What's holding you back: why should (or shouldn't) employers invest in health promotion programs for their workers? (original) (raw)
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Linking Workplace Health Promotion Best Practices and Organizational Financial Performance
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2016
The aim of the study was to evaluate the stock performance of publicly traded companies that received high scores on the HERO Employee Health Management Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer ß based on their implementation of evidence-based workplace health promotion practices. Methods: A portfolio of companies that received high scores in a corporate health and wellness self-assessment was simulated based on past market performance and compared with past performance of companies represented on the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 Index. Results: Stock values for a portfolio of companies that received high scores in a corporate health and wellness self-assessment appreciated by 235% compared with the S&P 500 Index appreciation of 159% over a 6-year simulation period. Conclusions: Robust investment in workforce health and well-being appears to be one of multiple practices pursued by highperforming, well-managed companies.
The organizational benefits of investing in workplace health
International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 2010
Purpose-A healthy and vital workforce is an asset to any organization. Workplace health management and health promotion are therefore increasingly relevant for organizations. This paper aims to identify the organizational benefits companies strive for, and analyzes the ways companies use and manage data in order to monitor, evaluate and improve the achievement of organizational benefits through workplace health management. Design/methodology/approach-A case study was carried out in four frontrunner organizations in health management in the Netherlands. The benefits the companies strived for were systematically investigated, as were the ways in which the companies used and managed their relevant data. Findings-The organizations had many data that were potentially useful for managing and evaluating the realization of the intended health and business benefits. However, these data were only available and usable in a fragmented manner. As a result, the business impact of health interventions was neither properly evaluated nor consistently managed. Research limitations/ implications-The research was limited to four frontrunner companies in the Netherlands. The results presented are predominantly qualitative. Practical implications-Suggestions for improving the management of organizational benefits from workplace health interventions are given here; they were formulated through an iterative process with the companies involved. Originality/value-Research on the combination of health and business benefits of workplace health management has been rather limited thus far. The present paper provides a complete picture of the benefits strived for by four Dutch frontrunner organizations, as well as the data available to them, which are or could be used for guiding and improving workplace health management.
Journal of Public Health, 2016
Aim Employees have to deal with work-related problems like a sedentary work style or musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, psychological factors like time pressure can lead to the inability to work. The Fit for Business-program started in order to provide health promotion interventions for small and middle-sized companies. This study analyzed data concerning the infrastructure, activity levels and critical factors of success to increase physical activity levels. Subject and methods A total of N = 342 employees filled out standardized questionnaires about the infrastructure needed for health promotion, their workload, their physical and mental well-being, their resources and their health-related behavior. Statistical pre-post analysis included chi 2-tests and multivariate tests. Qualitative interviews identified factors necessary for a successful implementation. Results There were differences concerning employees' specific health conditions and infrastructures established for health promotion. The number of physically active employees increased significantly (p = 0.015, Z =-3.67). This increase in sporting activity was due to participation in sports in fitness centers (+16.5 %, p < 0.001, Z = 5.217), company sports (+8.7 %, p = 0.002, Z =-3.024) and sports clubs (+6.4 %, p = 0.048, Z =-1.976). Moreover, when the specific needs of the employees were considered, the number of people involved in several kinds of sports increased. Conclusions The implementation of health promotion programs in small and middle-sized companies is successful if the following factors are considered: a responsible key person or a linkage group and a marketing platform for the programs (e.g. a trail course) exists, an assessment of the employees' demands for health promotion takes place and the interventions are geographically close to the company and compatible with working hours. Additionally, there might be a relationship between the company-specific infrastructure for health promotion and resulting workloads or physical complaints.
A benefit-to-cost analysis of a work-site health promotion program
Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association, 1992
An analysis of the benefit-to-cost ratio of a major health promotion program was conducted for the years 1986 through 1990, with projections to the year 2000. Program costs for personnel, capital expenses, materials, and rent were determined and compared with program benefits (discounted to account for increasing pension liability) for heath care cost savings, increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, decreased life insurance claims, and program-generated income. After adjusting future monies to net present value, a benefit-to-cost ratio of 3.4 was estimated for the program. Despite the limitations of the study design, the authors concluded that the program realizes a positive return on its investment. Several program recommendations are presented to increase the probability of achieving positive benefit-to-cost ratios in future program offerings.
