influencing healthy lifestyle changes

Workshop Six

Influencing Healthy Lifestyle Changes in the Workplace

Study Team Project

By

Team Keep It Movin’

MBA 460

Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management

BSA 504

August 15, 2011

CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP

By my signature, and to prevent an HONOR CODE violation, I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared by me specifically for this course.

Student(s) Signature: ____________________________________________________________

Influencing Healthy Lifestyle 2

Table of Contents

Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4

Literature Review----------------------------------------------------------------- 5

Existing Situation----------------------------------------------------------------- 7

Discussion------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

Further Discussion-----------------------------------------------------------------13

Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------15

Reference List----------------------------------------------------------------------16


Abstract

It has been suggested that U.S. employers have the highest obesity rate amongst its employees in

comparison to other countries. This has a profound effect on the employer’s ability to help

supplement employee health care costs and remain competitive verses the cost of treating

multiple chronic illnesses and other medical conditions that affect productivity. There is

significance to implementing healthy lifestyle choices. Offering incentives for healthy lifestyle

changes benefits the employers and the employees. Research shows that changing one’s lifestyle

can reduce health care costs, reduce absenteeism, improve morale, and increase productivity.

CEO’s have found that healthier lifestyle changes benefits the company because the employees

are at work more and not out sick. Therefore, the implementation of healthy lifestyle programs

benefits the entire company.


Introduction

Team Keep It Movin’ strives to influence other human resource professionals to

implement healthy lifestyle choices programs for their employees by offering incentives for

healthy lifestyle changes. Why would this be significant to other human resource professionals?

The following issues will be considered for discussion:

To decrease stress and improve morale

To decrease sick time used

To lower health insurance premiums

To anticipate higher productivity

To improve company image

The implementation of healthy lifestyle changes in the workplace just makes sense, when

properly executed.


Literature Review

Research was conducted on whether it was worthwhile for an organization’s human

resource department to start up a healthy lifestyle program for its employees.

The research overwhelmingly points to the fact that it is beneficial for organizations to have a

healthy lifestyle program. Greene (2011) states that hospitals like Sentara Health System in

Norfolk, VA have saved $3.4 million in health care costs during the past three years with 80% of

its employees participating in a healthy lifestyle program. Greene (2011) currently, 86% of

hospitals have some form of healthy lifestyle program.

Greene (2011) believes that the main reason that organizations are adopting the healthy

lifestyle program is to reduce health care costs. The second benefit is reducing absenteeism, and

improving morale and productivity. These programs can encourage employees to quit smoking,

exercise more, lose weight, and to eat healthier foods. It is a win-win situation for everyone

because the organization wins by saving money, and the employees win by becoming healthier.

They will be successful in all organizations, as long as they are embraced by employees, and

they save the company money (Greene, 2011).

Hamlett-Coombs (2011) notes that it is now time for all companies to consider health and

wellness programs for their employees. By having this type of program, a company will save

money and increase productivity. Employees will miss fewer days from work for being sick, and

they will have less stress. Hamlett-Coombs (2011) argues that it is important for these programs

to be led by employees since they will act to motivate each other to become healthier.

It is much more cost-effective and productive to keep employees healthy than to

rehabilitate a sick or injured employee back into the business (Hamlett-Coombs, 2011). In some


cases, a healthy lifestyle program will lower an organization’s health and safety premiums. For

the program to be successful, the organization should encourage all of its employees to

participate in it. But the company should keep it voluntary, and not force people to be a part of it.

Merrill (2011) describes a study undertaken to measure the effectiveness of a wellness

program in small companies. The four indicators that were measured were physical health,

emotional health, healthy behavior, and basic access to health related services. The study was

undertaken at Lincoln Industries in Lincoln Nebraska. Nearly all of the employees participated in

this wellness program. The results were that physical health, mental health, and healthy behavior

were significantly greater for the employees of Lincoln Industries. The conclusion of the study

was that the wellness program was proven effective for the workers in this small company.

Merrill (2011) feels that this study is important, because it shows that healthy lifestyle programs

succeed not only in large companies, but in small companies as well. Hank Orme, the president

of Lincoln Industries, believes that the study shows that the wellness program can have a positive

impact on his company’s bottom line. He now feels that a healthy lifestyle program is an

investment that yields high returns in all metrics including operating profit, customer

satisfaction, and supplier satisfaction (Merrill, 2011).

Bernstein (2011) has little doubt about the value of a healthy lifestyle program in

organizations. He sees large and small companies coming to the same conclusions. Even as the

bad economy has forced companies to cut employees benefits, corporate wellness programs have

not only survived but grown. Bernstein (2011) reported that the reason, according to many

studies, is that wellness benefits provided in the workplace yield more productive employees

who require less medical care.


