If your employee healthcare costs are starting to put a dent in your expense per employee, it is high time for your company to invest in a corporate wellness program.
Healthcare Costs Facts and Figures
According to research performed by Kaiser Family Foundation , the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2019 are $7,188 for single coverage and $20,576 for family coverage.
Health insurance is not the only healthcare cost a company should consider. In a study published by the Society of Humans Research Management, the average rate of paid sick time per company is 3.5% of total manpower expense.
Apart from the paid sick leaves, another cost item that the company should take into consideration is the cost of lost productivity due to sick leaves. Multiple studies show that the cost of lost productivity is in the billions.
According to CDC ), the cost to US employers for sick leaves amounts to $36.4 billion a year; and that is just because of these five chronic diseases or risk factors—high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity (cost associated to mental health status is not yet included.
A different statistic provided by Investopedia says the same thing; 77% of the workers surveyed have chronic health conditions which results in the total annual cost of lost productivity of $84 billion.
The good news is that an effective wellness program will not only reduce the cost of lost productivity, but also the actual healthcare costs. Study shows that an effective program reduces medical cost by $3.27 per employee for every dollar spent on wellness program.
In addition, the total cost of absenteeism is reduced by $2.37 per dollar spent. The return of investment for a well thought-of program is 6 to 1.
Apart from the actual cost that a company is going to save, investing in an effective wellness program results to a healthy workforce – improves the moral of employees, which directly affects motivation for learning and growth.
This in turn affects employee productivity and employee satisfaction. And there are studies upon studies that shows a positive correlation between employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction and company’s overall profitability.
The question is, what does it take to have a good and effective wellness program?
What Makes an Effective Wellness Program
Accordingly, the article published by Harvard Business Review states that an effective program should include six essential pillars to reduce lost productivity and healthcare costs:
- engaged leadership at multiple levels
- strategic alignment with the company’s identity and aspirations
- a design that is broad in scope and high in relevance and quality
- broad accessibility;
- internal-external partnerships; and
- effective communication
When we talk about effective communication, this should include an effective and efficient feedback system for both from management and employees.
It is crucial that proper communication be established, and we at Wellness.Work are here to help. Our software is designed to increase employee engagement and ensures that your employees are motivated through sharing of their progress in their wellness journey.
Reduce Health Care Costs with A Wellness Program
As an employer or HR Manager, incorporating a good wellness program and successfully implementing it can reduce health care costs. Book a demo now to see the benefits of our software!
