Do You Have an Employee Wellness Plan?
Originally posted May 19, 2014 by Bridget Miller on https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com.
Employee wellness plans have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with good reason: they can benefit both employees and employers. An employee wellness program is simply a program that intends to promote the health and well-being of employees. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the key is that the program has a goal of improving employee health.
The benefits for employees are fairly obvious:
- The potential for improved health
- Support in the form of encouragement, goals, or even team activities
- A focus on healthier choices
- Maybe a reduction in cost
But the benefits for employers are sometimes overlooked. This is unfortunate because employers actually stand to benefit a great deal as well. Here are just a few examples:
- Improved employee health can mean fewer absences for illness and higher employee productivity levels.
- Investing in employees can improve employee morale. Over time, this can even reduce turnover.
- Healthier employees often cost less to insure over time.
These benefits are there regardless of company size or industry. Every organization can benefit.
Starting an Employee Wellness Program
Starting an employee wellness program can be quite simple. (Of course, it can be quite involved too, depending on how far the employer wants to go with the program.) Here are some examples of easy ways to get started focusing on employee health:
- Provide health screenings. Examples include blood pressure or Body Mass Index (BMI) screenings.
- Provide food fact sheets. Simply having access to more information can allow employees to make healthier choices.
- Start employee fitness groups. Examples include walking groups or even sport team creation to compete in local leagues.
- Conduct individual health-risk assessments (i.e., questionnaires that help assess overall health and risk factors at an individual level). These are usually administered by a third party and come with personalized reports on health risk factors.
- Give away health-related promotional items. Examples include pedometers or water bottles.
- Remove on-site food that does not promote good health; replace it with healthier options. This can be implemented in many areas, such as vending machines, cafeterias, catering for meetings, break room options, etc.
- Provide information on the health benefits of quitting smoking.
- Distribute other wellness-oriented communications, such as health-related newsletters.
- Conduct training sessions on health or wellness-related topics.
- Allow longer lunch breaks to give time for exercise.
- Provide discounts on health insurance or otherwise reduce the cost.
Of course, employee wellness programs can also be implemented on a much broader scale, too. Here are some more in-depth examples:
- Adding an on-site fitness center or partnering with a nearby fitness center to offer free employee memberships; and
- Sponsoring employee contests. (Be sure to follow the latest guidelines under the Affordable Care Act when it comes to participation and rewards.)
Be aware that there are some rules governing wellness programs, particularly when a bonus or discount is based on an actual change in health status (e.g., lower blood pressure or cholesterol) as opposed to simply participating in an activity (e.g., a health screening).
No matter what type of employee wellness programs you implement, be sure to have a plan to communicate the program details to employees. Getting employees excited and involved is the first step to gaining the benefits. Focus on the benefits for the employees in all communications and make it easy to participate, even offering incentives where appropriate.
Employers more flexible on telecommuting
Originally posted April 30, 2014 by Dan Cook on www.benefitspro.com
Are company executives all taking yoga? How else to explain the increased flexibility showing up in the workplace?
A study from the Society for Human Resource Management and Families and Work Institute — the 2014 National Study of Employers — indicates that corporate policies about how, when and where people work is loosening up in a number of ways.
The massive study contains considerable detail on trends in the workplace, comparing what’s happening today to what was going on in 2008. And, in just the space of six years, significant policy changes were identified.
For instance, telecommuting is becoming commonplace at two-thirds of workplaces. Earlier studies have demonstrated that telecommuting doesn’t diminish one’s productivity, and may even enhance it. Further, the courts are starting to endorse it as a reasonable accommodation for certain workers.
The SHRM/FWI data reveals that, while 50 percent of respondents in 2008 said they permitted at least some employees to occasionally work some paid hours remotely, in 2014, 67 percent offer the option to at least some workers occasionally.
In 2008, 23 percent of respondents said they offered telecommuting as a regular option; by this year, that percent had climbed to 38 percent.
Other signs of increased flexibility showed up in these comparisons of 2008 responses to 2014 input:
- Workers have control over breaks (from 84 percent to 92 percent);
- workers have control over overtime hours (from 27 percent to 45 percent);
- workers can take time off during the workday when important needs arise (from 73 percent to 82 percent);
- workers have control of starting and quitting times on daily basis: 38 percent vs. 41 percent.
In some areas, the study showed, employers have reduced flexibility. For instance:
- sharing jobs fell from 29 percent in 2008 to 18 percent;
- working part-year on an annual basis dropped from 27 percent to 18 percent;
- sabbaticals as a flex option fell from 38 percent to 28 percent;
career breaks for personal or family responsibilities dipped from 64 percent to 52 percent.