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Two Methods:Wellness Program PlanningWellness Program Components

Company wellness programs are on the rise. The American Journal of Health Promotion and the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center released study results that found employee-related absences, health care costs and worker's compensation costs dropped dramatically after a wellness program is put in place. Whether you have a small company or a large corporation, you must understand that a wellness program must be specialized to suit your employees' specific needs. It also takes at least a year to fully implement. This article will tell you how to establish a wellness program at your company.

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EditMethod 1 of 2: Wellness Program Planning

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    Decide upon your budget. This may require a meeting with accountants to discover what resources you have. Keep in mind that while you may need to initially invest in a wellness program, they have been found to pay off for a company in long-term lower costs.
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    Appoint an Employee Wellness team to assess your employees' needs. This can be large or small, but should be people who are devoted to the task of helping employees and are health-conscious themselves.
    • Someone in your Employee Wellness team should have the job of regularly updating the employees on goals, progress and additions to the program.
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    Assess your company's needs. This can be done by taking stock of the ages, number of smokers, number of employee absences and other chronic disabilities and conditions.
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    Work with your Human Resources department to ensure that you do this in survey form, without releasing the names or other private health information of the people who work at your company.
    • You may want to produce an anonymous survey to hand out to your employees to ask what health conditions they have, if they smoke or would like to stop, and what wellness programs they would appreciate as part of the company. This type of questionnaire is called a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA).
    • Make certain you follow the Genetic Information Non discrimination Act (GINA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) in all surveys you produce and information you use. Human Resources should be able to instruct you on how to follow important protocol.
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    Evaluate your wellness program at the end of every year. It may take more than 1 year to see the financial benefits of a wellness program, but it should be changed and adjusted according to what works for you or your company.
    • Ask your employees to take another survey every year in order to ask for positive and negative feedback.

EditMethod 2 of 2: Wellness Program Components

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    Set up health options according to the wants and needs of your employees and the information found in the HRA. The following are common actions that companies implement as part of employee wellness programs:
    • Begin a smoking cessation program. Employees who smoke tend to cost more money on health insurance and have more employee absences. Companies can invest in smoking counseling sessions, nicotine replacements and incentives. Some employers offer bonuses, such as $2,500 after 12 months, for successfully quitting smoking.
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    • Implement yearly flu shots. Most flu shots cost approximately $20 and they lower the risk of getting certain strains of flu that spread freely through office environments. Give free flu shots to those who want them in order to lower the risk of absences from flu.
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    • Offer paid time off for cancer screening. You can also create and post fliers that give facts about the likelihood of cancer. Cancer prevention can save thousands of dollars in health care benefits.
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    • Implement nutrition options. Replace candy and sodas in vending machines with fruits, juices, salads and teas. Charge less in vending machines for these options than the local cafe or than previous vending choices. Offer free filtered water to all employees.
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    • Give your employees fitness options. You should take your employees' preferences into account. For example, older employees may appreciate a low-impact activity such as a walking club, where employees get a 20 to 30 minute break from work to do a fast walk. Others may choose to implement boot camp or yoga classes, or give bonuses to employees who have gym memberships. Within certain budgets, you can choose to install a gym at the office site.
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    • Other fitness ideas include incentives for biking to work, weight watchers meetings at work, subsidized massages for stress relief, installing a "zen room" with complete quiet, or giving pedometers to employees and giving incentives for reaching 10,000 steps per day.
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    Set up an incentive program based on monthly and yearly goals that are easy to track. Bonuses, paid time off, free healthy lunches or time off to exercise are examples of incentives that are often used. Ask your employees what they prefer.
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    Develop a culture of wellness and communicate regularly with the employees about programs that encourage people to have partners or teams that lead them toward fitness.
    • Encourage your employees to journal throughout the year as the wellness program progresses. Studies have shown that journaling fitness and weight loss goals can make a wellness program be more positive. You can choose to distribute journals or calendars to help employees track goals independently, if that fits into your budget.
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