Corporate social responsibility and workplace health promotion: A systematic review
Front. Psychol, 2022
The complex situation that global society is facing as a result of COVIDhas highlighted the importance of companies committing to the principles of social responsibility. Among the internal initiatives, those related to the health of workers are, obviously, highly topical. The objective of our research is to provide concise knowledge of the relationship between workplace health promotion (WHP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) so that the relevant specialized research was gathered in a single document that lays the foundations of its applicability. A systematic review, following the PRISMA method, has been carried out. Twenty-seven articles have been selected from the main scientific databases. Their qualitative analysis concludes that CSR and WHP are linked, have beneficial reciprocal e ects, need committed leadership respectful of autonomy and voluntariness, and require the establishment of specific goals within the framework of the organizations' sustainability policies. Future studies should establish the impact of the pandemic on these aspects.
What incentives influence employers to engage in workplace health interventions?
BMC Public Health, 2016
Background: To achieve a sustainable working life it is important to know more about what could encourage employers to increase the use of preventive and health promotive interventions. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the employer perspective regarding what incentives influence their use of preventive and health promotive workplace interventions. Method: Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out with 20 representatives from 19 employers across Sweden. The economic sectors represented were municipalities, government agencies, defence, educational, research, and development institutions, health care, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial services. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using latent content analysis. Results: Various incentives were identified in the analysis, namely: "law and provisions", "consequences for the workplace", "knowledge of worker health and workplace health interventions", "characteristics of the intervention", "communication and collaboration with the provider". The incentives seemed to influence the decision-making in parallel with each other and were not only related to positive incentives for engaging in workplace health interventions, but also to disincentives. Conclusions: This study suggests that the decision to engage in workplace health interventions was influenced by several incentives. There are those incentives that lead to a desire to engage in a workplace health intervention, others pertain to aspects more related to the intervention use, such as the characteristics of the employer, the provider and the intervention. It is important to take all incentives into consideration when trying to understand the decision-making process for workplace health interventions and to bridge the gap between what is produced through research and what is used in practice.
Assessing recent developments and opportunities in the promotion of health in the American workplace
Social Science & Medicine, 1984
The purpose of this paper is to offer, as a basis for discussion, a review of the two main interpretations of what constitutes the meaning and scope of health promotion in the workplace. The two interpretations analyzed are: (a) the individual-based lifestyle approach and (b) the environmental-social approach. This paper discusses the limitations of the individual-based lifestyle approach which postulates an individualistic and fragmentated vision of the process of health in the workplace. In contrast, the environmental-social approach provides a more comprehensive framework of reference in which the socioeconomic, environmental and political components are integrated in the primary prevention strategies of health promotion in the workplace. Under this health alternative it is crucial that workers or their representatives be included as full participants in the overall process of planning, organization and implementation of promotion of health in the workplace.
BMC Public Health, 2015
Background: Although the popularity of workplace health promotion (WHP) has considerably increased over the years, there are still concerns about the way this concept is being implemented by the companies. There is, however, a seeming lack of empirical knowledge about variations in WHP practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of different patterns (and related quality levels) of WHP activity and the effect of organisational predictors on the chances of these WHP activity levels being implemented. Methods: Data from an establishment survey (N = 6,500) were used to calculate the prevalences of four configurations of WHP among German companies. Furthermore, multinominal logistic regressions were performed to determine odds ratios for these WHP activity levels according to several organisational characteristics. Results: 9% of companies exhibited the most comprehensive type of WHP including analysis, individual-directed prevention measures and participatory groups concerned with working conditions improvement (level A), 18% featured a combination of analysis and individual-directed prevention (level B), 29% had reported measures from only one of these categories (level C), and 44% showed no WHP activity at all (level D). In the multivariate analysis company size turned out to be the strongest predictor of WHP at all levels. WHP was also predicted by a good economic situation of the company, the availability of safety specialist assistance, the availability of specialist assistance in occupational health and the presence of an employee representative body. These effects usually became stronger when moving up in the hierarchy of WHP levels. For the two sector-level variables (private vs. public, production vs. services) no statistically significant associations with WHP were found. Conclusions: WHP still shows great potential for improvement both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Especially required are additional efforts in developing and implementing WHP practice models and dissemination strategies which are tailored to the particular conditions and needs of small companies. However, findings suggest that the chances for achieving progress in WHP also depend on developments in adjacent policy areas such as labour relations or occupational safety and health.
American Journal of Health Promotion, 2012
Research brief | Impact of financial incentives on behavior change program participation and risk reduction BACKGROUND Employers are increasingly using financial incentives to elicit worksite health promotion (WHP) program participation. 1 Several studies suggest incentives can increase participation rates in health assessments (HAs) 2-4 and behavior change programs. 5 Specifically tailored incentives may also contribute to 12-month smoking cessation 6 or weight loss, 7 but some research suggests offering extrinsic rewards may decrease intrinsic motivation and stifle long-term behavior change. 8