[Article] Workplace Wellness on a Shoestring | Wellness Council of ...

Katie Ehlman loves to run. But when she moved to Portland, Ore., from Little Rock, Ark., three years ago, she was unsure of the best routes.

Did she tap her network for newfound friends and neighbors? Sure. But the best tips came from her employer, a small financial services firm with fewer than 25 employees that had mapped out routes around its office to help employees walk or run to earn points toward prizes or paid time off.

?You?d be surprised how motivated and competitive co-workers can get when it comes to adding days off during the summer months or winning a free latte. For me, it?s been convenient and fun to run before work or at lunchtime.? Ehlman said. ?I don?t know that our office is super-healthy, but unlike some of the places I?ve worked, people here are happy to come to work and work out together.?

Historically, it has been easier for larger companies with greater resources to implement wellness programs at work. A report issued last fall by the National Small Business Association and Humana found that, while 93 percent of small businesses say employee health is important to their bottom line, just 22 percent were offering a wellness program.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is supposed to change that. Part of the landmark reform was crafted to help level the playing field between small and large businesses when it comes to purchasing employee insurance options. More specifically, PPACA provides for grants up to five years for employers with fewer than 100 employees who work 25 or more hours per week to establish new wellness programs.

In other words, the legislation offers employers a chance to do wellness on a shoestring.

?You don?t have to build an indoor climbing wall or provide discounts and access to the nicest gym in town,? said Dawn Gianni, a workplace wellness coach based in Chicago. ?You just need to get creative and contemplate some low-cost options based on your workforce needs. It?s much easier to assess the health and fitness levels of a 10-person company than it is a 1,000-person company, right??

For example, one of Gianni?s clients merely banned unhealthy foods in the office break room. Pastries and donuts were just too tempting to resist, she said, adding, ?It sounds really silly, but people were so appreciative. Willpower is not an easy thing for most of us, particularly when the office becomes a dumping ground for leftover cakes and candy.?

Scripps Hospitals were recognized by Fortune as one of the best companies to work for this year, in part because of its wellness initiatives. One step Scripps took, which could be replicated by small firms, was to remove vending machines offering unhealthy snacks. In their place, Scripps installed sell-service kiosks stocked with health food and complete meals. It also subsidized the cost.

Bandwidth, a communications technology company in Cary, N.C., introduced a wellness initiative for employees that included 90 minutes of free time during lunch to work out. The company also, according to its Web site, encourages physical fitness by sponsoring sports teams.

Executives for both companies have reported improved employee morale and lower health insurance costs overall, with few dollars spent.

Various studies continue to stress that the health of the average U.S. worker is poor: ?One in three suffers from some symptoms of depression, one in four smokes, one in five experiences difficulty sleeping, one in five is treated for high blood pressure, one in seven has high levels of cholesterol, and nearly half have not exercised in more than a month,? the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism said recently.

That?s why experts like Bruce Elliott, manager of compensation and benefits for the Society for Human Resource Management, maintain that preventative measures like wellness programs should be viewed as investments that will pay off over time.

How much time?

?Helping employees quit cigarettes or lose weight will translate to lower medical costs over three to five years,? Elliott said.

That might be fast enough for some employers, but the long-term benefits are hard to dispute.

Source: http://www.wellnessindiana.org/index.php/article-workplace-wellness-on-a-shoestring/

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