There is a direct link between healthy and engaged workers, high productivity, and controlling rising health cost. Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance programs increase an average of about 6% in 2007, according to Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust. Costs are nearly three times the overall inflation rate and almost double the percentage increases in workers’ wages. Last year the average cost of health-care insurance for a family of four came to a whopping $12,106. The annual salary for a minimum-wage worker? Just $12,168!

For the past three years, the National Business Group on Health has recognized U.S. companies that promote healthy work environments and encourage workers to live healthier lifestyle. Among the 2007 winners are Dell, IBM, Kellogg Co. and Pitney Bowes. “If companies can reach the overweight teenage children of current workers, they have a much better chance of improving the health of the next generation of employees,” says Helen Darling, president of the NBGH. Dee Edington, director of Health Management Research Center at the University of Michigan says that “making investments in keeping people healthy to begin with, rather than treating them only when they are sick, is a much more sound business undertaking.” It’s a lot less expensive according to Partnership for Prevention; the indirect cost of poor health – such as absenteeism and “presenteeism” (which means being at work but not working up to capacity) – can be double and even triple the actual direct medical cost. A similar study shows that productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee, per year, or $225.8 billion annually. In fact, Edington says that family medical benefits account for 55% to 65% of an employee’s total health-care cost.

Wellness programs have the opposite impact. Partnerships for Prevention found that each dollar a company invested in an effective, targeted wellness program produced a $3.50 savings in health-care cost. In their review they also found that companies with wellness programs experienced a 28% reduction in absenteeism, a 30% reduction in workers’ compensation and disability claims, and a 26% drop in health-care cost.

According to Ron Goetzel, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Cornell University, a blended approach of internal and external resources is often the most effective strategy for achieving a healthier workforce. “Working with an outside firm to design and track wellness programs is often a nice balance,” he says. “The employer understands the culture of the company, and the outside firm is familiar with all the various programs and methods that offer the best chance of success.”

Benefits of a Wellness Program

                Employers

·         Shows Employees that they are Cared for and Important

·         Reduce Health cost by 26%

·         Increases Employee Retention

·         Reduces Absenteeism by 28%

·         Improves Productivity, Teamwork, Goal Orientation, and Morale

·         Investing to keep employees working and healthy beats paying for them when they’re out sick!

                Employees

·         Reduces Stress

·         Increases Energy

·         Improves Health and Family’s Health

·         Reduces chances of Injury

·         Lowers Health Insurance Cost by 26%

·         Increases Self-esteem and Morale

Benefits of Fitness Fulfillment

·         Convenient Location

·         Affordable Pricing

·         Clean, State-of-the-Art Facility operated by a caring staff

·         Complete Wellness Programs customized to your organizations needs

·         We find the best methods to get people motivated and committed to a healthier lifestyle by creating them a personalized plan of action through Fitness Lifestyle Coaching!