Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/182340
The Benefits Package New Prescriptions Best practices, innovative thinking, and gamification are elevating workforce wellness initiatives. By Mark Allen A robust health and wellness initiative can help offset rising health care costs, improve employee engagement, and even save lives. Yet nearly every company addressing workforce health and wellness struggles with the same challenge: long-term behavior change as it relates to employee's health choices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that chronic disease accounts for over 75 percent of healthcare costs in the U.S. Tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity are responsible for most suffering related to chronic illness. These behaviors and habits are often very difficult to change, but with the right motivation and commitment, they can be modified toward healthier living. Companies hoping to inspire employees to make healthier choices are combining a blend of best practices with non-traditional thinking. Using networks of health and wellness champions, flexible infrastructure, innovative incentives, and even principles of gamification, these companies are embedding a new culture of health and wellness that continually supports healthier, more productive lives. Like a New Year's resolution, initial participation in health and wellness shows promise, but the commitment required for success over the long haul often falls short. Sporadic participation, rather than desired long-term engagement, is a common occurrence. A classic example of this phenomenon occurs when a company offers worksite screenings. These are an integral part of health and wellness programs—an essential tool for tracking and measuring health and behavior, and the first step toward more healthful living. However, when participants neglect to follow through on recommendations, the benefit to the employee is lost. The American Heart Association reports that physical inactivity is [82] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2013 on the rise. Sedentary jobs have increased 83 percent since 1950, and workers in the U.S. are spending more time on the job than they did 20 years ago. It's a bigger commitment than ever to be healthy, and many don't take the time. Long-term behavior modification (as it relates to health and wellness) is key to a program's success. It's time to take initiatives to the next level of supporting long-term employee wellness. Network of Champions A robust initiative cannot be accomplished without the aid of health and wellness champions at all levels of the company. Identifying and engaging these individuals is key to the program's success. They are often acutely aware of site-specific health issues and can encourage programs to address them. Local champions can also drive participation in companywide or countrywide efforts. Naturally, champions at the executive level are critical. They have the visibility and power to send the message that the company is serious about establishing a culture of health and wellness. The most successful of these leaders possess not only the ability to affect change, but also a high degree of passion for human health and wellness. They also "walk the talk" by way of their own participation, and provide opportunities and facilities for their employees to participate. Committed individuals are essential at all levels throughout the company. A worksite leader can establish a culture of health and wellness within her entire facility, while a single employee with a talent for rallying others to a cause can drive ongoing engagement around him. Anyone with passion for the cause can do wonders for a unified health and wellness effort. Working