The Bottom Line on Employee Wellness Programs
Since 1995, the percentage of Johnson & Johnson employees who smoke has dropped by more than two-thirds. The number who have high blood pressure or who are physically inactive also has declined—by more than half. That’s great news, obviously, but should it matter to managers? And what does that mean for the bottom line?
Well, it turns out that a comprehensive, strategically designed investment in employees’ social, mental, and physical health pays off. J&J’s leaders estimate that wellness programs have cumulatively saved the company $250 million on health care costs over the past decade; from 2008 to 2014, the return was $2.71 for every dollar spent.
Wellness programs are viewed by many companies and business owners as a nice extra, not a strategic imperative. Newer evidence tells a different story. With tax incentives and grants available under recent federal health care legislation, U.S. companies can use wellness programs to chip away at their enormous health care costs, which are only rising with an aging workforce.
What Is Workplace Wellness?
Whether you factor in government incentives or not, healthy employees cost you less. In a recent CNBC article about Bank of America's corporate wellness initiative, they state "Research shows that an employee who decreases their body mass index (BMI) by just one point can reduce the health-care costs for them and their employer by $1,500 a year."
So, the question you should be asking isn't "can I afford a wellness program for my company?" But rather "can I afford not to have one?"
Retention
Regardless what industry or business you are in, you probably have two main focus topics: Production and Retention. You have to drive new business and grow. And the easiest way to do that is by keeping current customers happy, and getting referrals for new ones.
But what drives this retention is often times right inside your 4 walls - and that's the retention of your team.
What’s more, healthy employees stay with your company. A study by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health shows that organizations with highly effective wellness programs report significantly lower voluntary attrition than do those whose programs have low effectiveness (9% vs. 15%).
Nelnet asks departing employees in exit interviews what they will miss most. The number one answer: the wellness program.
The Bottom Line
So how do you break it down and determine the net impact that implementing a wellness program will have?
The answer is: you don't.
You could spend weeks with your executive team and CFO running hundreds of scenarios and hypothetical examples of reduced health care costs, workers comp savings, the net impact of better employee retention, or a host of other factors that could mean a net profit of $1,000/year or $1,000,000/year.
Don't drive yourself crazy by overthinking it. It's not complicated.
Start small. Take care of your employees by setting up a discount at a local gym (almost all of them will be happy to partner with you). Give incentives like packages to Day Spas, Personal Training Sessions, or even Wellness Retreats.
By keeping the focus on keeping your team healthy and happy, you will set yourself up for harder working, longer-lasting employees who will want to go the extra mile for you... and you know what that means to your bottom line.
#CorporateWellness #HealthyTeams #LiveWell