Wellness Articles

Health Risk Assessment: Helping Quantify Employee Health help you quantify worker health

An Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is an important tool to help you isolate the value of strong Employee Health and Wellness Program Programs.

Health Risk Assessment: What is it?

Does the term “Health Risk Assessment” have you puzzled? If so, then you are not alone. Unfortunately there is no standard definition or format for a Health Risk Assessment. A health risk assessment is both a procedure and a document, too, depending on the context — you must answer questions and ideally undergo some simple Employee Health Screening to develop a document that describes what’s good and bad about your current state of health.

To add confusion to the situation, there’s a field called health risk management. Talk to an OSHA inspector about health risk assessment and they will likely assume you’re referring to an analysis of contaminants and industrial chemicals in a factory or manufacturing facility.

Health Risk Assessment: The Typical Health Risk Assessment

A comprehensive health risk assessment is aimed at producing a concrete baseline of a person’s health, and includes most of these features:

a blood pressure check,
cancer testing,
blood sugar test, and
a analysis of the worker’s health status.

Health risk assessments would analyze the worker’s:

lifestyle factors,
health conditions,
medications,
functional concerns and abilities,
overall quality of life,
self-efficacy,
physical fitness level.

Health and Wellness Fair activities put the spotlight on Employee Health and Wellness Programs

A Health and Wellness Fair is a excellent way to shake your employees out of the doldrums and into better awareness of their health and wellness. A Health and Wellness Fair brings your organization together to discuss Employee Health and Wellness Programs, examine Medical Insurance and “cafeteria” plans, explore health savings accounts, publicize Employee Health and Wellness Program Programs and share success stories and challenges.

Some common Health and Wellness Fair desired outcomes include:

better awareness of the health services and resources available to workers, both from their business and from local, state, regional and national health services;
increased motivation for improving health behavior
increased participation in Employee Health and Wellness Programs, commuter and carshare programs and health savings accounts
better awareness of person health status through Health Screenings, Health and Wellness Fair activities, displays, handouts, and demonstrations, and
better information on what workers are seeking from their business’s health management initiatives, and which workers are interested in participating.

Planning a Health and Wellness Fair

Planning a Health and Wellness Fair is a lot like beginning an Employee Health and Wellness Program on a smaller scale. Just like an Employee Health and Wellness Program, your Health and Wellness Fair will need publicity, logistical planning, programming, targeted goals, in-house marketing and of course, executive approval. Festive touches like free food, kid-friendly activities, live music, art displays, talent shows and other community-minded fun will help cement the appeal of your Health and Wellness Fair and ensure that the Health and Wellness Fair becomes a welcomed, annual event.

You can find some Health and Wellness Fair planning tips at the Family and Consumer Sciences site of Texas A&M University. These Health and Wellness Fair tips are aimed more at community and non-profit organizers, but you can discover many useful Health and Wellness Fair ideas at the site.

Health and Wellness Fairs and Employee Health and Wellness Program Recruitment

Many Employee Health and Wellness Program planners find that Health and Wellness Fairs are the primary reason why workers sign up for walking Employee Health and Wellness Programs, health savings accounts and other pro-Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

Don’t forget - not only do workers value these programs highly, but the increased energy and decreased sick leave associated with Employee Health and Wellness Programs also saves your corporation money. The Employee Health and Wellness Program Statistics are clear - healthier corporations work harder and pay less in Medical Insurance premiums.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs: The Grand Slam

Employee Health and Wellness Programs are as close to a grand slam proposition as you’ll find, according to most researchers and Employee Health and Wellness Program experts.

But if you have skeptics in your organization who are questioning the time and expense of beginning an Employee Health and Wellness Program, you may be wary too. Aren’t worker Employee Health and Wellness Programs subject to the adage “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”?

