Health and Wellness Leads : Popular Employee Health Promotion Programs

Some of the top wellness programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments or HRAs

Health Risk Assessment is a top corporate wellness program currently in use globally. Organizations that enable it determine the safety and health problems of staff members by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the staff members.

It can, for example, guide the company into determining how the air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment group to come up with the measures significant to correct the issue. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure staff members have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Still, it has also become an significant component of the top Workplace Health Promotion Programs in numerous companies in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are available to staff members for no cost.

EAP

Employee Assistance Program(EAP)s consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from offering educational resources to staff members regarding health concerns to sponsoring health services and health care. In numerous corporations, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet drives

This is another wellness program that companies use, especially those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

In-house employee wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that employers can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking risks, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the worksite, etc.

The employee wellness newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to workers or members of a employer but it is far from perfect. Some workers, for example, may not read the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Exercise and physical activity drives

Another top wellness program for companies is one that involves physical activities. Corporations often sponsor exercise-related activities such as marathons and company sports programs to advocate workers to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized companies, companies may even pay for fitness center memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Incentives and Rewards

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by companies involve Incentives and Rewards. This involves organization-sponsored programs that reward staff members for achieving specific wellness-related goals. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most frequently rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time acquired points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

Nevertheless, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among companies who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Peer Pressure

In countless businesses, businesses take advantage of peer pressure in order to advocate employees to participate in wellness programs. This is currently one of the favorite Worksite Health Promotion Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help reward competitions referring to worksite wellness and to persuade employees to be active in business-sponsored health & wellness fairs.