Wellness Programs In The Workplace

Wellness Education is the new “buzz” word in Corporate America today. Fortune 500 companies have embraced wellness programs in the workplace and the programs are starting to pay off. The benefits to the employer are obvious. A healthier employee is a happier employee. They are more productive and have less days off or sick leave dealing with personal medical issues. These programs simply offer information to employees about personal safety, a more healthy lifestyle, subsidies for healthy lunches, fitness education or reimbursements for gym membership. By providing these programs to workers, companies are improving well being, job satisfaction and employee retention.

One study by Metlife showed that physical and financial stress in the workplace can cost an employer nearly $2800 per employee per month in lost productive time. There’s unpaid bills, absenteeism for health issues, mortgage problems, marital problems and so on. All these issues are usually dealt with during the day while the employee is supposed to be at work, working for the employer.

Although large corporations understand that Wellness Programs work to reduce costs, small employers are not getting the message. Employers with 50 employees or less are struggling to keep up the rising cost of health insurance. They are reducing benefits, raising office co-pays or increasing deductibles, thinking that this tactic will save them money in the long run. But this thinking is short sighted and just puts more stress on the employees, making them less satisfied with their job and less productive at work.

Small business owners should take a look at what large corporations are doing and they should start offering wellness and financial literacy programs for their employees. These programs are not expensive to implement and in many cases, they are free to the employer. In the long run, Wellness Education and Financial Literacy will save the employer money.