Bernstein (2011) claims that it is not just out of the goodness of their hearts, that CEOs

are implementing healthy lifestyle programs. The CEOs know that their organizations will reap

the benefits of healthier and more efficient employees. When employees come to work more

days per year because they are healthier, then this means that more goods and services will be

produced. This leads to what an organization needs to survive, which is lower costs and

increased profits. According to Bernstein (2011), medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every

dollar spent on healthy lifestyle programs, and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for

every dollar spent.

Existing Situation

In recent years, U. S. employers have come to understand that obesity is not just an

individual issue. According to NationMaster.com, the United States at 30.6% has the highest

obesity rate in the world, which is having a profound effect on the employer’s ability to help

supplement employee health care costs and remain competitive. Because of increased obesity

rates in America, chronic illnesses are on a rapid increase. The costs of treating multiple chronic

illnesses and other medical conditions are having a direct impact on a business’s production and

bottom-line. The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 further

enhances the burden on employers.

Today many employers are taking a backseat to the issue, waiting for the fallout to settle

and go away, or hoping the impact will be minimal to their operation. In fact, many employers

feel that obesity is an employee’s freedom of choice. In reality, the effects of obesity and other

life threatening acts and activities will eventually affect the employer’s bottom line and

operation. A number of organizations are taking a proactive approach to minimize the impact on


this epidemic by developing positive solutions to influencing employees to live a healthy

lifestyle. The strategic approach is another method employers are using to facilitate a leaner and

more productive workforce, and to head off the serious economic threat of enormous healthcare

costs. Employers seek to take advantage of healthcare insurance providers’ healthy lifestyle

premium reduction programs.

Hence, based on the U. S. obesity rate, a condition that significantly increases the risk of

major illness and chronic diseases, it is paramount that Human Resource Department (HRD)

officials take this matter seriously. As with other functions of an organization, organizational

healthy lifestyle programs come at a cost, which calls for serious consideration to realize the rate

of return on investment. Considering the potential impact to the organization, HRD managers

have a budgetary obligation to respond appropriately to minimize the health care cost to the

organization, and ensure its employees are physically able to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

The National Business Group on Health (NBGOH) is a nonprofit organization with over

350 registered employers taking proactive approaches to put employee healthy lifestyle programs

into play. According to the National Business Group on Health’s mission statement: “National

Business Group on Health is the national voice of large employers dedicated to finding

innovative and forward-thinking solutions to the nation's most important health care issues.”

National Business Group on Health. (2011). About the business group: Governance. Retrieved from

http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/about/governance.cfm

Companies such as American Airlines, Inc., AutoZone, Inc., Costco Wholesale

Corporation, General Electric Company, Kohl's Department Stores, Target Corporation, and

Wegman’s Food Markets, are examples of organizations registered as active members of the


NBGOH. The NBGOH website provides immediate resources for businesses to research the

pros and cons of employer-supported healthy lifestyle programs, such as, employer case studies,

access to health policies, health tips, and obesity cost calculators that can help businesses project

health insurance and operational costs. Furthermore, the NBGOH evaluates and publicly

recognizes organizations that demonstrate the best wellness programs for the year through a

national award. The recipients of the award must have demonstrated creative, comprehensive,

and effective solutions that improve employee health, productivity, and well-being. The

following companies have received awards in the year of 2011 as Best Employers for Healthy

Lifestyles:

Aetna

American Express

H.J. Heinz

The Franciscan Clinic

Verizon

Wyndham Worldwide

Then, there are investment firms such as the Willis Group, which prides itself as offering its

clients the best risk-management advice. This matter was clearly displayed in the Willis 2009

Health and Productivity Survey, Building a Culture of Health. The survey identifies the

prevailing trend that more and more employers have health and wellness programs or plan to add

one within the next three years. The survey also points out that managers in large firms realize

that wellness programs are an important factor in achieving business success, and if the programs

are managed correctly, there is an expected return on investment in two to three years. The


Willis survey collaborates with Gallup, the research firm that has studied human nature for over

70 years.

The short-term positive effects for HRD managers to refrain from healthy lifestyle

programs, are organization capital or human resource investments; no requirements to establish

professional human resource or communications personnel to manage and access the program,

also no need to provide opportunities for employees to engage in healthy lifestyle activities and

events. The inaction to create healthy lifestyle programs will inevitably make the organization

vulnerable to higher healthcare costs, including the loss of production, creativity, and

organization competiveness, and possibly create the image of an employer that is not concerned

about its employees.

