Are corporate wellness programs effective?
Lisa McKinnon
Corporate wellness programs have become increasingly popular and are being adopted by many companies because of the benefits it promises for both employer and employee. However, is it that effective? According to a recent survey, two-thirds of HR professionals from organizations that offer effective corporate wellness program indicated that these efforts were either “somewhat effective” or “very effective” in reducing the costs of healthcare.
When we want to know about the effectiveness of any investment, we look at the return on investment (ROI). The ROI of a corporate wellness program typically depends on metrics such as the overall health care cost-savings achieved, as well as productivity increases due to a reduction in absenteeism. These metrics provide most companies with the justification for implementing such programs.
A recent finding from the Harvard Business Review study might be able to shed more light on ROI that can be attained through corporate wellness programs. For their research, they selected 185 participants with a high risk of developing heart disease. The researcher team conducted some training & exercise sessions to improve their cardiovascular health under a corporate wellness program for six months. After the end of the program, the result was an eye opener for the company as well as the researchers. They found:
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- 57% of participants turned to low-risk status for developing heart disease.
- Compared with the previous year, their medical claim cost declined by $1,421 per participant.
- The whole program yielded a massive 600% ROI ($6 of health care savings on every dollar of investment in the corporate wellness program).
Another renowned non-profit research institution The Rand Corp investigated two aspects of the corporate wellness program to justify its effectiveness: they are the lifestyle management component and disease management component. Their study found a striking positive correlation that shows disease management saves 86% of corporate health care cost that generates $136 in savings per member, per month and a 30% reduction in hospital admission costs.
CircleCare is an easy to use platform that encourages employees to manage both of these aspects. It helps them to develop healthy lifestyle habits like being more active, taking medications on time, staying knowledgeable about diet, nutrition, and disease management trends, plus a whole lot more. Healthy habits like these deliver obvious benefits such as reducing the risk of chronic disease and improving focus and productivity.
The study of The Rand Crop’s analyzed the ROI of a corporate wellness program (overall ROI of $1.50) based on two main aspects, lifestyle management ( ROI of $0.50) component, and disease management (ROI of $3.80) component. They didn’t consider employee positivity factor that has an immense impact on employee engagement and productivity level. An employee who eats healthy and exercises regularly is more likely to be healthy and engaged in his work compared to an employee who doesn’t. There’s no doubt that engaged employees are more productive, energetic and full of positivity. According to medical science, exercise produces natural endorphins and opiates that boost energy, mood and improve the overall wellness of the employee.
The Employee Positivity factor has an enormous impact on business. Positive employees are more likely to generate high profit, more ideas, and solutions to business challenges. In short positive employees hits the company bottom line. That’s why CircleCare App also focuses on achieving employee positivity by improving their overall health condition through positive reinforcement and rewards.
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