Wellness not a ‘corporate value’ While 88% of Ontario employers offer at least one employee health promotion program, such as smoking cessation, only 6% of these organizations consider workplace wellness to be a corporate value, and only 3% have taken an integrated approach to wellness, finds a recent study by David Sharp, professor, University of Western Ontario, and Angela Downey, assistant professor, University of Lethbridge. By contrast, as many as 34% of U.S. employers in 1999 offered comprehensive health promotion programs to employees. In countries with universal healthcare coverage, such as Canada, there’s less incentive to provide wellness programs because most of the cost benefits of such programs accrue to the healthcare system — not the employer. This is “unlike in the U.S., where healthcare is paid for, by and large, by employers,” says Sharp. “A healthier workforce (in the U.S.) means you get to pay less in insurance premiums.” Ad campaign reduces injury Emerging evidence suggests that social marketing campaigns can change attitudes and behaviours related to workplace health and safety, according to researchers at the Institute for Work & Health. The researchers, who examined published evidence on how these campaigns affect occupational injury rates, found that an Australian back-injury prevention campaign conducted in 1998-1999 reduced the number of back-pain-related disability claims in Victoria, Australia, by 3,300 over three years, saving more than $40 million (AUD) in worker’s compensation. The campaign, which included television, radio and print advertising, cost $10 million to implement. |
More workplaces ban smoking As provinces and major cities pass legislation to ban smoking in public places, more employers are banning smoking on company property as well, according to a Statistics Canada report. In 2004-2005, the vast majority of employed smokers faced at least some restrictions on smoking in the workplace: 42% reported a total ban on smoking; 37% said smoking was allowed only in designated areas; 9% said it was restricted only in certain places; and only 12% reported no restrictions at all. The stats: Health plan beats cash When a recent survey asked Canadian employees which they would rather have, an extra $20,000 in cash per year or their employer-sponsored health benefit plans, 61% of respondents chose their health benefit plans. When asked why they prefer their health benefit plans: 26% of respondents said their benefits would cost them more than $20,000 out of pocket 18% said their benefits provide security and peace of mind 9% said they prefer or need the plan 9% said they would probably spend the cash on something other than health services 8% said a group health plan is cheaper and superior to an individual plan (Mentions below 8% are not listed) |
Sources: Angela M. Downey and David J. Sharp, Why do Managers Allocate Resources to Workplace Health Promotion Programmes in Countries with National Health Coverage? May 2007; Institute for Work & Health, 2007; Statistics Canada, Health Reports, August 2007; The sanofi-aventis Healthcare Survey 2007. For a PDF version of this article, click here. |