Employee Health and Wellness Programs Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Fortunately, worker Employee Health and Wellness Programs don’t require a big investment. Like any other corporate project, mismanagement and “death by committee” can inflate the cost of Employee Health and Wellness Programs, but it’s hard to spend too much time and money on them. After all, Employee Health and Wellness Programs are mostly informational in nature. Flyers, e-mails, maps, and Employee Health and Wellness Program Health and Wellness Fairs can only cost so much. There’s no expensive, specialized Employee Health and Wellness Program machinery.

Employee Health and Wellness Program statistics on successful programs are particularly persuasive. Unlike many cost-saving measures, Employee Health and Wellness Programs actually add to worker satisfaction - but they also reduce Medical Insurance premiums and worker absenteeism.

What are some common Employee Health and Wellness Programs?

Employee Health and Wellness Programs run the gamut, depending on your workplace demographic, from exercise for health patients to nutritional initiatives that encourage workers to replace unhealthy snack foods with healthy fare like dried fruit and shelled nuts.

Following are some examples of Employee Health and Wellness Programs:

ergonomic safety
cardiovascular disease education and testing
worker safety
Health risk assessments
walking Employee Health and Wellness Programs
drug testing

Maintaining Employee Health and Wellness Program during Cold Season can be a challenge for any corporation. The average adult can get up to four colds in one year, and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized every year for flu complications. From December to March, there are more workers out of the office due to illness, and others who barely made it to the office and can hardly think over their constant coughing and sneezing.

Employee Health and Wellness Program: Prevention is the Key

Prevention is the key to maintaining good health in the workplace and increasing overall Employee Health and Wellness Program. Fighting infection after the cold and flu epidemics hit is a losing battle and can best be combated with early action, such as implementing a Employee Health and Wellness Program Program in the workplace for good health all year long.

Keeping the Office Germ-free During Cold Season

The typical office is the perfect breeding grounds for influenza or the cold virus. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that there are higher chances for the spread of infection during winter because people spend more time indoors. In an office, this risk is increased by cubicles, bringing many people into a close space. Worksite Health Screenings conducted regularly as part of an overall health management program will increase the chances of Employee Health and Wellness Program year round, and especially during Cold Season.

Education Can Increase Employee Health and Wellness Program During Cold Season

Educating workers about various ways to stay healthy during Cold Season may help prevent the spread of any sickness to the entire office. Hand washing is a crucial component in maximizing Employee Health and Wellness Program, as bacteria collects on keyboards, mouses, around the water cooler and next to the community coffee pot. As workers shake hands, infection may be passed, multiplying the chance of getting a cold or coming down with the flu. Hand washing and anti-bacterial cleaners for surfaces can help reduce the spread of sickness.

Employee Health and Wellness Program is possible during Cold Season. With Employee Health and Wellness Program, your office can reach one step closer to immunity from sickness during Cold Season.

Employee Health and Wellness Program Study Shows Millions Lost Due to Illness

Employee Health and Wellness Program was shown to be a huge economic boon for corporations in a recently-released joint report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly three million productive workers in labor markets worldwide add up to a lot of money. The Employee Health and Wellness Program study estimates that China will lose $558 billion, India $237 billion, and Russia $303 billion in national income from 2005 to 2015 due to only three chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Lack of Employee Health and Wellness Program A “Huge Expense”

The United States Center for Disease Control also reports that chronic disease accounts for approximately 75 percent of yearly worker healthcare costs in the United States, which constitutes a huge expense for corporations. And the Public Health Foundation of India estimates that its country will lose 18 million potentially productive years of life by 2030, a statistic no nation can afford, let alone a developing one.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs the Answer

A sustainable solution to these challenges cannot be solved by medical benefits alone. Workplace commitments to Employee Health and Wellness Program are also crucial. Companies are advised to implement worksite Health Screenings for their workers, as well as look into a comprehensive health management program. These and other precautions are good secret weapons against the economic pitfall of unhealthy workers.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs - Employee Engagement Strategies

Employee Health and Wellness Programs without staff engagement are of little use to a corporation. How do you get workers to enroll in Employee Health and Wellness Programs - and stay engaged in the programs?

