This article is from the archives of the UB Reporter.
News

Workplace wellness improves health, saves money

  • “The companies got healthier.”

    Joan Dorn
    Interim Chair, Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
By CHARLOTTE HSU
Published: July 30, 2009

Workplaces that promote exercise, good nutrition and other healthy measures can improve employee wellness and save companies money, Joan Dorn, interim chair of the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, told a crowd of about 30 people during her UBThisSummer lecture yesterday.

Research conducted by UB scientists over the past several years as part of the Western New York Wellness Works Program has shown that employers who implemented wellness programs were able to increase workers' knowledge about their own medical conditions and encourage healthier behavior, said Dorn, who also holds an appointment as a professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine.

Because insurance and medical costs are higher for people who are overweight or otherwise unfit, wellness programs could help corporations, non-profits and government agencies save money.

Citing Wall Street Journal articles, Dorn told her audience that in 2006, General Motors spent $1,500 on health care for every vehicle the company produced—$500 more per vehicle than it spent the previous year.

To cut costs, Dorn said, "Some (employers) are taking very dramatic measures. For one thing, there are many companies who will no longer hire smokers or an overweight worker. …Other companies are giving smokers a chance to quit.

"Health insurance expenses are the fastest-growing cost component for employers," she said, "and unless something changes dramatically, health care insurance costs will overtake profits."

Funded by the New York State Senate and made possible by former state Sen. Mary Lou Rath, the $1.5 million Western New York Wellness Works Program provided matching funds for 13 workplaces in the region to promote employee fitness. Participants included small and large businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies representing industries that included banking, higher education, manufacturing and medical services.

In 2005, the employers asked employees to fill out individual "health risk appraisals," questionnaires asking for such information as blood pressure and cholesterol measurements, and eating and exercise habits. The response rate varied by company from 6 to 94 percent, with about 1,700 women and 900 men responding from all the companies surveyed.

The survey results showed that about half the respondents did not know their blood pressure, and nearly a third did not know their cholesterol levels. Most were overweight or obese, and about 44 percent exercised less than three times per week. More than a quarter reported eating three or more high-fat servings of food, such as hamburgers and french fries, per day. About a third said they slept six hours or less each night.

Over the course of two years, employers involved in the project implemented a wide variety of worksite wellness programs. A bank invited staff to attend on-site Weight Watchers meetings, reimbursing 50 percent of fees paid by employees who attended 10 of 12 sessions. Another company organized a fitness contest, pitting employees against one another in a competition for prizes, such as gift certificates to athletic clubs or health food stores.

When UB researchers surveyed workplaces again in 2007, employees reported that co-workers were more likely to expect one another to exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight and eat nutritious food.

The percentage of workers who knew their blood pressure had risen from about 48 percent to about 62 percent, and the percentage who knew their cholesterol level had risen from about 36 percent to about 51 percent. At one company whose wellness program encouraged physical activity, the percentage of employees who exercised three or more times a week rose from 48 percent to about 65 percent.

Overall, Dorn said, researchers found that over the course of the project, workplace environments changed to encourage more healthy behavior and, in some cases, employees began modifying their actions accordingly.

"The companies got healthier," she said.

"We had modest changes in individual health behaviors," she added, "And we really feel that in order to change the individual, we are going to have more intense interventions."