Bringing resources and support to employees at work -- a team-oriented environment -- can improve individual wellness and reduce healthcare costs. Because work is a social environment, employees that work together on a daily basis have natural camaraderie that increases engagement in wellness programs.
Are Employee Wellness Programs Effective?
The state of Colorado worked with the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center in Aurora to test an innovative corporate wellness program that improved public employee health.
The pilot tested a 16-week weight loss transformation program called State of Slim, based on the book authored by Holly Wyatt, MD, aimed to help state employee participants make lifestyle adjustments that would result in healthier choices and lower healthcare costs. With a goal to become the healthiest state in the nation, Colorado wanted to test the efficacy of support in the workplace. The pilot program was offered to 33,000 workers statewide.
“Prior to the State of Slim pilot, our wellness program was an online resource geared toward guiding small behavior changes in core populations that lead to big changes overall down the road,” said Nate Sassano, statewide wellness coordinator for Colorado.
The program was missing intense behavior change programs specifically focused on weight loss or chronic conditions,” he added.
The program brought resources and support to government workplaces with the goal of teaching public employee participants how to rethink what they surround themselves with at home and at work.
Each week, a coach discussed topics, shared exercises to try and assigned small tasks for participants to complete. The employee group logged their food and lifestyle activities, and shared their experiences with other participants.
The coach also provided feedback and tips on how to improve in adjusting lifestyle choices. Sabrina D’Agosta, senior director of strategic and policy communications at Denver Public Schools, said that her participation in this state employee wellness program pilot not only helped her lose 24 pounds, but also changed her perspective on dieting and exercise.
“I tend to think of myself as very healthy with good eating habits and regular exercise, but struggled to lose extra weight after my kids were born,” D’Agosta said. “The program was introduced as a very intense experience but with long-term benefits. I thought I should give it a try and see what happens.”
Why Employee Wellness Works at Work
Coach Peggy, the pilot program’s coach, said that employee wellness programs have the capacity to be successful because participants know each other from working together on a daily basis.
“The camaraderie is there, and participants can work together and in some cases report to each other on their progress, achievements and challenges,” she said.
Because participants already know each other, the program can hit the ground running right away,” said Coach Peggy.
Employee wellness programs enable groups to support each other during the work day, making it easier to adhere to target recommendations. Groups meet weekly during lunch, or at the end of the day, enabling better attendance.
Government employers can also support various employee wellness groups. With weight loss programs, for example, governments can feature catered meals based on the particular program guidelines, making it easy for participants to stay with their program.
Research suggests employee wellness programs are most successful when participants are personally engaged. To increase employee wellness engagement, programs should have four key attributes:
- Clinically comprehensive data
- Personally relevant recommendations
- Seamless integration with benefits
- Automatic accessibility anytime, anywhere
For D’Agosta and many participants, Colorado’s employee weight loss program provided a place where she and her colleagues could learn coping mechanisms to prevent overeating at times when personal stressors impact decisions.
“Because other people in the workplace were going through the same process, the team helped each other deal with barriers to success,” D’Agosta said. “We created a buddy system to check-in with during the day. It allowed us to have a conversation about our struggles and respond to the needs of the group to ensure there was support for all involved.”
According to Sassano, healthy employees also result in lower employer healthcare costs. “The goal is to create a culture that supports employee health,” he explained, concluding:
Healthy employees are better employees.”