Healthiest Nation
Workplace
Well Being
By J. Nick Baird, M.D.
There's a movement going on right now. A groundswell is uprising. It is happening all around you, even though you may not be aware of it. It started with health and health-care related companies, but now it's spreading to other industries as well. And this is your chance to get in on the uptick.
What's up?
American businesses are realizing human performance drives business performance, that they can reduce health care costs and have healthier, happier, more productive employees. How? By implementing health and wellness programs.
There's a growing understanding that personal purpose, autonomy, novelty and well-being will be the drivers of business performance the future. In fact, when “profit motive” is coupled with “purpose motive,” then organizations thrive, according to Daniel Pink in his book Drive. Said another way, employee engagement = increased shareholder value. And when a person has a strong sense of purpose, or a life plan, then motivation and engagement soar.
What began with disease management programs has rapidly progressed through disease prevention, health promotion, wellness, and now – for the most forward-thinking companies – well-being.
Let's first look at information that quantifies some of the benefits of traditional wellness programs.
“Wellness programs benefit the company in several ways,” according to a recent story in Business Review USA. “First, they ensure that employees are healthy, which translates to fewer sick days and less time off to see the doctor. Second, they increase productivity of the employees and help them manage stress. Finally, wellness programs may reduce health insurance costs for the employer and employee. Though some businesses may shy away from wellness programs due to initial costs, they end up saving money in the long run.”
The American Journal of Health Promotion published findings from 56 studies of worksite wellness programs. On average, programs resulted in a 27 percent reduction in sick leave absenteeism, 26 percent reduction in health care costs, and 32 percent reduction in workers' compensation and disability claims. Other studies show implementing a wellness program provides an excellent return on investment, as $5.81 is saved for every dollar spent.
Every employer can take steps to encourage and motivate their employees to take the actions that can lead to better health, according to a report from Partnership in Prevention called Investing in Health, that was supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). Every workplace can help promote employee health: through their health plans, by conducting their own activities, by linking with community services, or a combination of all three.
But, wouldn’t it be wonderful that if in addition to being healthier, that every employee could come to work every day happier, fully engaged, ready, willing and able to perform at his or her full capacity?
Well, from my perspective, there looms on the horizon a silver bullet that might make this possible. And that bullet is the concept of “well-being.” It encompasses some of the most exciting, innovative thinking yet.
Well-being goes beyond traditional wellness programs and personal physical health by addressing such things as emotional health, health behavior, work environment, social support and basic access to necessary resources. It goes well beyond medical condition, access to healthcare coverage and services. This “new health,” Health 3.0 (aka well-being), is wellness that is seen every day; at work, at home, at the mall, or wherever people live, work, play or pray.
Employers and organizations are finding that with well-being data, like what's found in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, it is possible to quantify and establish a correlation between the places where people work, the communities in which they live and their well-being. It allows organizations to measure the well-being of their employees and make better decisions about health benefits, work environment, corporate culture, and community investment. It helps them better understand the interrelationships of social, emotional, and physical health; productivity, absenteeism and presenteeism. It allows them to assess the real quality of their work environment: stressors, culture leadership, and health resources.
So, whether you're the CEO or a front-line worker, if your company has a wellness program, get involved and participate. Or better yet, work toward evolving it into a broader, more robust well-being program. If your company doesn't have a wellness program, get involved and start one. In either event, consider it an opportunity. Become a trend setter.
Nick
J. Nick Baird, M.D., is chief executive officer of the Alliance to Make U.S. Healthiest.
How Healthy is Your Community?
How healthy is your community? Better yet . . . how would you even begin to answer that question? That's where the Alliance to Make US Healthiest can help.
Do the policies in place promote health? Are there opportunities for physical activity? Ample access to quality health care? Are nutritious foods available and affordable? Is there a strong public heath presence?
These are just a few of the questions that will help address the health of your community, questions that come from various community health assessment tools from the likes of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national YMCA and the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO).
CDC's Healthy Communities Program
The CDC Healthy Communities Program (formerly STEPS) uses a health improvement process .The program provides tools for community action in the areas of health-related policy, systems, and environmental change strategies.
CDC collaborated with many groups to develop a Community Health Resources Database, the CHANGE assessment tool (described below), and a variety of action guides for implementing strategies that enable community leaders to bring about improvements in community health.
CDC's Assessment Tools is called “CHANGE.” It is an on-line tool, updated earlier this year, with five key components:
- Work site sector
- School sector
- Health care sector
- Community institutions
- Community-at-large.
Additionally, the community assessment tool looks at both policy and environment. For more information about the CDC tool check out this link: http://www.cdc.gov/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/change.htm
YMCA Community Health Living Index (CHLI)
The YMCA’s use an assessment instrument called the CHLI (Community Health Living Index) to engage communities. The YMCA identifies specific assessment sites, including:
- After school child care sites,
- Neighborhoods,
- Schools, and
- Work sites.