The brochures for these programs discuss the benefits to workers and corporations. Employee Health and Wellness Program statistics show that there are tangible benefits to a corporation for offering such programs. Employee Health and Wellness Programs actually do save lives by getting workers to take their health seriously, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and more.

However, St. Louis, Missouri-based Maritz Inc., the world’s largest incentive corporation, has applied their own invigorating twist to health management by providing gift rewards to workers who participate in Employee Health and Wellness Programs. The wellness incentive reward program is Maritz’s own Exclusively Yours® plan. Health management participants earn points, which can be then redeemed for merchandise, electronics, restaurant vouchers and travel, much like a frequent-flier program.

Enrollment incentive rewards in Employee Health and Wellness Programs?

Undoubtably corporations that don’t work in the incentive rewards industry will be tempted to cry foul about using such a rich carrot to incentivize health program enrollments. Not every corporation can throw that kind of money at health management resources - and not every corporation has the built-in cost savings as a business that specializes in providing incentive reward programs.

For certain rich incentive rewards like Maritz’s will break through the glaze that appears over many workers’ eyes when they’re encouraged to do something new, different or difficult. For many workers uncomfortable with health management and exercise, “new, different and difficult” would apply to Employee Health and Wellness Programs. So where does that leave corporations who are unwilling or unable to provide incentive rewards for health management program enrollment?

Successful Employee Health and Wellness Programs motivate workers - before and after signup

Employee Health and Wellness Program administrators should keep the long-term view in mind when trying to get workers to take that imperative first step. Even the best incentive rewards can fail in the face of faltering organization, badly-designed Employee Health and Wellness Programs and wavering support. Make sure to run good Wellness surveys before you build your Employee Health and Wellness Programs so worker input and needs are being met by your Employee Health and Wellness Programs. The goal is positive outcomes, not high enrollment numbers.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs cannot survive managerial apathy. If executive and managerial participation is widespread and heartfelt, workers will follow their leadership. The potential rewards and Wellness benefits are clearly worth reaping, for both your business and your co-workers.

Wellness might be the fatal flaw in your Employee Health and Wellness Program. Is Wellness part of your strategy? Does workplace wellness stop when your workers leave the office?

Wellness Continuity

If workers don’t have the tools to pursue health and wellness on a Personal level, then it becomes easy for them to “fall off the wagon” and slide back into a unealthy lifestyles. If you have a walking program, for example, it should encourage workers to build walking routes near their homes, perhaps with the cooperation of the neighborhood association or coworkers who live in the neighborhood.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs: Always on Your Mind

Your Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator should have “vacation wellbeing” as part of their job scope. In other words, you don’t want a Employee Health and Wellness Program to stop at the boundaries of the workplace campus. Instead, integrate Personal health and wellness with your Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

This can benefit your Employee Health and Wellness Programs in two ways:

it reduces the chance that the worker will come back to the office feeling unfit, overwhelmed and unable to resume their Employee Health and Wellness Programs; and
it shows that their business is just as invested in their Personal health and wellness as they are

Like a marathon, Personal health and wellness is a long-term endeavor and it’s difficult for anyone to do in isolation. Simply put, it’s easier to maintain your health when you know others are depending on you and watching your Personal performance. It’s easier to stick to an fitness program when you have a jogging partner who wakes you up when you oversleep, or spots you when you’re lifting weights.

Similarly, it’s easier to stick to your Employee Health and Wellness Program when you know your business is supporting you and wishing you the best.

Don’t Dictate Personal Health

Just as Wellness surveys serve a vital function in building a Employee Health and Wellness Program, it’s imperative that you involve workers in designing an off-site wellness strategy. No one enjoys being told what to do, but everyone enjoys having assistance in tacking tough problems. Make it clear that workers are in charge of their own health and wellness. Your role as their health management partner is to support, advise, counsel, provide resources and information.

Of course, don’t forget that part of Personal health and wellness responsibility is to provide good health risk assessment baselines so workers can proceed safely on the road to better physical fitness.