Achieving Return on Wellness Initiatives

Overcoming Resistance to Behavior Change

Topics: Health and Wellness, Benefits, Labor Expense, Finance, Health and Wellness, Benefits, Labor Expense, Workforce

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After reading this study, members will learn how to:

  • Define realistic, tangible wellness goals
  • Establish an effective wellness infrastructure
  • Use the health plan to incent employees to become healthier
  • Leverage interactions employees have with others in the hospital to reinforce wellness efforts

Executive Summary

Employers need a comprehensive, goal-based wellness strategy

Many employers are investing in employee wellness initiatives, such as offering health risk assessments, gym memberships, and healthy food in the cafeteria. While such initiatives are admirable, they are largely unfocused and their impact is unclear. Instead, employers should set clear goals for their wellness initiatives and design a strategy to meet those goals.

Collecting biometric data key to success

The first step in any successful wellness program is to collect biometric data from an employee population. There are two main benefits of doing so. First, employers can get an accurate reading on the health risks within their population and focus their wellness investments on addressing those particular risks. Second, individuals receive personal, actionable information on that they can use to evaluate their own health.

Employers should incentivize employees to change their behavior

The key impediment to wellness program success is employee resistance to behavior change. Therefore, in order to achieve wellness goals, employers should implement strategies to motivate employees. The strongest levers incentivize employees to attain certain health outcomes, such as fewer health risk factors, and to perform certain actions, such as seeing their primary care physician.

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Achieving Return on Wellness Initiatives offers employers a mix of lessons and practices to realize success in their wellness efforts.

Essay-Achieving Return on Wellness Initiatives