Wellness programs result in benefits not only for the employer or the company but also for the employee and his family. The benefits may include the following: • Providing wellness services to the employees’ results in important benefits for the employer. The business costs of the company are lowered because they have to spend less on the health-care costs of the employees. Due to the program, employees indulge in a healthier lifestyle because of which they do not face much health related problem.
Moreover, they are able to quit unhealthy practices and prevent them from being a victim of major diseases like heart attacks, cancer, diabetes etc. Most of these problems occur due to over weight and through this program they are informed about the drawbacks of being obese. Thus, they are able to control their weight and quit unhealthy practices which results in prevention from medical problems and thus, this saves the cost of the employer (Bulaclac, 1996). • Another advantage of providing wellness services is reduced absenteeism which as very much important for the organization.
Organizations are faced with performance costs which result because of the high employee absenteeism. When employees come across medical problems they take sick leave from the employer due to which organizations face problem. When employees will indulge in healthier practices so they will have lesser reasons of being absent from the job (Anderson & Anderson, 1994). • Organizations also have reduced employee turnover when they implement wellness programs. Employees often leave the job because of the workload, stressful environment or they are unsatisfied with the job.
One they are involved in wellness programs, they feel satisfied with the work environment, their stress is reduced and they are trained to deal with stressful situations because of which they stay motivated and continue doing the job happily. • The working productivity of employees increases because they feel motivated and focused on their job. Increased productivity means generating greater results in the same time. Thus, the organizations earn more profits and better results through these wellness programs.
• Employees risk for chronic diseases reduces because they engage healthier practices and are screened timely for assessing the risk. If any symptom is found then treatment is started at an early stage (Parkinson, 1982). Conclusion It is a matter of concern for both the employee and employer to take care of the employee health and their safety in order to continue with a smooth flow of work. The benefits are greater than the cost of the program because they result in saving time, money and increasing productivity.
Those companies are highly successful who value their employees and manage them as important assets of the organization. Research and evidence has always provided with positive results on employing wellness programs in the organization (Parkinson, 1982). This subject is highly important while discussing the development of human resource and is advantageous for the organization to involve it in their activities because it will generate positive results for them and make them successful.
Employees are able to align their goals with the organizational goals and work with increased motivation, vigor and determination. Positive changes are seen in the behavior of the employees due to which they enjoy working in the company. In the future it is expected that the percentage of companies starting wellness programs for their employees will increase considerably as it is already increasing and more and more organizations are coming to realize the importance of such programs.
Thus, this is why services geared to protect and nurture an employee’s physical and mental health are so important to the vitality of an organization (Bulaclac, 1996).
References
Anderson, R. C. (1999). Promoting Employee Health: A Guide for Worksite Wellness. Chicago: American Society of Safety Engineers. Anderson, R. C. & Anderson, K. E. (1994). Worksite health promotion at a brown bag lunch program: Positive changes result. Psychological Reports. 74, 607-610.