3 Problems You Have with Your Health and Wellness Program
Posted April 21st, 2014
Health and wellness programs are proliferating among companies. But recent research has shown that they have not been all that effective at improving the health of employees. Part of the reason for that, some health experts say, is because the programs have not been implemented the way they should be.
Problem #1: For example, companies do little to measure the outcomes of their wellness programs. Less than 40 percent of companies with wellness programs bother to measure how effective they are, whether they are accomplishing what they were intended to. Without measuring effectiveness, the companies cannot find out where they are falling short and where they need to make changes.
Problem #2: Even when companies do measure outcomes, they are not evaluating them properly. For example, one company touted the fact that employees had lost an average of six pounds because of its wellness program. But people need to average at least 11 pounds of weight loss in order to decrease the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Problem #3: According to health experts, is that companies start the program from the wrong end, with a health risk analysis of employees. This can be intimidating for people when they are told what their risks are and what they need to do to lessen them. They may also wonder if the information may be used against them with things like insurance rates, or they may not be prepared to hear about any bad news that may result from the assessment. This all acts more like a barrier to getting employees involved, rather than encouragement.
Instead, people need to be allowed to begin their programs at a point where they feel comfortable, and do what they feel comfortable doing, without the risk assessment hanging over their head.
Health and wellness also needs to become part of the company culture if it is really to take hold. That means that the business must take real and noticeable action to support wellness, such as offering healthy choices in the cafeteria and vending machines, and encouraging workers to get physical activity during the day with exercise and walking. Those at the top of the organization need to set an example by focusing on wellness.
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