Workplace Wellness Programs

The concept of workplace wellness has been around for a very long time. It has been used successfully many times to rebuild failing companies or even countries. It's a simple fact that implementing a workplace wellness program in the workplace has multiple benefits.

1. Employees are healthier which reduces health care costs dramatically
2. Employees are happier. Which means a business operates more efficiently
3. Less absenteeism. Because employees are healthier and happier they show up more often.
4. Higher productivity. If the cardiovascular system works better the brain works better. Actually working out at work magnifies this benefit

Many American companies in the past looked upon workplace wellness programs as an extravagant expense. However that idea has been quickly turned around. Recent studies show that workplace wellness programs typically have a return on investment of between three and fifteen dollars per dollar spent. This ROI is typically seen in under eighteen months.

With health care cost soaring and being such a hot topic there is a trend in business to invest in workplace wellness. Companies are discovering that it is not an extravagant expense but a true investment which can have a dramatic effect on the bottom line. the question now is not if to have a workplace wellness program but what type.

There is something new about the motivation of todays company in instituting a workplace wellness program. American companies are instituting workplace wellness for the purpose of reducing health care costs. That is unique in that in the past and in other countries today they are put in place for the purpose of productivity. It's been shown over and over again that employees that exercise at work are about twenty percent more productive.

Productivity has always been the goal with workplace wellness measures and it still is in almost every country but the US. Motivations aside, workplace wellness programs are growing at a tremendous rate in the US and whether they were put in to reduce health care costs or not the end result should still be higher productivity. Higher productivity means higher profits and higher profits should lead to economic recovery.

A new trend in Workplace wellness is utilizing online web 2.0 based wellness programs such as Break Pal. These programs can be highly effective and extremely low cost as compared to other programs. They are a great starting point for a workplace wellness program or a great addition to an already existing program.