Workplace Wellness Programs

Friday, June 24, 2011

It is almost impossible to read a newspaper, professional publication or view much television without becoming aware of the lack physical health of the American population. The American public is constantly reminded that we eat too much and exercise too little.  Increasingly, organizations are faced with workforces which struggle with various chronic illnesses and poor behavioral and lifestyle choices.  For over forty years we have been told that smoking is bad for us, yet over 23% of adult males and 17% of adult females continue to smoke in America.

As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) $10 Million has been made available to fund creation of workplace wellness programs through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These funds will be used to address risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. The funds will be channeled through a competitive bidding process of contracts to a nationally based organization with the ability to work with employers to develop or expand workplace wellness programs. Efforts will be directed at educating employees about good health practices promotion of physical activity, proper nutrition, tobacco cessation, and changes in behavioral patterns and lifestyle choices.

Do workplace wellness programs work? The answer is both “Yes” and “No”.  In those workforces which are stable with low rates of turnover, an employer may have many years to work with employees to educate, modify behavior, and provide incentives designed to foster better health and healthy lifestyles. However, in those employers where turnover is high and the workforce is very unstable, the ability of an employer to affect change may be very limited.

Since employees join organizations at all stages of life, it is only reasonable to assume those employees will bring with them a varied lifestyle, health and exercise history, and nutritional culture. Workplace wellness programs must overcome years, if not decade’s worth of poor health history and lifestyle choices. Since it took years to establish an employee’s health behavior, it will require years to change many of the ingrained life style choices. Consider that at any given time over 30% of smokers are “attempting” to quit. If all of these smokers were to be successful, consumption of cigarette, pipes, and cigars would be virtually nonexistent. Unfortunately, it often takes several attempts before a smoker quits and the recidivism rates are high. In one study, “Smoking Cessation, by Sherri Sheinfeld Gorin, Ph.D., it was report that on average, it required 2-3 attempts before the smoker successfully quit.

Ultimately the individual must accept responsibility and accountability for managing their own health behaviors and lifestyle. While governments and employers can provide both disincentives and incentives for employees to change their behaviors, employees themselves are the only ones who can move to take action.