Behavior Change and Health News
Get Active at Work
Worksites and employees seeking to improve the overall health of their organizations can take part in the 15th annual National Employee Health and Fitness Day on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. Administered by the National Association for Health and Fitness, this national health observance promotes the benefits of physical activity for individuals through their worksites and encourages Americans to be active for life.
Health care costs
The growing popularity of preventive health programs stems from steadily increasing health care costs that are expected to exceed $7,300 per employee in 2004. Providing wellness programs at work makes sense because we spend so much time at work: Americans put in longer hours at work than people in most other industrialized countries.
Over 50% of health care costs result from lifestyle-related conditions such as physical inactivity and poor nutrition. Employees working over 40 hours per week often neglect their health and diet, which can contribute to increased rates of illness and absenteeism and ultimately drive health care costs upwards. One report stated an annual cost of $645 per employee in 2003 due to absenteeism. Poor health also contributes to higher levels of stress, obesity, and lower morale.
Does worksite wellness work?
Various reports indicate that organizations find worksite wellness programs to be effective. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota offers preventive care plans and has posted annual employer savings as high as $36 million. The following are other benefits of worksite health promotion programs:
- Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy employees
- Improved health care costs
- Decreased rates of illness and injury
- Reduced employee absenteeism
By participating in worksite wellness programs, employees can achieve these benefits:
- Lower levels of stress
- Increased well-being, self-image, and self-esteem
- Improved physical fitness
- Increased stamina
- Potential weight reduction
Active Living Every Day is a realistic, evidence-based program developed by Human Kinetics and The Cooper Institute that helps inactive people become and stay physically active for a lifetime. The program targets sedentary adults who most need to become physically active, and it focuses on the root causes of inactivity. Participants learn to overcome their barriers to physical activity by learning practical lifestyle skills. Because Active Living Every Day has flexible delivery options, it is well suited for use in worksites. To learn how your worksite can implement Active Living Every Day and begin promoting healthy lifestyles, please click here.
Sources
Aamodt, Mike. Employee absenteeism rates in the U.S. Radford University Department of Psychology. www.radford.edu.
Employment Policy Foundation. Facts and fallacy: Hours of work: A matter of choice for most working Americans. Oct 1999. www.epf.org.
National Association for Health and Fitness. National Employee Health and Fitness. www.physicalfitness.org/nehf.
Plunkett Research. Continued rise in health care costs. www.plunkettresearch.com.
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