop a healthy culture. There ought to be an incentive program set up to drive interest to wanting to be more health conscious. Making good decisions that affect health now and in the future ought to be rewarded as individual’s goals are met.

There are a number of wellness ideas that a business wellness program can help plan for. Some ideas include giving out maps of walking or jogging trails located near the workplace. It’s a good idea to post a steps accumulated map on the workplace wall where all staff members can log their steps or miles.

Be sure to help encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoy other forms of exercise to form fitness groups to meet before work, during lunch, or after work.

In a business environment, relationship development is also an area where aligning cultural touch points are necessary. Make sure to work culture affects health practices.

Employees will either form personal relationships in a bad way, like use of tobacco in the break room, or they’ll form relationships doing something more physical like going for a round of golf for relaxation and developing friendships with fellow staff members. Make sure to work should be done to develop healthful venues to develop specialist friendships and relationships.

There are so many good benefits for a company selecting  to make company wellness a priority. Workers who participate in wellness programs are more likely to be the best employees.

Coworker relationships in the workplace are important to creating a healthful lifestyle culture that lasts. as an added bonus, overall job satisfaction is better if staff members are feeling well and healthful while doing their work.

Corporate wellness is among the most important investments that a business can make. Businesses that implement wellness programs aren’t only investing in the physical wellness, safety, and mental health of their staff members, but are also taking preventive measures by creating a healthier environment.

By starting a wellness program, companies are able to improve the overall productivity and are able to save money on medical expenses. Often, companies are concerned about the actual wellness ROI (return on investment) but the reality is that by encouraging healthier lifestyles, companies are creating healthier workers who will work more diligently and miss fewer days of work due to disease.

It is imperative that corporations not only provide corporate wellness solutions for their workers, but that they also maintain ongoing knowledge about safety and wellness techniques. Corporations need to keep up to date on health statistics and stay aware of ways to encourage specific wellness issues like use of tobacco cessation or weight loss.

It is often helpful for a corporation to speak with doctors who participate in medical CME so that they’re up to date with how they can assist their workers in maintaining wellness.

Additionally, if a corporation maintains an on-site fitness club, it’s necessary that the corporation employs person who have received the proper training and certification, which makes up the fitness club management, in order to assist staff members with exercising safely.

Although corporations may establish a robust wellness program with many choices, an incentive wellness program is often necessary in order to encourage workers to actually participate in the programs.

Whether one is creating a corporate wellness Chicago or a corporate wellness small-town Nebraska program, the issue that businesses often have in common, is the lack of motivation of workers to actually participate. Providing incentives for workers, like a free lunch or gift cards, may  be simple enough rewards to encourage workers to participate in corporate wellness.

Do you know the fastest-growing reason for employee assistance program (EAP) use since 2003?  

It isn’t for substance abuse or depression. Actually, it’s financial in nature. Over the last five years, there’s been a stated 69 percent jump in worker employee assistance program (EAP) use related to personal financial concerns.

The trend isn’t all that surprising in this era of salary freezes, high deductibles and cost-sharing of benefits premiums.

Statistics show that, for the first time since the Great Depression, the average American has negative savings - in other words, debt exceeds income - in a average month.

A lot of employees are racking up high credit card debt, make the problem worse.

Troubling trends

Here are some ominous numbers from a recent staff member survey -

• 27 percent of respondents said they were “one major setback away from financial disaster”

• 22% say they were “worse off than last year, with less take-home income and more debt”

• 40% say their corporation is “insensitive to their employees’ financial needs,” and

• only 6% said they felt comfortable with their current financial situation and ability to manage their debts.

The majority of personal-finance related employee assistance program use arises from concerns over debt management, household refinancing and/or failed investments.

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Permitting workers to bring camera phones to work can carry hidden legal risks.  

But should you tackle this issue aggressively or trust your employees to do the right thing?  Every company wants to create an environment where employees feel trusted by management. But there’s also the need to stay protected legally, and it isn’t always easy to balance the two.

The cell phone issue is in particular delicate since most staff members carry them nowadays, and improper use at work is a non-issue for the vast majority. But there are always several bad apples in every bunch.

Growing number of complaints

There has been an explosion of lawsuits - and complaints to management - about workers taking inappropriate photos at work with their cell phone cameras.

Most cases revolve around embarassing or expliclit photos of peers (sometimes but not always posted on the Internet or e-mailed to others in the office). Nevertheless, a handful of lawsuits have arisen from employees taking photos of confidential documents or other internal information.

As most benefits and HR veterans would tell you, the most valuable benefit an organization can offer its staff members is a workplace where they feel trusted and valued. Contrarily, it only takes one “joke” gone too far to stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble. and no firm is immune from this risk.

Three options

One step every corporation ought to take is circulating a memo or having a face-to-face meeting with workers about the need to restrict camera phone use at work, says labor lawyer William Hannum.

This is the time to answer questions and make clear that the policy is a matter of a legal concern, not a case of Big Brother watching over employees’ shoulders. for added legal protection, you could want to create a formal camera phone policy to be written staff member handbooks.

Some employers have gone so far as to take the step of banning camera phone (or personal cell phone) use at work and prohibiting people  from posting personal photos or videos from business computers.

