On the Road to Wellness
May 01, 2008 | Various Authors

…cont’d

Wellness programs promote positive attitudes, loyalty

The issue of employee engagement will become increasingly important as employment growth surpasses labour force growth. Until 2010, annual labour demand is expected to grow slightly faster than labour supply. A similar pattern is forecast in 2011–15. With fewer talented managers and executives available, concerns about having enough talent base will intensify.

CEOs of successful companies tend to worry about the people factor more than others: in one survey, two-thirds of CEOs rated employee loyalty/commitment/job satisfaction as “important,” while CEOs of more successful companies said the issue was “of greatest concern” to them.

Can wellness programming help? Yes, and evidence is mounting: an early U.S. study on the impact of health promotion programming on employee attitudes found that employee engagement increased significantly as workers participated in wellness programming. The study also found that employee perceptions of work conditions, pay, benefits and their own competence also improved among wellness program participants, while non-participants’ views remained unchanged.

More recent studies report similar findings. A 2007 survey of more than 500 companies worldwide by Buck Consultants found that as a direct result of health promotion programming, the majority of companies realized improvements in corporate image, employee morale and employee health risks.

Adequate and clear Canadian data will soon be available from a four-year study that is currently underway. This study, a first in Canada and co-sponsored by Sun Life Financial, is designed to eestablish the relationship between health risk factors and health claim costs, and track the change in claims data as the health of employees improves.

When it comes to investing in workplace wellness, leaders in Canada may be more motivated by employee engagement than their U.S. counterparts, who tend to think more about cost savings. This may be changing, however, as Canadian leaders realize tangible returns on their wellness investments.

Lori Casselman is vice-president, Buffett & Company Worksite Wellness Ltd. Doug Smeall is assistant vice-president of business development, health management services and group benefits, Sun Life Financial.