In recent years, corporations have come to the realization that workplace wellness programs are beneficial to both employees and management, and more importantly, to their bottom line when it comes to profits. The building blocks of wellness programs may vary from program to program and from company to company, but overall, many wellness programs share many of the same characteristics and certainly the same goal – to improve the health of your employees.

Health Screenings

On-site health screenings are perhaps the most basic of the wellness program building blocks, laying the foundation or starting point when it comes to improving your employees’ well-being. It is worth the time and effort to find a company that offers quick screening in 30 minutes or less, with a turnaround time of about four days to deliver results and ultrasound images. Many companies take up to 21 days to inform the employees of their findings, but most physicians agree this is not optimum. When it comes to health, time is very often of the essence.

Most importantly, health screening companies can identify many health-related issues before they become debilitating, or even deadly. With simple, painless tests administered by trained professionals, your employees can find out if they are at risk for heart attack, stroke, abdominal aneurysms, or osteoporosis. Their own physicians can utilize the findings to develop a strategy of medication, or surgery, or perhaps both, to correct or improve any potential problems.

Motivating Your Employees

Of course, your company’s wellness program has little chance of succeeding without the enthusiastic involvement of your employees. Motivating them to find ways to better their health is a key issue. Health screenings can often assist in encouraging employees to do just this, especially if they get a wake-up call from their findings. If they find they have atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, they may be more likely to quit smoking, lower their cholesterol intake, or find ways to lower their blood pressure. If they find they are at risk for osteoporosis, they may be more inclined to increase their weight-bearing exercise and add calcium to their diet each day. Motivation can also come from healthy competition, such as seeing who can improve their numbers by the next screening.

Making the Workplace Healthier

Another way to motivate workers is to make the workplace itself healthier. Add a small gym or walking track for employees to utilize during breaks, and change out the junk food in the vending machines to healthier options. Implement “fun fruit Fridays” where a variety of fresh fruit is handed to employees as they arrive for work in the morning. When given more healthful options, many employees will take advantage of them.

Your company may also consider offering stress counseling, nap suites, or in-house mini-massages on a regular basis to combat burn-out and short tempers, making for a mentally healthy workplace environment.

Corporate wellness programs offer a wealth of advantages, including lowering a company’s health-care and overall costs, cutting down on the amount of needed sick days, increasing profits, and making for happier, healthier employees.

Author Bio: To find out more information on starting a corporate wellness program at your company, visit http://www.healthyes.com/Public/Misc/WellnessPrograms.aspx.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: wellness programs, employee health, employee wellness, corporate health, corporate health programs