Discussion

As was stated previously, research was conducted on whether it was worthwhile for an

organization’s human resource department to start a healthy lifestyle program for its employees.

The research overwhelmingly points to the fact that it is beneficial for organizations to have a

healthy lifestyle program because of the increased obesity rates and chronic illnesses in America

are increasing rapidly. The implementation of an effective wellness program is essential to a

company’s survival with the current economic conditions.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (2004, March 10),

smoking was the leading cause of death, killing 435,000 Americans in 2000, up from 400,000 in

1990. Poor diet and physical inactivity, running a close second, are predicted to replace

smoking as the leading cause of death in the near future. These two chronic disease risk factors

accounted for 400,000 deaths in 2000, up from 300,000 in 1990 (“Healthy Workforce 2010”


2001). As a whole Americans are a very unhealthy group of people considering that the leading

causes of death are heart attack, stroke, and cancer. The overall costs of treating multiple

chronic illnesses and other medical conditions have had a direct impact on a business’s bottom-

line. The solution is to encourage businesses to identify the need and to adopt a wellness

program.

There are numerous reasons why chronic diseases and obesity flourish in the U.S. today;

we have listed a few examples. First, due to a fast-paced society no one has time to cook, this

coupled with growing numbers of fast-food restaurants on every corner. It is very convenient to

eat out daily. Secondly, vending machines, snack bars and cafeterias have few, if any; healthy

choices. Lastly, increased inactivity due to technological advances in modern labor-saving

devices such as riding lawnmowers and power tools contribute heavily. Also the use of

computers, video/DVD games and the lack of sidewalks, walking trails and bike paths, all

encourage little to no physical activity (Gould, Johnson, 2009).

Employee benefits are one of the fastest rising expenses for many companies. There is a

great need for companies to thoroughly review all their options, and correctly match their needs

with the appropriate wellness plan for them. To have a successful program the company should

take the strategic approach, which entail a long term investment; which may seem expensive in

the beginning but will prove to be beneficial in the end.

Team Keep it Movin’ makes the following recommendations:

1. Identify the need for a wellness program utilizing a simple survey made up of 10 or 12

questions that can provide valuable information or use a group forum.


2. Establish a wellness committee. Employee involvement is vital to the success of any

wellness program. To obtain good results, employees should be involved in the wellness

program planning process. It encourages “buy in” from both management and potential

program participants.

3. Select wellness program incentives. Incentives attempt to build motivation by offering

individuals external rewards for taking steps in the right direction. The most common

wellness program incentives are to establish behavioral changes that will result in

discounted health insurance premiums.

4. Obtain support for the wellness program which is vital for the program’s success.

Different types of wellness program support addressed, include the following (Gould,

Johnson, 2009):

•Management support for the wellness program

•Employee support for the wellness program

•Financial support for the wellness program

•Governmental support for the wellness initiative

The most important factor to the success of the wellness program is to obtain financial

support from the organization. A study in the Harvard Business Review (2010, December),

found that companies with comprehensive, well run programs can see an average return on their

investments of two to three dollars for every dollar spent and on the high side six dollars for

every dollar spent.

Wellness program materials are also available free of charge by accessing the Internet.


For example, wellness tool kits, newsletters, nutrition pamphlets and posters, fitness

pamphlets and posters and wellness glossaries can be found. There are additional sources of

information, such as, voluntary health organizations, local public health departments, and state

and national government agencies. Additionally, many pharmaceutical companies market

disease- management programs for many conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure,

weight management and depression (Gould, Johnson, 2011).

An effective program will prove to reduce health care costs and absenteeism, eventually

yielding an increase in productivity. At the software firm SAS Institute, voluntary turnover is

just 4%, thanks in part to such a program; at the Biltmore tourism enterprise, the rate was 9% in

2009, down from 19% in 2005. According to Vicki Banks, Biltmore’s director of benefits and

compensation, “Employees who participate in our wellness programs do not leave.” (Berry,

Mirabito, Baun, 2010). Ultimately, the implementation of the wellness program will be

beneficial to employers and employees alike.

Further Discussion

In all organizations, employees are an expense as well as valuable resources (Noe,

Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2009, p. 505). How can an organization survive and be

profitable with its entire employee’s home in bed sick? Two plus two does not equal five. Unless

Human Resource Professionals get serious about implementing healthy lifestyle programs; health

care costs will continue to be a huge liability in organizations. Healthy lifestyle programs possess

certain strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to an organization.

