Employer
You have heard all the reasons to exercise before, but do you really know the facts behind the importance of corporate wellness?
Any business comes down to the most simple of rationales when it comes to decision making; the numbers.
Will it cost too much?
Is this going to be a loss?
What is the difference if my employee at their desk job is fit or not if they are just sitting all day?
Well if numbers is what you’re looking for, here are some that may surprise you. Did you know that overweight employees cost employers 39 million lost workdays each year?
The costs for healthcare on unhealthy employees average to be about $2,300 per employee in medical expenses.
Employers will spend approximately 40% more on obese employees than their healthy co-workers.
In a 1996 study companies who ran corporate wellness programs saw a return of $2-$10 for every $1 spent on the wellness program. Now with the massive rise in national obesity, most companies report that implementing a wellness program produced a $10-$20 return for every $1 that was invested per employee.
Are these small, unknown corporations with typically low expense? Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Corporate wellness statistics from Prudential Insurance showed a benefit expense of $312 per person enrolled in their wellness system. Shockingly, the benefit expense of employees not enrolled in the program averaged to about $574.
At the Coors Brewing Co., corporate wellness statistics reported saving $5.50 per $1 spent on their wellness program, stimulating a drop in absenteeism by 18%.
Coca-Cola's fitness program, while only enrolling 60% of it istotal employees, recouped $500 per year per employee.
It doesn’t stop there.
It is true that about 39 million absent days are reported due to obesity factors, but are there other issues as well?
Remember that cushy desk job that doesn’t require a fit body to execute it’s daily tasks? I mean, it’s just sitting in a chair, right?
A shocking 100 million workdays are missed on average each year to low back pain. Where does this typically stem from? The fact that the employee is sitting in a chair all day trains their body to do two things; be at rest and have a weak core.
Simple exercises performed on a regular basis can strengthen the lower back and reduce pain, drastically decreasing the number of absentees in the workplace.
The question isn’t WHY should your company run a wellness program; the real question is why doesn’t it already have one?
