What are Corporate Wellness ?

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports specifies wellness as “a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of wellbeing.” Wellness looks beyond the current model of treating disease and focuses on preventive behaviors and healthier lifestyles. Corporate Wellness , also frequently referred to as Corporate Wellness , serve as a complement to existing insurance-based health benefit programs and can take many forms and address a myriad different potential health conditions. They are a powerful strategy to promote positive lifestyle changes that can result in significant cost savings for employers. Examples of potential elements of a Corporate Wellness include: Health Risk Assessments / Employee Wellness Screenings – Health Risk Assessments (aka Health Risk Appraisals), evaluate the most prevalent lifestyle-related risks of an individual. HRAs frequently include screenings for Blood Pressure (BP), cholesterol, glucose levels and other health indicators. These analyses provide valuable benchmarking measures that ideally will allow staff members to prevent or lower their risk of diseases. Finding Wealth Through Wellness, As noted by Kathryn Krivy, director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago, “Medically based Health Risk Assessments are a necessity because in order to affect transformation in your employer, you need to know what the issues are, and you just don’t know until you get the data.” Physical Activity and Weight Management – One of the most popular Corporate Wellness is for employers to provide access to a fitness center, frequently on-Site. Other potential measures include offering healthier vending machines and cafeteria options, weight management support groups and fitness challenge programs. Some employers, like hospital group Baptist Health South Florida, will even pay for staff members to attend weight-loss classes such as Weight Watchers. Awareness and Education Programs – Most employers hold events discussing the benefits of nutrition, safety or physical fitness, among other subject matters. Other options are to host a health & wellness fair or conduct a disease-awareness campaign. Behavior Modification – This covers issues like smoking, wearing seat belts, and alcohol use. While many employers will provide assistance for staff members looking to modify behavior, some employers, like health care benefits administrator Weyco, Inc., mandate modifications, such as quitting smoking, as a condition of employment. Alternative Treatments – Other Corporate Wellness can include absorbing some or all of the costs for massages, stress-reduction activities like yoga or even herbal medicines.