This may seem like a no-brainer, but healthier employees often lead to lower long-term workers' compensation premiums.
By implementing workplace health initiatives, many companies are taking proactive measures to help with decreasing health issues affecting their employees.
This is particularly important because of the following trends impacting the American workforce:
- The working population is aging, with the national average around 42 years old.
- There is a decreasing number of skilled workers, increasing the number of on-the-job injuries.
- Obesity rates are astronomical and continue to rise.
- There is a steady increase in inactivity among Americans.
- Medical care costs continue to rise.
- There is an increase in stress-related illnesses.
- Approximately 10% of Americans live with significant limitations from chronic conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, or thyroid disorders.
Most importantly for risk managers, non-work-related health issues directly increase the risk of work-related injuries. More work-related injuries don’t just increase the cost of workers comp premiums (direct cost) but also reduce your organizational output's efficiency and effectiveness (indirect cost).
READ NEXT: Workers Comp Experience Modification Rate: Everything You Need To Know
What is a Workplace Wellness Program?
A wellness program is a comprehensive health initiative designed to maintain or improve well-being through proper diet, exercise, stress management, and illness prevention.
Wellness programs can include smoking cessation, weight loss education, fitness challenges, therapy, and many other plans designed to increase an individual's overall health.
In the past, primary care physicians and insurance companies offered wellness programs. However, there has been a growing trend for companies to develop workplace wellness programs for their employees.
Workplace wellness programs fight the upward trend of unhealthy employees and decrease medical care costs and insurance premiums. Employers can provide information in various formats, such as wellness videos, pamphlets, health-related quizzes, and bulletin boards.
According to The American Institute for Preventative Medicine, 91% of today’s organizations have a health and wellness program, compared to 78% a decade ago. Workplace wellness programs may also include incentives to encourage employee participation.
12 Examples of Workplace Wellness Programs
To assist your employees in getting healthy, staying healthy, and consequently reducing their risk of a workplace injury or illness, here are 12 ideas for workplace wellness programs you can implement in your business.
- Create an employee safety education committee devoted strictly to injuries-related health problems.
- Teach employees how to investigate accidents properly and determine ways to prevent them. This may include the following:
- Ergonomics evaluations
- Lift equipment evaluations
- Offer personal health profile screenings for employees to identify risk factors. This should include screenings for cholesterol, bone density, glucose, body mass index, and other essential tests.
- Provide personalized health coaching and self-help materials.
- Offer quarterly corporate challenges to promote weight loss and activity.
- Offer quarterly educational safety and health seminars.
- Consider implementing a cross-promotional safety and health program with your healthcare provider.
- Provide incentives to employees who fulfill health-related goals or remain free from injuries for an established time.
- Refer all employees who suffer work-related injuries to the wellness program coordinator for a consultation.
- Incorporate a safety presentation in your wellness seminars.
- Workers’ compensation managers and risk managers should provide health and wellness referrals to injured employees (we can help with this).
- Distribute monthly safety, health, and nutrition tips to employees.
These are just a few of the programs that our clients have implemented to help their employees live healthier lives.
READ NEXT: 7 Ways To Improve Your Return To Work Program
How to Establish and Design a Wellness Program
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), there are nine steps to establishing a workplace wellness program that will produce long-term results.
Step 1: Conduct Assessments
Obtaining information about the workforce's health—and the organization’s willingness to make improvements based on this information—is a critical step in developing a workforce wellness program.
Step 2: Obtain Management Support
As with any initiative, management buy-in is critical for funding purposes, obtaining support throughout the organization, and approving policies and processes related to the program.
Step 3: Establish a Wellness Committee
After conducting a needs assessment and obtaining management support, an employer can create an internal, employee-driven committee that helps build and sustain a wellness culture in the organization.
Step 4: Develop Goals and Objectives
Wellness program goals and objectives are statements of broad, long-term accomplishments expected from the program. Each goal has one or more objectives to ensure that the goal will be accomplished.
Step 5: Establish a Budget
Establishing a budget is a critical step in creating the wellness program. Without funding, the program will stall.
Step 6: Design Wellness Program Components
The wellness program may range from an elementary program to an elaborate multi-prong program. It is essential to include various components that target risk behaviors and the needs and interests of the employees.
Step 7: Select Wellness Program Incentives or Rewards
Incentives or rewards are an effective tool to change unhealthy behaviors, adhere to healthy behaviors, increase participation rates, or help individuals complete a program.
Step 8: Communicate the Wellness Plan
Communication is essential to marketing the program and ensuring participation. It is helpful to use contact to create a social culture where being healthy is valued.
Step 9: Evaluate the Success of the Program
As with any investment or project, evaluating the wellness program's effectiveness is essential in sustaining management and employee support and revising or implementing new programs.
The Rub
As stated at the top of this article, a healthy workplace is crucial to the long-term affordability and success of your workers’ compensation insurance.
Workplace wellness programs can play an essential role in keeping employees healthy and happy, which often, in turn, yields a higher output in terms of productivity.
This differs from how most insurance agencies talk to you about workers comp.
Rogue Risk is different.
We can help.
If your current insurance professional has never addressed issues such as total cost of risk or return-to-work programs with you, I would like to encourage you to contact us today.
- You can call or text us at 518.960.6600
- Click here to contact us via email.
I'm excited to introduce you to a new viewing of your insurance program.
Thank you,
Ryan Hanley
