Health Promotion is a excellent concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a in truth holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that leads to an overall feeling of wellness.

It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you start to talk about corporate health promotion, or corporate health promotion, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management and health screening do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.

They begin from the assumption that illness is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.

The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Health Promotion guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.

On the one hand there are the small businesses – people  working from home or in small centers selling all kinds of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating quickly.

On the contrary corporate health promotion is also exploding but in a very different direction.

The baby boomers who are driving the well-liked wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.

They are actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthy into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.

The corporations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make corporations liable for stress-related illness in their workers.

It’s also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the gigantic costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the corporations are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, such as physicians, nurses, insurance and screening systems.

The problem is that the traditional health system doesn’t have solutions for the problems that people  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a physician to get happy, because a physician does not have any clue how to make people  happy.  And many stress-related medical problems are described as chronic conditions, which means that they last for a very long time – or maybe for the rest of your life – because there’s no medical cure.

Counseling is a common offering in companies for emotional problems, but whilst it could provide a useful pressure valve it isn’t a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.

Imagine walking into a company where the employees are happy, healthy, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.

That type of corporation would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people  would be working to their optimum capacity.

So can we create a system of true wellness that will serve the development of the companies and their workers and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?

First of all we have to face the fact that we can’t place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, have not been solved by the current system.

If they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we would all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

We also cannot rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, like the on-site massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most individuals  unaffected. They’re easy to organize but have little or no real effect on worker health promotion.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness companies that are springing up simply don’t have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

Notwithstanding it’s in the best interest of both businesses and employees to find and create systems of wellness that really work – that benefit people  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home after the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the concept of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It’s time to increase the vision and find out how to make truly healthy, happy workplaces where individuals  thrive.

High rates of employee turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits. the high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in sum cost the typical company.

A lot of corporations are locating the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of programs that yield a reduction in these costs.

It’s become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness/fitness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.

Management’s objectives for a productive health promotion program must be viewed through the perspective of increased staff member productivity, reduced absenteeism due to health related causes, improved staff member morale, reduced utilisation of business subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.

It is obvious that an improvement in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an employees point of view could be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, decreased body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and workplace.

To be most productive a health promotion program needs to achieve both managements and employees goals, and this can be accomplished through a program that’ll provide the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and well-being, and the advantages of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that’ll allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that can be applied about their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Health Promotion Programs

Reduced Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5 percent over six years for the participants of their corporate fitness program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Lowered Health Care Costs – Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55% for corporate fitness program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an typical of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Decreased Turnover – Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Corporation was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment – BC/BS  of Indiana found that its corporate fitness program had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 businesses to consider making workforce health a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.

After several years of double-digit rate increases for health insurance, companies are realizing that among the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have employees take more responsibility for both costs and health options.

A majority of corporations surveyed feel that the best way for lowering costs is financial incentives to encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Almost 100 percent of corporations surveyed say that healthcare costs will be a vital or meaningful concern over the next five years, as reported by a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.

More businesss are adopting higher deductible health plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, health promotion programs, and expanded disease management (DM) programs for control ever-increasing health care costs.

Failure to deal with these issues can be disastrous for an business. Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health recently stated, “I think that we’ve built a healthcare machinery we cannot afford. I think we are choking the economic engine of America.”

In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California corporations billions of dollars each year.

Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect health costs, staff member’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced one of the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it’s an economic crisis.” What’s frightening is that most people  do not even realize that they’re obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight.

There is a excellent need for more education on weight and resulting illnesses, and the workplace is an ideal venue. Health Promotion education and programs can result in a meaningful return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce causes a very short period of time.

Although many businesss have attempted some form of health promotion program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.

In many cases, the healthier workers participated for incentives, like gym memberships, but those who needed it most didn’t take advantage of the program in a meaningful way.

Corporations are looking at ways to encourage more workers to purchase into the wellness movement.

A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource (HR) Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing and Advertising Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line –  Engaging Workers is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home.

This session provided actionable advice on how businesses are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on employee engagement. It also highlighted how you can develop an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your organization.

Corporations can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must act to engage them in a meaningful health promotion program to reduce medical costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Employees also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and expert lives. the alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the corporation.

A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal employee Health Promotion Committee.

Nutrition Category

• Low-fat campaign/food groups

• Team salad bars

• Vending machine changes

• Diet analysis by a nutritionist

• Produce on parade

• Eating disorder support group

• Restaurant education

Physical Activity/Exercise Category

• “Elevoiders” – stair climbing

• Poker walk

• Mall walking program

• Facilities – showers, bike lockers, exercise space, etc.

• Team treks

• Walk-a-block trails

• Recreational tournaments

• How-to-select equipment talks

• Running maps

• Bicycling maps

• Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)

• Fit-over-forty club

• Tennis shoe Tuesday

• Walk 100 miles in 100 days

• Walking “buddies”

• NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category

• House calls

• Meet your benefits providers

• Dental health

• Fire safety

• Ergonomic assessments

• Self-help learning

• CPR/first aid course

• Hearing test

• Hand washing campaign

• Cancer screenings

• Back class

• Passports to health

• Vision screenings

Stress Management Category

• Comedy hour

• Stress Pest

• Humor newsletter

• Money management seminars

• Time management seminars

• Relaxation class

• Better sleep campaign

• Relaxation room

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Health Promotion activities are a natural partner to many other HR, employee motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which may  be coordinated together.

• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains –  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of health insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Health Promotion and safety efforts can focus on –

• Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they might begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

• The wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness expert to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for worker groups throughout the year.

• Offer body mechanics training each year or more frequently when possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

• Partner with your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which could help staff members work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Be certain to encourage workers to report safety and/or injury concerns. Be certain to help management to establish policy to recognize and reward workers who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

• Partner with management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

• The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These individuals can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

• It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate employees for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it’s for person to assess themselves.

• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.

• Partner with the business’s workers’ compensation carrier to help create ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy widely used to develop interest and participation. However, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can develop issues.

Your workplace might have policies and guidelines already in place about issues like appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Make sure to check with management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Do not forget to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is generally safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others might feel left out.

In fact, acknowledging diverse holidays, if done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

A few topical ideas for holiday themes include –

• Health Promotion committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each worker for Valentine’s Day.

• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local grocery store or donated).

• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.

• Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.

Each individuals can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food doesn’t have to be low fat or particularly healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps staff members monitor their weight during the holiday season.

• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident before Thanksgiving. the weigh-ins might  be conducted on the honor system, but weight ought to be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You might invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

• Workers set a personal goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

• Give weekly weight control hints. These should be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in  pamphlet form.

• Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthy recipe options.

• Remind employees of the necessity to continue exercise during the busy holiday season.

• Weigh everyone the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.

• Employees who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

• Staff Members who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. A lot of of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which may either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.

Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in larger events. Health observances are tied to nearly every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider –

• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate larger events and celebrations.

• A wellness message is more likely to stick with individuals  when the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on television.

• National Employee Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to begin.

• A word of advice –  do not go overboard in attempting to tie a health promotion program into these national observances, as there are so many. Choose one to three events per year and stick with these.

Develop and promote events well ensuring that employees will come to expect and anticipate these programs each year. It’s best to do several wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.

A lot of staff members enjoy team related activities. These activities ordinarily take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.

Even though the sports team is not part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the company, the company can be held liable in the event of an employee injury.

When the activity brings with it a risk of injury, it is necessary to address the possible risk and liability issues with the correct company department. Additionally talk with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

• Organize summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter smoke free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.

• Provide  pamphlets and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so staff can take benefit of community leagues, trips and offerings.

• Invite an official from among the above organizations to speak at a company brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to provide a demonstration of a new class offering.

Family Friendly Activities

Periodically offer activities which can be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include –

• Television Free Week (usually in April) –  Develop a chart for the kids to use to record their TV-free participation.

• Offer a certificate to whoever who is TV-free for a week.

• If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, such as less than 5 hours of Television, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

A lot of simple wellness activities and practices can help workers understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It is necessary to help workers understand simple stress management strategies for reducing stress levels.

• Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for employee use during a scheduled break time. Consider providing relaxation music or programs including player and headphones; mat or blanket to lie on; neck pillow; eye mask; and stress massage rollers.

• Offer a stress management brown bag event at which staff members can try different kinds stress management tools.

• Make certain to encourage staff members to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.

• Give a comfortable worker break area.

• Designate a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, when possible.

• Be certain to work with Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the workplace. Supervisors are often the first step in assisting workers find different ways of managing work related stressors.

• Contact the Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) for a variety of stress management information and self-assessments.

• Offer stress management self-assessments to interested workers. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.

Mental Wellness

Emotions and mental health greatly affect overall health and wellness. Every health promotion program should incorporate some services, programs, resources or activities to address mental health issues.

Mental health topics can be sensitive areas for staff members. Consequently, it is important to provide information in a variety of ways, worksite presentations being just one possibility.

For example, put domestic violence resource cards in the restrooms to provide useful information in a private establishing that does not embarrass anyone. Other considerations include –

• When planning to offer an oratory event or presentation a neutral class title will ensure potential participants will not be put off by the name.

For example, “Parenting in 2004″, “Positive Parenting”, or “Parent University” is much more appealing than “Stress and Parenting”.

• Make certain to allot enough time when hosting EAP/mental health workshops for a question and answer session so participants may ask specific questions.

Always remind participants that individual help is available through the employee assistance program (EAP) and also through their health benefits. Give written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.

• The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is an great partner and resource for health promotion programming in these areas. the EAP can help find ways to address mental health, stress, coping, and other related issues.

Tobacco use Cessation

Smoking cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness activity. Smoking is often a difficult habit to overcome. Company health promotion activities to support “smoke-free” living include –

• Use American Lung Association resource. These include the Freedom From Use of tobacco group and/or video-tutorial. There is also a follow-up video “A Lifetime of Freedom From Use of tobacco”.

• Reward individuals who have successfully quit use of tobacco for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some kind of incentive gift.

• Offer “cold turkey” sandwiches to smokers who pledge to quit during the Great American Smokeout.

• Begin a “quitting or thinking about it” support group to assist and encourage person attempting to stop use of tobacco.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

When a substance abuse policy isn’t in place in your workplace, advocate that one be developed. Request a knowledgeable Health Promotion Committee member be included in the policy development process.

If such a policy is already in place make certain Health Promotion Committee members are aware of the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind workers of wellness resources and programs available.

• Invite AA, NA, AI-Anon, and other groups to meet in a corporation building and/or publicize community meetings.

• Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and be certain food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.

• Provide easily accessible information about counseling, referral, and treatment programs available in the community. Put this information in an area where it could be viewed without embarrassment.

• When conducting health promotion programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight management, nutrition, fitness, tobacco use, and accident prevention.

• Issues such as co-dependence and the difficulty of assisting a substance abuser can also be addressed. Offer this information as part of the health promotion program by providing informational materials, brown bag sessions, employee assistance program information, etc.

• The Staff Member Assistance Program provider is an great resource for substance abuse health promotion programming and or employee assistance.

• Other addictions, like problem gambling, food addiction, shopping, Internet addiction, etc., may be problematic and can reach the point of affecting a person’s life and work. Offer information, video review, or worker assistance sessions addressing these topics.

• A Health Promotion Committee member may gain personal information regarding an staff member problem. Don’t forget to keep all staff member information totally confidential.