WORKPLACE

The Challenges

Faced with astronomical healthcare costs, today's corporations are waking up. Thousands of employers are investing in preventive health solutions and good eating options for the workplace, because healthy employees are more productive and cheaper, in terms of healthcare costs.

Google serves healthy, organic options in the lunch room, while companies like LL Bean and Sodexo have imposed "Twinkie taxes" to steer workers away from the vending machine's junk food options.

The government is getting involved, too. The cities of New York and Philadelphia have banned the use of trans fats in restaurants, and the state of Massachusetts is considering a ban. The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine just released nutritional guidelines for school vending machines. What's next? Nutritional guidelines for office vending machines? Let's hope so.

Is your company launching a workplace wellness initiative?
How do you empower your employees to get fit and healthy?
Do you want to slash your healthcare costs by employing fit and healthy workers?

The Benefits

The link between employee wellness and the bottom line is clear and consistent. Employers who integrate wellness in their overall objectives find they experience:

• reduced employee absenteeism
• increased employee productivity
• improved employee morale
• reduced employee health risks such as strokes and heart disease
• reduced health-care costs
• lower employee turnover

Besides benefiting companies and their bottom lines, a healthier workplace helps employees live healthier, longer lives.

The Facts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that employers are becoming more aware that overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity, and tobacco are adversely affecting the health and productivity of their employees, and ultimately, the businesses' bottom line. By changing their lifestyles, employees could improve their personal health status and, ultimately, the corporate landscape.

The Solutions

As an employer, you need to utilize the right mix of information, dialogue, tools and motivation to help employees become aware of the need to be fit and healthy, understand and accept the need for the change, make a commitment to act and ultimately, take action.