PPT-065-01

1. Wellness Programs Bureau of Workers’ Comp PA Training for Health & Safety (PATHS) PPT-065-01 1

2. Wellness Program • A comprehensive health program designed to maintain a high level of well being through proper diets, light exercises, stress management and • illness prevention.* • * According to Business Dictionary PPT-065-01 2

3. Wellness Program Objectives • Establish the significance of the wellness program • Educate management on the benefits of productivity and the costs of its loss due to illnesses • Establish steps necessary to implement and maintain a successful wellness program PPT-065-01 3

4. Wellness Program Objectives • Establish a method of testing the success of the wellness program • Assess which wellness programs are best for various work environments PPT-065-01 4

5. Reasons for a Wellness Program • Technology advances • Increase in stress levels • Increase of workplace diversity • Expanding work hours • High health care costs • Illness prevention PPT-065-01 5

6. Reasons for a Wellness Program • The need for a healthier lifestyle • Disease and obesity • Poor diet and physical inactivity are the second leading cause of death behind smoking PPT-065-01 6

7. Wellness Program • Unhealthy Lifestyle Costs • Can consume upwards of half the company profit • Cost employees and employers in lost productivity • Disease, disability and death PPT-065-01 7

8. Primary Risk Areas • Smoking • Lack of exercise • Unhealthy eating habits • Overweight/obesity • Alcohol and substance abuse • Stress PPT-065-01 8

9. Benefits of a Wellness Program • Many individuals in the workforce spend more time at work than even home – leaving an opportunity • to promote healthy habits and to lower business costs • Reduced workers’ compensation costs • Increased productivity • Reduced absenteeism PPT-065-01 9

10. Benefits of a Wellness Program • Lower turnover • reduced costs recruiting and training new • employees • Reduction in the number of injuries • Weight reduction • Enhanced physical fitness PPT-065-01 10

11. Benefits of a Wellness Program • Improved employee awareness • Increased loyalty • Improved company morale PPT-065-01 11

12. How to Establish a Wellness Program • Organize a planning committee • wellness champion • peers within your department • Human Resources • management • anyone else in your organization that supports a wellness program PPT-065-01 12

13. How to Establish a Wellness Program • Utilize a wellness survey • Assess common issues such as stress,obesity and smoking, for example • An assessment survey is often available at no extra cost from your insurance company, or from an outside vendor at low cost • Be sure that you are following Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) regulations while conducting an assessment survey PPT-065-01 13

14. How to Establish a Wellness Program • Develop goals, expectations, objectives and incentives based on the wellness needs from your survey • Obtain outside help • contact organizations about sponsorshipsprograms and national corporate wellnessplans • contact gyms – corporate membership rates, cash, time off or premium discounts • network with other businesses that haveestablished wellness programs PPT-065-01 14

15. How to Establish a Wellness Program • Develop a wellness proposal and budget • stats from the wellness survey • goals, mission statement, objectives andincentives • outside vendors/businesses – discounts • Market • handout information weekly or monthly to keep employees updated • set dates for health assessments regularly • stay in contact with outside vendors,sponsors, etc. PPT-065-01 15

16. Promoting the Wellness Program • The Partnership for Prevention has outlined three components of promotion practices for workplaces, and cost-effective, creative ways to implement them • Tobacco • According to the CDC, men who smoke incur about $16,000 more in lifetime medical expenses, and are absent from work four days more per year, than men who do not smoke • Women smokers incur about $18,000 more in expenses and are absent two more days than their non-smoking counterparts PPT-065-01 16

17. Promoting the Wellness Program • Cancer Screening • remind employees to get cancer screenings • post flyers in bathrooms, send e-mails, distribute fact sheets or make posters • offer on-site screening services by cooperating with your local American Cancer Society or local hospital PPT-065-01 17

18. Promoting the Wellness Program • Fitness and Nutrition • Many individuals in the workforce spend the majority of their day at work, which means they make many of their choices about their fitness and nutrition at work • Here are some simple things that an employer can do to make healthful choices easier to make: • Set up a walking club before or after work PPT-065-01 18

19. Promoting the Wellness Program • Subsidize healthy options in vending machines with junk food options; for instance, charge $1 for a cupcake but only 25 cents for an apple • Start a pedometer challenge with a goal of 10,000 steps a day • Provide a safe place to store bikes in the office PPT-065-01 19

20. Promoting the Wellness Program • Encourage employees to take the stairs • Buy healthy food for meetings instead of junk food • Host a health fair PPT-065-01 20

21. Employee Health Screenings • Blood Pressure Screening • BMI / Body Composition Screenings • Hearing/Vision Testing • Cholesterol Screening/Lipid Profile Screenings • Glucose Tests • Bone Density Tests • Onsite Mammograms • Immunizations and Flu Shots PPT-065-01 21

22. Wellness Program Delivery Methods • Lunchtime Learning Seminars • Employee Wellness Newsletters • “Stall Talks” – on the back of restroom doors • Online Wellness Tools and Wellness Resources PPT-065-01 22

