• In 1990, major depression alone cost approximately $23 billion in lost workdays.

• Minor depression, which affects more people each year, may account for 51% more spent disability days than major depression.

• A three-year study of a major corporation showed that 60% of employee absences were due to psychological problems.

• Over 50% of work days lost annually in the US are stress-related.

• Stress costs employers $150 billion annually in lost productivity, absenteeism, poor-decision making, stress related mental illness and substance abuse.

• Over 46% of all employees are stressed to the point of burnout.

• One out of four American workers suffers a mental health problem rooted in stress.
  
  These symptoms may prompt many stressed individuals to see their physicians. Anxiety and depression are among the six most common conditions seen in family practice. Fifty percent to 70% or routine visits to primary care physicians are for medical complaints that stem from psychological factors.

MEASURE THE DIFFERENCE WITH MIND BODY SOUL Corporate Wellness Programs

     IT PAYS TO BE HEALTHY.  Research shows that as weight increases, so do health care utilization costs.  What this means for U.S. companies is the fitter their workforce the fatter their bottom line.  When it comes to positively impacting individual health, companies have their work cut out for them.

     Everyday, on any given network, there is a new story on obesity. It’s an American epidemic that forces the upward spiral of healthcare costs.  The good news is that companies have the power to control both of these painful issues by offering programs at work that are convenient and directed at a known, targeted population—their employees.  Employer-based health improvement programs address multiple benefits, health, employee morale, satisfaction, productivity, self-responsibility, teamwork, and employee culture. 

OBESITY AND INACTIVITY A SERIOUS PROBLEM

Consider the following: Most of us—about 65% of the adult United States population—are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. What that means for women is they are 30 or more pounds overweight and for men, 35 to 40 pounds overweight. Many of us—27%—admit to not exercising, according to Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA). What is even more disturbing are federal statistics showing seven of 10 adults get too little exercise, and four of 10 get none. It adds up, based on a simple equation: more calories consumed than calories expended equals weight gain.  Women are eating 22% more calories and men 7% more per day than they did 30 years ago. We have an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. According to the Department of Transportation, about 25% of all trips made in the United States are less than one mile in length, and 75% of those are made by car. All this impacts health care because overweight and obesity are known to raise the risk for 15 different disease states. The most frequently mentioned of these are Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high total cholesterol, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and stroke. Diabetes alone has increased in prevalence from 4.9% in 1990 to 7.3% in 2000. Being overweight or obese is the most important risk factor tied to diabetes. Physical inactivity contributes to both poor mental health as well as poor physical health, according to the CDC, and is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths a year. Nearly 80% of obese people now have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease or other ailments. Research shows as BMI increases, so do health care utilization costs. One study “suggests that obesity increases health costs for in-patient and ambulatory care 36%, and medication costs 77% compared to people in a normal weight range.” Dee W. Edington, Director of the University of Michigan’s Health Management Research Center, and his colleagues, found overweight and obese people have medical bills up to $1,500 greater per year than those of people who have healthy weights. Employers feel the vast majority of the pain of increasing health care costs. Not only are many employers facing the fourth year of double-digit rate increases in their health care costs, they are also impacted daily with lost work days due to illnesses that may be exacerbated by obesity and inactivity. Because of obesity, employers also face increased levels of lost productivity and increased life and disability insurance premiums. Employers’ pain is not going away anytime soon. Baby Boomers (the largest portion of the workforce) continue to age and are moving into their highest health care utilization years while the upcoming workforce population is increasingly obese with related health care impact. Some 15% of children and adolescents are now obese, more than double the rates of 25 years ago. The 30-49 year age group shows the fastest rise in disability claims fueled by the obesity epidemic. More than 89% of Americans report high stress. Employers need strategies today to impact tomorrow’s workforce.

EMPLOYERS’ RESPONSE

Employers are not sitting idly by, shelling money out hand-over-fist to pay for ever-increasing health care costs. Many employers are instituting creative strategies to reduce costs. Some are partnering with their employees to educate them about cost increases and looking together at benefit re-design, including additional cost sharing, and self-funded plan costs. Leading-edge employers are re-examining the full spectrum of health care plan designs (HMOs, POS, PPO) and traditional commercial plans, as well as examining the next wave offerings: Consumer Directed including Defined Contribution, and Health Saving Accounts. Employers are also looking at ways to maximize the premium savings for prescription drug coverage, including mandatory use of generics, mail order pharmacy options (for chronic medications), and three-tier plan designs.  Many employers are also looking beyond the traditional illness-based methods of controlling costs. Employers are getting out in front of their employees with programs designed to prevent illness or disease. It is reported health improvement programs of some kind are offered by more than 80% of worksites with 50 or more employees and almost all large employers with more than 750 employees. These programs include health promotion, education and awareness, as well as physical activity by offering to pay for health club memberships and offering work-site wellness and fitness programs. The most common of such corporate programs include educational materials, on-site fitness centers, weight management meetings, reimbursements for gym memberships, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings and nutrition counseling.  Cultural strategies at the workplace are encouraged to increase activity and reduce obesity. These include promotion of stair use, development of walking paths and sidewalks, and partnering with food vendors to offer healthy items in the cafeteria and vending machines and provide better food labeling.

IT PAYS TO BE HEALTHY

Research has proved employer-based health improvement programs make a measurable difference. A recent study showed physical activity, cardio respiratory fitness and obesity are all related to work performance (January 2004, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine). “Results indicated that higher levels of physical activity related to reduced decrements in quality of work performed and overall job performance; higher cardio respiratory fitness related to reduced decrements in quantity of work performed, and a reduction in extra effort exerted to perform the work. Obesity related to more difficulty in getting along with coworkers; severe obesity related to a higher number of work loss days. Conclusion: lifestyle related modifiable health risk factors significantly impact employee work performance.” Another recent study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (May 2004), indicates that “physical activity lowered costs for most categories of health problems, even when the participants did not lose weight. This study involved 23,500 General Motors Workers and found that modest increases in physical activity, even 20 minutes of brisk walking once or twice a week, reduced costs even without weight loss. For obese workers being physically active lowered health care costs by $400 to $500 per year.” When it comes to waging war on costs, health plans are also definitely on board. Destiny Health of Oakbrook, Ill., has a point system so participants can earn health club discounts. The company also offers free movie tickets or weekends at hotels. Johnson & Johnson provides a premium discount of $500 for participating in the online health risk assessment and follow-up programs encouraging more than 90% of the population to participate. PacifiCare Health System of Cypress, Calif., will begin offering reduced co-payments to members of employer-sponsored managed care plans who take part in races, document exercise or reach their goal weights.19 Many studies have focused specifically on return-on-investment (ROI) from worksite health promotion and disease prevention programs. Findings across nine employers show $1.49 to $4.91 in benefits per dollar spent on the program, and a median of $3.14.20 These programs all provided health education and typically include exercise programs, health risk appraisals, weight control, nutrition information, stress management, disease screening and smoking cessation.

In this case the bottom line is simple: Improved employee health equals improved business results.