Benefits versus cost of employee wellness programs

Employers of every size and type are seeing the benefits of improving the health of their employees. Because of this employee wellness programs have become a popular option, for many companies to offer. Employee wellness programs consist of many different options.The best programs are ones that address the needs of that specific group of employees. Employee wellness programs can include: reimbursement for gym memberships or onsite gyms, free immunizations, health screening, classes in smoking cessation or weight loss management among various other options.

However, it is important to note that employees are not the only ones to benefit from this type of program. Employee wellness programs have been shown to be a significant cost method, for most businesses. If the business has carefully planned and implemented the program they can find their bottom line improved in a number of ways. This is an important fact to understand, because there is no denying that employee wellness program cost money, and employers don't really want to be spending their hard earned cash. However, the investment by the employer is often only a fraction of the return on investment.

For employees, the benefits can be huge. Employees who participate in this type of program, find that there health improves quickly. When an employee is healthier this means fewer doctor visits and needed medical treatment, which in turn means lower costs, for both the employee (co-pays, deductibles etc.) and the employer. When the health plan is being used less, the employer is given a lower health plan utilization rating, which results in lower costs, for health plan premiums. Best of all this cost savings can be done, for a fairly low investment. Studies have estimated that many employers can earn back the cost of an employee wellness program in less then 5 years, if they can reduce the risk factors their employees have, by less then 1%.

There is added significance of the benefits provided by the employee wellness program, in that employees, who participate in these types of program, are not only healthier, but they are more productive for the company. They also take fewer sick days and have shorter leave times, when necessary. This means that by providing an employee wellness program, not only will your employees be there more; they will be doing a better job when there are.

There are also several intangible benefits to providing an employee wellness program.
These intangible benefits are much harder to calculate the exact money saved, however, employers can find that they mean a high return on investment, for their employee wellness program as well. Some of these intangible benefits are-

• Employees who have higher morale-Employees who utilize employee wellness programs report that they feel much better about themselves. It is interesting to note that this improved feeling of wellbeing happens fairly quickly after regularly participating in the program.


• Employees who report higher levels of job satisfaction-Employees who are participating in this type of program, report being happier with their jobs and feel that their employer truly cares about their health and well being.


• Employees who report higher levels of company loyalty-Once an employee feels that his or her employer truly cares about him as an individual, he is much more likely to feel loyal to that company. This results in two different things-first, the employee is much more likely to provide a higher quality of work, and secondly, the employee is much less likely to leave the company. This is significant since the costs of recruiting, hiring and training are costs that an employer wants to avoid.


• Employers find that their employee wellness program can be a valuable recruiting tool, for top talent-When a company offers an employee wellness program they are often viewed much more positively by job applicants, then those companies who do not.