Why Get You In Shape Corporate Wellness?

Here are just a few reasons why you Get You In Shape should help you start a wellness or fitness program for your company:

• 70% of all illnesses are due to lifestyle-related causes such as obesity and physical inactivity.
  Source: CDC & U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Obese individuals spend more on both healthcare services and medication than daily smokers and heavy drinkers.
  Source: RAND Corporation
• Obesity increases costs in the workplace. The annual per capita increase in medical expenditures and absenteeism associated with obesity ranges from $450 to $2,500 per obese employee. The estimated cost of obesity at a firm with 1,000 employees is about $285,000 per year.
  Source: IDEA Fitness Journal, Jan. 2006
• In a study of an employee group, the incremental costs of diabetes ranged from $4,369 to $4,671 annually.
  Source: National Institute of Health, 2003
• Employees who increased their level of physical activity from 0 -1 days per week to more than 3 times brought their medical costs down by $2,202 per year.
  Source: Managed Care, Aug. 2004
• According to a study published by the American Journal of Health Promotions, for every $1 spent on wellness programs, employers can expect a return of $2.30 to $10.10 through lower medical claims, reduced absenteeism, improved productivity and other factors.
• Everett, Wash.-based Providence Health System showed a company savings of $1.5 million, with $4.24 saved for every $1 spent over three years, according to company officials.
• Officials for Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont Co. cited a 47.5- percent drop in absenteeism over a six-year period for participants in their wellness program.
• Medical claims were 55 percent lower over six years for employees participating in a wellness program compared with those not in the program at Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Steelcase Inc., according to company officials. That statistic, however, could be explained by the tendency for healthy people to more readily participate in the plans.
• Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad, with mostly union and blue-collar employees, introduced an employee wellness program after its medical costs soared to $6,000 per employee. After Union Pacific officials instituted what they called "a modest wellness program," they reported saving $1.26 million in health care costs in just one year, more than 50 percent more than they invested in the program.
• Superior Coffee and Foods, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Sara Lee, reported the wellness program for its 1,200 employees showed 22 percent fewer hospital admissions, 29-percent shorter hospital stays and 42-percent lower expenses per admission when compared with other divisions. Long-term disability costs dropped 40 percent.
• The Canadian Life Assurance Co. found turnover among wellness- program participants was reduced 32.4 percent over a seven-year period.
• As reported in an Ipsos-Reid study released March 18, 2004 the main preventable contributors to employee absenteeism are:
  • Depression/anxiety/other mental health disorders - 66%
  • Stress - 60%
  • [Negative] Relationship with supervisor or manager - 44%
  • Co-worker conflict in the workplace - 28%
• For over a decade, research has been showing the effectiveness of Employee Wellness Programs. For every dollar spent on a Corporate Wellness Program, the returns have been cost savings of between $2.30 and $10.10 in the areas of decreased absenteeism, fewer sick days, reduced WSIB claims, lowered health and insurance costs, and improvements to employee performance and productivity.
• Additionally, a healthy organization increases employee morale, improves the ability to attract and retain key people, all while having more alert and productive employees. Some statistics of note:
  • Coca Cola report saving $500 every year per employee after implementing a fitness program, with only 60% of their employees participating,
  • Pacific Bell reported that overall absenteeism decreased after implementing a program,
  • Coors Brewing Co. reported that for each dollar spent on their Corporate Wellness Program they saw a $5.50 return, and the employees who participated reduced their absentee rate by 18%, and
  • Prudential Insurance Company reported that the benefits costs for employees participating in their program were $312, as opposed to $574 for non-participants
  • Our country spends 95% of our health care dollars, one trillion dollars a year, on diagnosing and treating many diseases. However, half of all deaths in the United States can be prevented.
  • People with many health risks (e.g., obesity, cigarette smoking, and high blood pressure) tend to be less productive than those who are in better health.
  • Johnson and Johnson’s results from a new Worksite Wellness Program showed that 80% of participants said they could better handle stress and 81% stated that they increased their productivity at work as a result of the program.
  • A study showed that employees with no risk factors paid about $190 a year on medical expenses. Those who had one risk factor paid $360 a year. Persons with 2-3 risk factors paid about $542 a year and those with 4-5 risk factors paid $718 a year in medical expenses.
  • Another study showed that not being physically active costs an employer $1900 annually. Employers must pay for a decrease in productivity as well as higher costs for health insurance disability and being absent from work.

Employers have a tremendous interest in health-related issues. The main reason is because employers and their employees are the major buyer of health insurance today. Here are some more facts to consider:

• U.S. healthcare costs doubled from 1990 to 2001 and are projected to double by 2012 Source: Partnerships for Prevention (an organization of CEO's dedicated to health promotion advocacy, www.prevent.org)
• Four of the ten most costly health conditions affecting employers are related to heart disease and stroke. Employees with heart disease and heart disease risk factors cost employers thousands of dollars more than healthy employees each year through higher insurance. Source: Goetzel, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1998
• Between 1990 and 2004, the number of obese adults in Massachusetts rose 80%. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts found that with every 1 percent increase in body mass index, an individual's annual health care costs goes up $120. Source: Boston Globe, March 22, 2006
• "Of the $5000 per employee the average employer spent on health care in 2001, more than 95% was spent on diagnosis and treatment, with maybe 2-3% being invested in early detection (screenings) and no more than 1-2% in prevention. This reactive approach persists despite evidence that up to 50% of health care expenditures are life-style related and therefore potentially preventable." Source: David Anderson, PhD reporting in Wellness Councils of America's Absolute Advantage 2003
• Each smoker costs an employer an additional $3,856 a year in health-care costs and lost productivity. Source: Billings Gazette December 10, 2005
• Nationwide smoking attributable productivity losses from 1997-2001 cost $92 billion. Source: Centers for Disease Control, June 2005
• The National Safety Council stated that in 1996, backaches alone cost industry more than $1.2 billion in production and services and $275 million in worker's compensation. Source: The American Council on Exercise, ACE Fitness Matters, January/February 2006

Employee Wellness Programs Make Corporate Sense

Does a company wellness programs affect a business's bottom line? Does the benefit from having a company wellness program effect or exceed the cost of the program? There is more and more research on the benefits of having a corporate wellness program. Here are some findings:

• Employers who invest in worksite health promotion programs can see a return of $3-$6 for every dollar invested over a 2-5 year period. Documented savings are observed in medical costs, absenteeism, worker's comp claims, short-term disability and presenteeism (lower on-the-job efficiency due to employee health problems.)
  Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, December 2005
• There are over 600 articles that analyze the research and anecdotal evidence of the cost-effectiveness of worksite wellness programs. In a review of 42 of these articles, there has been shown to be a:
• 28% reduction in sick leave absenteeism
• 26% reduction in use of the health care benefit
• 30% reduced worker's comp clams and disability management
• Reduced presenteeism losses

Source: Larry Chapman, "Meta-evaluation of Worksite Health Promotion Economic Return Studies", The American Journal of Health Promotion, 2003

• A recent study showed that corporate fitness center participants had 1.3 days fewer short-term disability claims per year per employee than non-participants and had fewer health risks. Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2006
• On average, health care claim costs for IBM employees who exercise 1- 2 times a week are $350 a year less than those who don't exercise at all. Source: Joyce Young, IBM's Well-Being Director in BenefitNews.com March, 2006

Contact Get You In Shape for more information about the Corporate Wellness Programs that can help your company.

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