Listen Up! The Facts About Your Health
Are you thinking about starting a wellness program at your company? Maybe you are just thinking about making some changes to your own lifestyle. No matter what your reasons are, it’s important to know the facts– the facts about living healthy and the reality of NOT living healthy. What are we really doing to ourselves?
According to Senator Tom Harkin, over 2 trillion dollars are spent on health care each year. For each dollar spent, 95 cents are spent on conditions and illnesses after they occur. Seventy-five percent of all money spent on health care goes to the treatment of illness and diseases that are largely preventable by a healthy lifestyle. Diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, prostate and breast cancer, and obesity-related illness are all often related to unhealthy behaviors and poor lifestyle choices.
We are living in an age where over 65% of all adults are overweight and over 30% of all adults are obese. It is pretty easy to see the connection between our lifestyle and the rising healthcare costs affecting all Americans and further taxing businesses that may already be struggling.
So how can a wellness program help? A study done by the Wellness Council of America shows that companies that offered a wellness program for employees saved an average of $5.81 for each dollar spent on wellness and prevention. The same review concludes that companies with a comprehensive wellness program have overall reduced health care expenses by 26.5%.
If your workforce is healthy, chances are they are going to be happy. Not only will a wellness program cut back insurance and medical costs, studies show that companies with wellness programs show a reduced rate of absenteeism by 26% and reduced costs associated with worker’s compensation and disability totaling 32% (Welcoa, 2005).
Educating employees and offering support and guidance for health and wellness is not only a great way to help your company’s bottom line, but it helps to build morale among employees, keep your workforce healthy, and reduce the risk of injury and illness.
TIPS offers a variety of service options that can be tailored to suit your company’s needs. Please contact the TIPS office for a free consultation to discuss how TIPS can help you.