As the field of Employee Health and Wellness Programs continues to evolve, so will the need to define the dimensions of a broad-based model of Employee Health and Wellness Programs. A representative model includes the following Employee Health and Wellness Program components; health education programs, worker health services and benefits, nutrition and physical fitness programs, Employee Health and Wellness Program policies and procedures, counseling and employee assistance programs, a safe and healthy work environment, and the integration of company and community resources.
A broad-based approach to Employee Health and Wellness Programs will maximize the impact of all initiatives by increasing communication between administrators, staff members, and worker families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite culture and climate. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of worker wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond programs designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.
A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Employee Health and Wellness Programs by various departments and individuals outside and inside the company. As the structure of the worksite continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Employee Health and Wellness Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.
A Comprehensive Model For Employee Health and Wellness Programs
According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81% of companies in the United States with 50 or more staff members have some form of Employee Health and Wellness Programs activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85 percent by the year 2000. Why are employers getting into the business of Employee Health and Wellness Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Employee Health and Wellness Programs are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a method of boosting the morale of staff members and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).
As the motivations for Employee Health and Wellness Programs differ, so do the extent of a Employee Health and Wellness Programs efforts. A program may consist of distributing the occasional health pamphlet on the warning signs of cancer to staff members, or it may comprise an elaborate and strategically planned Employee Health and Wellness Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its staff members. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Employee Health and Wellness Programs have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Employee Health and Wellness Programs consist of?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself working for the healthiest business possible. What characteristics or Employee Health and Wellness Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that business do to enhance the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of worker health? How does that business develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all staff members? Finally, how does that business demonstrate its belief that workers are the business’s most valued asset?
It is unlikely that any one component of a Employee Health and Wellness Program will be responsible for the positive health outcomes of all staff members. Employee Health and Wellness Program have evolved from the occasional fitness facility for the exclusive use of business executives, or the sporadic worker safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and programs. Employee Health and Wellness Program consultants frequently speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Employee Health and Wellness Programs in today’s worksite. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.
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