The individual site assessments reviewed and combined to produce a community-at-large assessment. The YMCA uses a community survey to assess this likelihood of change and then follows up with questions that assess the capacity, readiness, and willingness for change, and the sectors where change is most likely to occur.
Building on this assessment, they give the team the outline for an improvement plan for each of the core elements. This is followed by monitoring the implementation of the improvement plan, complete with time lines, assistance with execution, communications, and celebration and follow up assessments.
The complete CHLI assessment can be accessed at: http://www.ymca.net/communityhealthylivingindex/
NACCHO's MAPP
MAPP is strategic planning process developed by the NACCHO, a key component of which is community health assessment. The objectives of the process are:
- Create a healthy community and a better quality of life.
- Increase the visibility of public health within the community.
- Anticipate and manage change.
- Create a stronger public health infrastructure.
- Engage the community and create community ownership for public health issues.
MAPP brings four assessments together to drive the development of a community strategic plan:
- The Community Themes and Strengths Assessment identifies themes that interest and engage the community, perceptions about quality of life, and community assets.
- The Local Public Health System Assessment measures the capacity of the local public health system to conduct essential public health services.
- The Community Health Status Assessment analyzes data about health status, quality of life, and risk factors in the community.
- The Forces of Change Assessment identifies forces that are occurring or will occur that will affect the community or the local public health system.
NACCHO recommends local public health agencies conduct a community scan to identify populations or individuals whose voices are not being heard, followed by asset mapping. Asset mapping involves developing a "capacity inventory" for the jurisdiction, community, or neighborhood and literally placing symbols on a map for the various social, cultural, economic, environmental and other community attributes and assets identified by community residents.
In addition to a strategic planning process, MAPP is a continuous quality improvement process, which much like the YMCA's CHLI, builds on the assets in the community.
Gauging
the Health
of Your Workplace
Whether you work for a small start up or a corporate behemoth, there are different strategies to determine how healthy your organization is; and ways to move it to the next level.
Worksite health promotion programs (which may also be referred to in some organizations as employee health management or human capital management strategies) are win-win approaches where employers provide their employees with support and resources that foster healthier environments and behaviors; and in so doing, create healthier, happier and more productive employees.
Components of Successful Worksite Health Promotion Programs
According to a recent review of worksite health promotion programs1, those that were most effective (e.g., more likely to improve employees’ health and performance) included the following components:
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Having Senior Management Support
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Someone at the Worksite Championing/Promoting the Program
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Alignment between the Program and the Organization’s Overall Objectives
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Data Documenting the Program’s Achievements
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Health Risk Assessment/Needs Assessment
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High Participation Rates (60%)
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Tailored Behavior Change Messages
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Support for Self-Care and Self-Management
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Programs That Address Multiple Risk Factors
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Offer a Variety of Engagement Modalities
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Provide Easy Access to Programs and Effective Follow-Up
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Social Support
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Incentives (valued at ~$100)
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Culture of Health
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Duration of Programs (be in operation for at least 1 year to bring about change)
Assessing Your Worksite’s Level of Health Promotion
There are a variety of assessment tools available to worksites to assess how well they are implementing the components listed above. In addition to helping companies determine a benchmark, some of these assessments also provide information on how organizations can address gaps and improve current levels of health promotion programs, policies and strategies.
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CDC CHANGE - worksite assessment helps define and prioritize focus areas by evaluating demographic, physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, chronic disease management and leadership.
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HERO Employee Health Management (EHM) Scorecard – assesses strategic planning, leadership, programming, management, engagement, and evaluation.
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Leading by Example Health Management Initiative Assessment – provides a worksheet that employers can use to rate their program’s mission, data management, benefit design, supportive environment, level of programming and evaluation.
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YMCA Community Healthy Living Index (CHLI) – worksite assessment is designed to examine an organization’s programs, physical environment, promotions and policies to assess how each area supports physical activity and healthy eating
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WELCOA Well Workplace Checklist – A 100 question survey assessing senior level support, wellness teams, data collection, operating plan, programming, supportive environments, and evaluation.
1 Goetzel R., Ozminkowski RJ. The Health and Cost Benefits of Work Site Health-Promotion Programs. Annu. Rev. Public Health 2008. 29:303-23.
We are a non-partisan organization that facilitates partnerships between national and grassroots efforts, fosters innovative actions, and connects individuals to spark a nationwide social movement to make the U.S. the healthiest nation in a healthier world. 
We understand that health is the key to not only physical, emotional and intellectual well-being but also to economic strength. Our members are committed to making health and well-being a priority in industry and government, but also for individuals, families, and communities. 
Achieving our goal requires a wide range of collective action across sectors. We will facilitate that action, engaging diverse perspectives from organizations and individuals to create a network of people, ideas, policies, and programs.
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