How can an employer increase the chances of employees participating in efforts to become healthier?
Start by asking them what they want. Survey them about their goals, their interests and the types of programs in which they are likely to participate. Having a program doesn’t do any good if no one is interested in participating.
Second, create contests in which employees compete for small rewards, which creates excitement, increases the chances of participation and gets the majority of employees involved in a common activity and goal. Competitions can include anything from simply tracking the number of miles walked per week to something more ambitious, such as supporting a team to compete in a triathlon.
However, be wary of competitions such as ‘The Biggest Loser.’ Remember that the goal is to help employees live a healthier lifestyle, not to simply lose the most amount of weight in a given time frame.
Finally, rewards can encourage participation. Rewards don’t have to be costly and can include T-shirts, discounts on gym memberships, an additional vacation day or a drawing for a gift card to a healthy restaurant.
What benefits can an employer see as a result of implementing these simple changes?
Employees who are stressed or facing chronic illness are not working at 100 percent of their capabilities. That can be a drain on a company through a high rate of absenteeism, lower efficiency and less productivity, resulting in a lack of job satisfaction on the part of the employee and a hit to a company’s bottom line.
By taking simple steps to help employees live healthier lives, companies can realize a substantial cost savings through regaining lost productivity and by helping to negotiate better rates on insurance premiums, as better health results in fewer claims filed.
In addition, excessive weight, stress, and alcohol and drug use can contribute to accidents and injuries in the workplace. Healthy employees are less likely to become ill or injured, thereby increasing productivity and morale and reducing the number of workers’ compensation claims. And employees who are encouraged to take short exercise breaks show improved productivity, performance and accuracy, as the breaks allow recovery from fatigue and let employees go back to work refreshed.
Finally, healthy employees are happier employees, decreasing the chance that they will be looking for another job and thereby lowering your turnover rate.
Marty Hauser is the president of SummaCare, Inc., a provider-owned health plan located in Akron, Ohio. SummaCare offers a full line of health plans and ancillary products. Through its extensive network of more than 7,000 providers and more than 50 hospitals, SummaCare offers coverage to more than 107,000 members throughout northern Ohio. Reach him at [email protected].