Do wellness programs really work?

Since smokers and overweight employees cost their employers billions of dollars in lost wages, health care costs, and production costs, employers have started implementing wellness programs. Some wellness programs cost a lot of money to implement so this makes one wonder, `Do wellness programs really work?

The motivation behind a wellness program is easy to figure out, companies want to save money. They can easily save money on health care costs if they can get their high risk employees to improve their lifestyles. Normally this means your overweight employees and smoking employees will be targeted because they cause the health insurance costs to rise. Several companies have had success with wellness programs. Some companies have seen a $24 return for every $1 they invest in the wellness program, other see about a $10 return for every $1 invested.

In order for a wellness program to be effective, the employees need to participate. It will not work well for your company if you only have 3 employees participate in the program and quit smoking or drop some weight. You need the support and participation of every staff member. Even the employees that are in good health need to participate in the wellness program. Some companies have tried implementing mandatory employee participation, others allow for volunteer employee participation. The bad part about mandatory participation is you will have some employees that flat out refuse to do it. A railroad company tried to make their workers stretch and do warm-ups before they started work. The employees did not agree with it and they threatened to strike. This of course stopped the program and the frustrated managers went back to the drawing board to discuss a new method to get their employees to participate.

Then there are the companies that get fed up with their employees that are costing them money so they start penalizing them. This type of wellness program doesn't always promote good health; it instead makes a lot of employees angry and resentful against the company. The penalties can vary. Normally employers will simply tell their overweight employees and smoking employees that they will start taking additional money out of their paychecks to pay for the additional health care costs. Some companies have had success with this wellness program while others have received intense criticism.

The best type of wellness program is one that encourages employees to live a healthier lifestyle using incentives to motivate them. Instead of charging them more money if they smoke, give them some extra money each year for not smoking. Then, if they continue this pattern, you can increase the compensation you give them. It is much easier to get your employees to participate in a wellness program if they know and understand they will be rewarded for it.

If you want your wellness program to be successful, you need to support and encourage your employees to participate. The company, Coors, offers great support to their employees by sending out letters to their staff members to praise them for their hard work. This not only is directed at the employee but at their family as well. The family is the main support system and they may be the driving factor for the change in the employee.

Another type of wellness program to try is to have your employees voluntarily contribute to a pot. For each $1 they donate, match this amount with company money. When the employees lose weight or quit smoking and they achieve their goals, they will be rewarded with their own money plus the money donated by their employer. When employees have their own money on the line, they will work harder because they don't want to lose it.

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