Healthy lifestyle programs can strengthen an organization by lowering health insurance

premiums and medical claims. Employee’s productivity and morale increases while stress and


the use of sick leave decreases. The overall image of an organization improves when employees

are healthy and take pride in their appearance. When employees are healthy, an organization can

focus more on achieving its strategic mission, and less on nursing the workforce back to health.

Some weaknesses HR professionals face when implementing healthy lifestyle programs

are cost, passive programs and privacy concerns. The cost to implement wellness programs can

sometime exceed what’s in the company’s budget to spend. Some employees may not want to

share health information with their employer. Most wellness programs “obtain baseline measures

on various indicators (weight, blood pressure, lung capacity, and so on) and measure individuals’

progress relative to these indicators over time” (Noe et al., 2009, p.605). Some employees may

view wellness programs as a privacy violation. Passive wellness programs do not “support” or

encourage employees to become active participants (Noe et al., 2009, p. 605). Organizations with

passive wellness programs lose money on their investment because the health of employees does

not improve, and health insurance premiums stay the same or increase.

Three opportunities HR professionals may experience in employee wellness program are

improved corporate culture, employee retention and organizational competitiveness. The

definition of corporate culture is “the way people dress, talk to one another and greet customers”

(Kotler & Keller, 2011, p.46). Organizations that care about their employees breed employees

who care about their job responsibilities, customers and each other. Employee retention increases

because the work environment is less stressful and more engaging. An organization with healthy

employees can better compete as opposed to those who do not invest in the health of their

employees. Healthy employees have the energy, creativity and drive to follow through with the

organization’s strategic goals.


Threats that HR faces when implementing employee wellness programs are economic

recession, possible layoffs and employee financial worries. In these tough economic times,

organizations are struggling to survive, therefore implementing wellness programs are not at the

top of the agenda. Many organizations can’t afford to retain all employees, and employees are

upset and discouraged about the financial future for themselves and their families.

What strategic methods of implementing healthy lifestyle programs actually work and are

recommended? First, evidence suggests that the support of management is crucial. It is human

nature for people to follow the leader. When managers lead by example and actively participate

in an organization’s healthy lifestyle program, employees tend to willingly participate. It would

also be wise for managers to appoint one of their employees as a healthy lifestyles ambassador.

This employee should be well-liked, possess leadership qualities and truly support the program.

Employees should join the program at will and not be coerced to join. HR professionals should

use the “follow up model” when implementing a healthy lifestyles program. Employees should

have access to exercise equipment, outreach counselors, individualized health assessment, and

nutritious meals at work.

Conclusion

To conclude, when executed correctly, the implementation of healthy lifestyle program in

organizations just make sense. Exercise and a well-balanced diet are two key factors in keeping

employees healthy and therefore ready to carry out the organization’s mission, which is to

survive and stay profitable.


References

Bernstein, L. (2011, July 4).Corporate fitness programs survive hard times. The

Washington Post.

Greene, J. (2011, Feb.).Employee wellness proves its worth. Trustee.

Vol. 64. Issue 2. Pages 8-13. Retrieved July 22, 2011 from ABI Inform.

Hamlett-Coombs, K. (2011, Feb. 4). Healthy workplace good for all. The Daily Post.

Retrieved July 22, 2011 from Factiva.

Merrill, R. (2011, April). Evaluation of a best-practice worksite wellness program in

a small-employer setting using selected well-being indices. Journal of

Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Vol. 53. Issue 4. Pages 448-454.

NationMaster.com (2011). Health statistics obesity by country. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

National Business Group on Health. (2011). About the business group: Awards program.

Retrieved from http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/about/awards.cfm

Willis. (2011). 2009 Health and productivity survey: Building a culture of health. Retrieved July

21, 2011. from http://www.willis.com/documents/services

/Employee%20Benefits/publications/Willis_Productivity_Survey_2009.pdf

Baun, W., Berry, L., Mirabito, A., (2010, Dec.) What’s the hard return on employee wellness

programs? Harvard Business Review.

Retrieved August 13, 2011 from, http://hbr.org

Gould, R., Johnson, R., (2009) Healthy Workforce 2010 and Beyond: An essential health


promotion sourcebook, Retrieved July 28, 2011 from,

http://prevent.org/data/files/topics/healthyworkforce2010andbeyond.pdf

Healthy Workforce 2010: An essential health promotions sourcebook for employers,

large and small (2001). Retrieved July 28, 2011 from,

http://www.ascworkplacesolutions.com/documents/healthy_workforce_2010.pdf

Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P.M. (2009). Human resource management:

Gaining a competitive edge (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin.

Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing management (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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