Better Benefits at Work - Creating a Culture of Health

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Better Benefits at Work
Creating a Culture of Health
by Susan Burnell

"A healthy workplace isn't something you can create overnight. It's a complex issue that requires a long-term view," says Richard A. Feifer, MD, MPH, Aetna's National Medical Director for National Accounts. "Employers have a lot of questions about how to reduce future disease and its associated costs. They understand that healthy employees are more productive, and that health benefits can increase employee satisfaction and retention. But they want to know what really works and what kind of return on investment they can expect."

Motivating Change

"It's important for a company's leaders to recognize that a cultural shift may be needed if they want their employees to buy into a healthier lifestyle," Feifer says. "Ultimately, we are looking for people to live healthier lives. We want them to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise, manage stress, and keep their blood pressure and cholesterol low. When we are successful, this can contribute to less absenteeism and less 'presenteeism,' where workers have diminished productivity because of health issues."

It's not enough to have a great health benefits package, says Feifer. "You can't just tell people to get a checkup or to make healthier choices. It's not enough to simply send them e-mails and newsletter articles with health tips. Those things alone won't change behavior. When we realize that our role is not just health education but health motivation, things can start to shift."

Making Wellness Relevant

Engaging all members of the organization to create a culture of wellness can be highly effective. "The challenge is to encourage behavior change that is relevant to every individual's life goals," says Feifer. "It has to start at the C-suite level, with actions employees can observe. That means they see senior executives using the on-site gym. It means they can find healthy food choices in the cafeteria. When combined with health promotion programs and financial incentives for people to use them, those steps can lead to a culture of health."

The Right Tools Help Motivate
Providing the right tools for employees to manage their own health is becoming easier, and the channels can be made relevant to the individual. "Different people have different motivators and drivers," says Feifer. "Some respond best when they work with a wellness coach by phone. Others respond when they can use social media, cell phones or text messages. For a culture of wellness to take hold, that personalization is key. When you can engage them and put healthy behaviors into a framework people understand, they will motivate themselves to make changes."

Using Benefits to Enhance Productivity

What should be on every company's radar screen is the connection between health benefits and employee productivity. Health benefits often are viewed as a cost center that needs to be driven down over time. "Progressive companies are realizing that this is too limited a view, and that health and health benefits are an investment in productivity as well," Feifer says. "The cost of ill health on the productivity side is far and away greater than the cost of ill health in paid medical claims. For example, an employer-based study looked at the costs for the top 10 medical conditions. It found that the productivity costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism were four times greater than the associated medical and pharmacy costs."¹

Ultimately, he says, everyone benefits when employees live healthier lives and healthier lifestyles—when they quit smoking, lose weight, and turn to diet and exercise to improve cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

"When an employer combines a culture of wellness with health promotion programs and financial incentives for employees to use those programs," Feifer says, "it can improve productivity, help manage costs and even serve as a recruitment and retention tool. Comprehensive strategies like this can be very successful."

1. Source: Loeppke, et al.; JOEM. July 2007, the top 10 medical conditions by annual medical, drug, and productivity cost per 1,000 full-time employees; represents four employers and 15,380 employees.