Notwithstanding, these policies are challenging to enforce and run the risk of alienating the majority of workers who use the devices responsibly.

As an alternative, a few firms that haven’t banned camera phones have had workers sign a policy that gives managers permission to review photos or videos on the phone if there’s a complaint. If you go down either of these routes, remember -

• the policy ought to be enforced consistently

• your policy must spell out specific steps for filing and evaluating  a complaint, and

• the policy should clearly specify the disciplinary steps for violations.

The enforcement aspect is especially tricky. In cases where the phones are business property, businesss clearly have the right to control non-work use - which includes requiring staff members to turn over the contents stored on the phone in cases of suspected abuse. Employees have no legal expectation of privacy in such cases.  

Notwithstanding, there’s a slippery slope when the phone is an employee’s property. as a rule of thumb, companys ordinarily have the right to inspect the contents as they pertain to alleged inappropriate behavior within the workplace.

Where it gets tricky is dealing with behavior that takes places on the employee’s private time, but overlaps with the workplace (e.g., staff members go out socializing at a bar after work, and potentially embarassing camera phone photos get spread around the workplace). Legal professionals caution companys to tread very carefully in these cases.

Where does your organization stand?

Does your organization have - or is considering a policy on employee camera phones? Do you think such policies are workable or even appropriate?

In my conversations with attendees at the SHRM conference in Chicago, HR and benefits managers appear to be divided on the issue.

In a value-based plan, the idea is to reward workers for seeking treatments that promote wellness.

The more clinically viable the treatment, the less an staff member compensates out of pocket for it.

Example -  Women over 40 and younger workers with a family history of breast cancer pay less for a yearly mammogram than workers for whom the test isn’t as necessary.

Value-based plans often work better than high-deductible plans when used in combination with standard wellness program features such as health risk (assessment|appraisal}s.

Five target areas

As reported by the May 2008 issue of Simply Well, there are four quality-of-care criteria that have emerged as key benchmarks of the quality of care -  healthcare management, preventive screenings and treatments, member service and access to care.

Areas of care that are of particular concern -

• Employees’ dependents receiving appropriate and timely childhood/adolescent immunizations

• Breast cancer screenings for female health plan enrollees, ages 52 to 64

• Diabetic workers receiving hemoglobin A1C and LDL-C testing

• Members receiving proper referrals and treatment for mental health issues (e.g., primary care doctor refers a patient to a professional to ensure proper prescription and management of an anti-depressant medication)

• Pregnant workers receivig time and appropriate prenatal and postpartum care, and prevention of antibiotic treatment in adults with acute bronchitis.

The quality of care for many of the aforementioned issues can suffer when employees foot too much of the bill out of their own pockets.

The hope for value-based plans is that workers get some cost relief and obtain treatments that will reduce costs in the long run.

As scary as they seem at first glance, complying with health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA)’s privacy rules may be relatively painless.

Contrary to common belief, the rules - with a few key exceptions - apply only to a fraction of the medical information Benefits handles.

As long as the business remains legally “hands off” of employee’s private health information, you can dodge most of the HIPAA bullet.

For HIPAA privacy purposes, your firm is considered “hands off” even when you obtain de-identified personal information, aggregate claims data and routine enrollment info.

Bottom line -  If your organization’s health plans are fully insured and the claims administered through a TPA, the insurance company - not your firm - bears the brunt of the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) privacy compliance responsibility.

One major exception -  medical cafeteria plans. In most cases, you’ve two compliance choices -

• Process reimbursement requests first through your TPA, with the TPA making sure the claim qualifies under the terms of the cafeteria plan before your firm reimburses it, or

• Develop a written cafeteria plan privacy policy, issue a notice to employees, appoint a privacy officer and amend your plan documents.

Rarely affects FMLA

Many individuals  - including health care providers - misunderstand how HIPAA affects medical certifications for FMLA leave. the key -  HIPAA only applies to personal information that filters through your health plan, not certifications acquired from a doctor.

Under FMLA, you’re permitted to obtain the minimum information you need to approve and administer leave. Likewise, HIPAA doesn’t apply to most workers’ comp, return-to-work notices or disability claims.

Even so, it pays to be careful how you ask for and use the information. Other state and federal privacy laws often protect the same kinds of info individuals  assume falls under health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA).

Following procedures

The health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) privacy rules are heavy on paperwork and procedure.

But since your firm follows  the info-gathering process spelled out in your health plan documents, the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) privacy rules ought to present few major obstacles.

Many firms are still missing an opportunity to trim some medical plan expenses.

Generic versions of high-cholesterol drug Zocor have been on market for two years now, but a fair share of corporation drug store plans have yet to make the switch.

If your PBM gives generic Zocor favored status on the formulary, now’s a good time to remind employees -

• most people  on cholesterol-control meds will get the same therapeutic value from generic Zocor as from the label brand and the more potent - and still patented - Lipitor

•  they can save $10 to $50 (or more, depending on your drug plan design) on their co-payment by switching, but

•  they ought to ask their physician first. Individuals  with cholesterol levels over 200 and/or family histories of  ultra-high cholesterol could  be better off staying on Lipitor.

Reason -  It takes four times the amount of a Zocor-type medication  to equal one dose of Lipitor.