According to an article written by Michael P. O’Donnell, Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion, Workplace health promotion is indeed the best thing since sliced bread. In hospital management, the core goal is to provide the highest quality medical care in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Workplace health promotion programs certainly meet that standard.
Business Perspective
O’Donnell says that from a business perspective, health promotion programs offer an employee benefit that can, if done right, improve health, quality of life, and sense of community; to help attract and retain talented employees; enhance productivity, and more than pay for itself in measurable medical care cost savings.
Public Health Perspective
From a public health perspective, and this is the most important to me, workplace health promotion programs are one of the most cost-effective ways to improve the health of the population. First, they focus on the factors that can prevent 80% of all diseases: tobacco use, physical inactivity, and nutrition.1 Second, the concentration of a large group in the relatively stable environment of a workplace makes it possible to engage a large group of people in complex health campaigns in a supportive community over an extended period of time and thus allow people to cycle through the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes necessary to make lasting behavior changes. Furthermore, the cost, from the perspective of the public health community, is zero because the funding comes from the employer, not the government or a foundation.
Pursuit of Optimal Health
Workplace health is important because when people discover and embrace their passions and strengths, they best understand how better health can help them pursue their goals. O’Donnell says that sometimes, the leaders of an organization (including himself) neglect to remind their employees that our core goal is helping people. More and more, it feels like the field is dominated by benefits managers who are focused on controlling medical costs and by entrepreneurs who are really good at building technology, managing people, selling products, and growing profitable businesses. Although growing a business is necessary to be able to serve more and more people in a cost-effective way and making money is necessary to support families and make it possible for people to retire eventually. But sometimes, we should worry that we (the employers) are forgetting that helping other people is the core goal of business. It’s what makes your business special, what makes your business effective because you care about people.
Our hope is that helping people can continue to be a central theme we remind ourselves of every day. Contact us if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.
