Benefits of Employee Wellness
The expenditures of medical have been rising more than 10 percent each year for several years. A substantial amount of the money invested in the medical system treats costly illnesses and diseases.
• Approximately 95 percent of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical services, while about 5 percent is allocated to preventing disease and promoting health.
• Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are avoidable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.
• In an effort to optimize employee health, lower avoidable medical utilization and enhance work execution, and in turn decreased medical expenditures and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many corporations are creating, or are interested in creating, Employee Wellness for employees.
The advantages of worksite wellness are well documented. More than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some major findings include the following:
• Savings of $3.48 in reduced medical expenditures per dollar invested.
• Savings of $5.82 in lower absenteeism expenditures per dollar invested.
• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.
• Lifestyle behavior change programs: $3 to $6 return on investment within 2 to 5 years.
• Self care, decision reinforcement programs: $2 to $3 return on investment within a year.
• Disease Management (DM) programs: $7 to $10 return on investment within a year.
By offering health improvement programs, corporations are not only providing an additional service for employees, but they are also gaining monetarily. Furthermore, the effect of a health improvement program goes beyond diminished medical cost and return on investment. A health improvement program can affect work rate, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical expenditures.
• Source: Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement: A comprehensive guide to starting, implementing and evaluating worksite programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.
