Wellness Programming – National Wellness Survey

Buffett & Company’s 5th National Wellness Survey

• 91% of organizations said they offer wellness initiatives an increase from 44% in 1997
• Respondents identified work-related stress as the No. 1 health risk for their organizations, followed by mental health issues, high blood pressure and non-work-related stress
• There is often a disconnect between the wellness initiatives that employers offer-the top three are employee assistance programs, first aid/CPR courses and flu shot programs-and the main health risks that their organizations face
• 62% do not evaluate their wellness initiatives to determine whether or not they are effective
• Employers need to look for ROI by examining areas such as employee engagement, absenteeism and disability claims. Participation rates can provide valuable information on the effectiveness of a wellness program and how well it was communicated. Short-term disability claims can illustrate the impact of shorter-term initiatives (flu shots).

Beverly’s Comments

We know that stress is the number one health risk in our organizations and many of us are taking steps to address this risk. More and more companies are putting together a wellness program. Our challenge is to ensure that these programs are based on solid benchmarks and that they adequately address the sources of stress and the symptoms that our employees are facing. Once we have this benchmark information it makes evaluating our programs and proving a ROI so much easier

Questions:

Are you gathering baseline benchmarks?
Do you adequately measure the effectiveness of your wellness programs?

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