Wellness programs stay strong despite recession

Despite the recession, companies continue to add wellness and health-management programs to reduce costs while encouraging employees to improve their physical health.

The latest Watson Wyatt/National Business Group on Health survey discovered that companies are still adopting employee wellness programs. The survey results also revealed that many companies improved employee participation rates by offering workers financial incentives.

Survey results show how companies increased the availability of various wellness programs:

• 58% of companies offer lifestyle improvement programs, up from 43% in 2007
• 56% offer health coaches, up from 44% in 2007
• 52% offer weight-management programs, up from 42% in 2007
• 80% offer health-risk appraisals, up from 72% in 2007

Companies that encouraged employees to participate in wellness programs by offering financial incentives reported significantly higher participation rates, according to survey results. Only 40% of companies reported that less than 5% of their workforce participated in weight-management programs.

"Employers continue to see gains from promoting wellness and health management initiatives," said Scott Keyes, senior group and health-care consultant at Watson Wyatt. "Effective financial incentives are one of the keys to encouraging worker participation in these programs — an effort that not only improves the health of workers but also helps reduce costs."

The survey also found that motivating employees with financial incentives significantly increased participation rates. Currently, 61% of employers offer incentives for health-risk appraisals and many employers are also offering incentives for smoking cessation and weight management programs.

Using financial incentives between $51 and $100 have been successful in encouraging employees to participate in smoking cessation programs, weight-management programs, and encourage employees to receive biometric screenings, according to the results.

"The relationship between the amount of the incentive and the level of program participation among employees is strong," said Sherri Potter, senior group and health-care consultant at Watson Wyatt. "A properly structured incentive program does much more than protect investments in health management; it creates a healthier and more productive workforce."

For more information on employee wellness programs and employee health, read these past posts:

Obesity linked to more expensive workers’ comp claims

HR survey reveals top green business practices

New research suggests exercise makes you smarter

Economic stress impacts employee health, productivity

How to beat stress in the workplace

Wellness programs stay strong despite recession

Cash incentives help employees quit smoking

Smokers are more likely to quit if they are offered a cash incentive, according to a new study offering the strongest evidence tying monetary rewards to behavioral changes.

The study, led by a team from the University of Pennsylvania and published by the New England Journal of Medicine, is one of the largest of its kind.

Researchers tracked 878 General Electric Co. employees from across the U.S. for 18 months in 2005 and 2006. Each employee involved in the study smoked an average of one pack of cigarettes a day. They were divided into two groups and all received information regarding smoking-cessation programs.

Members of one group received cash incentives for completing each step of the program: $100 for finishing a smoking-cessation course, $250 if they quit smoking within six months, and $400 for continuing to not smoke for another six months.

Almost 15% of the group who were offered money to stop smoking had quit within the first year of the study, only 5% of the other group had done the same. At the end of the 18-month study, 9% of the paid group was still not smoking compared to only about 4% of the non-paid group.

From the Wall Street Journal article:

Loretta Massie-Eaton, a 53-year-old administrative assistant who works for GE in Atlanta, said encouragement from her 14-year-old son, Harrison, was the main reason she decided to participate. But money was also a motivation, she said. "It was the satisfaction of sticking to the commitment and getting reimbursed for doing it," said Ms. Massie-Eaton, who says she hasn't had a cigarette since taking part in the study more than two years ago.

Ric Barton, a GE lighting specialist from Cleveland, said he had been thinking about quitting before the study. A smoker for four decades, the 62-year-old said finding places to light up had become increasingly difficult and he was tired of rising cigarette prices. "It was icing for me to get a monetary reward for something I was already planning to do," Mr. Barton said.

Statistics show that helping employees quit smoking is worth the investment for companies. Smoking costs employers $3,400 per smoking employee per year in health-care bills, reduced productivity and absenteeism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers not involved in the study commented that the latest findings show that incentives work and give employers hard evidence that incentive programs can help companies save money on employee health-care costs.

“You’d prefer not to pay them, but it’s worth it,” said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health professional organization.


Related posts:

Help employees quit smoking, participate in the Great American Smokeout

Workplace smoking policies: When employees lie

Cash incentives help employees quit smoking

Help employees quit smoking, participate in the Great American Smokeout

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and Thursday, November 20, marks the 33rd Great American Smokeout, a day created to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for one day.

Almost 45% of the 45.3 million American smokers have attempted to quit smoking for at least one day in the past year, according to the American Cancer Society. For more than 30 years, the Great American Smokeout has proven to be a great opportunity to motivate smokers to make a long-term to quit for good.

Each year, only about 5% of smokers who quit succeed long-term and stress about the economy is having a clear and immediate effect on smokers, according to a recent survey sponsored by the American Legacy Foundation.

The survey found that smokers’ increased stress is causing smokers to delay a quit attempt, increase the number of cigarettes they are smoking, or switch to a cheaper brand instead of quitting. Additionally, former smokers reported that they are starting to smoke again because of financial stress.

Among the survey findings:

• 77% of smokers report increased stress levels due to the current state of the economy, two-thirds of those smokers say this stress has had an effect on their smoking.
• One in four smokers stressed about the economy say this stress has caused them to smoke more cigarettes per day, higher among women (31%) than men (17%).
• A greater percentage of middle-income ($35-74.9k) stressed smokers have delayed their quit attempts because of stress over the economy (20%) than those with household incomes of under $35k (14%).

“The best time to quit smoking is now,” according to the American Cancer Society. Use the upcoming Great American Smokeout to start a smoking cessation program, revisit your workplace smoking policy and encourage employees who smoke to set November 20 as their quit date.

The American Cancer Society has put together a Smokeout page as part of their Great American Health Challenge full of materials to help publicize smoking cessation in your workplace, press releases, local resources and guides to help employees quit smoking.

Help employees quit smoking, participate in the Great American Smokeout