Wellness Action Items

It’s not news that health insurance premiums continue to rise. Employers who pick up part of the tab are paying more and more for coverage — and promoting wellness and disease prevention is more important than ever. What is your workplace wellness quotient? Take a moment to make sure you’re doing all you can to keep your costs under control. Do you:

• Provide ongoing education about disease prevention and workplace safety
• Post safety signs in high-visibility locations and have first-aid kits on hand
• Make sure work areas are ergonomically sound
• Have — and enforce — a no-smoking policy
• Arrange discounts for health club memberships
• Encourage physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices
• Allow flexible scheduling to help employees strike a healthy work-family balance
• Encourage employees to schedule vacations well ahead of time — so they can schedule their work to completion before taking off, and you can plan for adequate coverage while they’re gone
• Advise sick employees to stay home so that you avoid “presenteeism” and the spread of infection
• Watch for signs of alcohol or drug abuse and take action when an employee is at risk
• Promote a supportive environment where workers believe they are listened to

Doing even a few of these action items can make a difference in your rates of absenteeism and employee productivity. More than that, if your organization assumes at least part of the cost of employee health insurance premiums, you’ll get more for every health care dollar you spend.