23. Health Topics • Nutrition Programs • Physical Activity Programs • Tobacco/Smoking Cessation Programs • Weight Management Programs • Injury Prevention and Ergonomic Programs • Cholesterol Management Programs PPT-065-01 23

24. Health Topics • Hypertension Management Programs • Women’s Health / Men’s Health • Financial Wellness Programs • Diabetes Management Programs • Mental Health / Stress Management Programs • Cancer Prevention Programs PPT-065-01 24

25. Health Topics • Time Management Skills • Substance Abuse Programs • Asthma Management Programs • Caregiver Resources and Assistance • Allergy Programming PPT-065-01 25

26. Wellness Program Success Factors • Top management & employee support • Maximize participation in the program • - Incentives • - Plan design (open enrollment) • - Effective & frequent communications • Personalized & tailored programs • Make it fun PPT-065-01 26

27. Wellness Program Success Factors • Workplace-friendly policies supporting programgoals and objectives • Workplace culture which values wellness • Program marketing efforts that reach, touchand influence • Program variation • Paper • Web-based • Seminars PPT-065-01 27

28. Wellness Program Success Factors • Family participation • Exercise • Wellness coaching • Evaluation & reporting • Program success • Individual results PPT-065-01 28

29. Ways Health Programs Fail • “One-size-fits-all” – Customize to your workplace needs • - health assessments • - your organization’s breakdown ofmedical claims for past years • - prescription drug claims • - employee absence information • - EAP use • - disability claims • - staff member demographics (workers’ ethnic, gender, age and dependent coverage) PPT-065-01 29

30. Ways Health Programs Fail • Leaving the health promotion program on autopilot • Revisit the wellness program on an ongoing basis • Personnel come and go from the company • This year, emphysema and other smoking illnesses could  be your biggest cost driver; but two years from now, it could be obesity and diabetes PPT-065-01 30

31. Ways health programs fail • Unrealistic expectations • Normally, it takes at least a year and a half for companies to break even on the cost of a health promotion program • Remember: You get what you pay for – both in time and money invested;  the less guesswork that is involved in the planning and execution, the better the chance for success PPT-065-01 31

32. Presenteeism The practice of workers reporting to work when ill and not operating to their usual level of productivity PPT-065-01 32

33. Causes of Presenteeism • Increase in dual-earner households • With a greater percentage of households lacking a spouse at home to care for a sick child, a number of workers will go to work when ill in order to save their limited sick days for when their children are sick • More workers are now also caring for aging parents as well as their own children PPT-065-01 33

34. Causes of Presenteeism • Employer expectations • Some workers go off to work when sick because they fear one or more of the following: appearing less committed to their jobs, receiving disciplinary action or even losing their jobs • A day or more off can also mean burdening coworkers with job duties, coming back to a heavy backlog of work responsibilities or missing work deadlines PPT-065-01 34

35. Causes of Presenteeism • Little or no paid sick days • Many more employers no longer allow employees to accrue sick days; it is more common today for workers to have a use-it-or-lose-it arrangement PPT-065-01 35

36. Employer Solutions • Recognize the problem • Review current policies and procedures for things that accidentally increase presenteeism • Rethink the use of disciplinary action to control absenteeism • - Programs such as disciplinary action pressure sick employees to report to work; this inadvertently encourages presenteeism PPT-065-01 36

37. Employer Solutions • Develop a workplace policy on presenteeism and inform and educate employees • Get supervisors and workers involved • Use posters to educate employees on how to avoid spreading germs • Foster a culture that discourages employees from coming in sick • Send sick staff home • Have the option of telecommuting and working from home when not well PPT-065-01 37

38. Employer Solutions • Provide paid sick leave and/or paid time off to workers • Paid Time Off (PTO) programs combine all time off into a single bank of days and the employees have flexibility to take these days in a way that will meet their individual needs • When employees have no-questions-asked control over their off days, they are more likely to use a PTO day when they are sick PPT-065-01 38

39. Employer Solutions • Increase employee morale • Provide some flexibility in employees’ work arrangements, in doing so employees meet the demands of both work and family and aid in their achievement of a healthy work- • life balance • Managers put in some “face time” with the workforce • Send personalized items • Birthday/Anniversary cards • Target overlooked employees • Part-timers and seasonal workers PPT-065-01 39

40. Employer Solutions • Offer a flu vaccination program • Recovery from the flu can take 3-7 days • or longer and after that a persistent cough • and tiredness can continue for weeks • Working adults who get a flu shot have • 25% less respiratory infections PPT-065-01 40

41. Resources • Centers for Disease Control – www.cdc.gov • PA Dept. of Health – www.health.state.pa.us • US Dept. of Health – www.hhs.gov • Wellness.com – www.wellness.com • Partnership for Prevention – www.prevent.org PPT-065-01 41

42. ????? Questions & Answers Questions PPT-065-01 42