Printable Version

Horizon Foundation and Chamber Partner on Worker Health

(The Business Monthly) -- By Adam Sachs



Howard County business and community leaders envision a workday when a typical employee may go for a 30-minute walk during a work break, attend an educational program on nutrition during a brown-bag lunch gathering and participate in a smoking cessation program at their office after work.

These activities and others may not only result in happier and healthier employees, but could help businesses actually save money on health insurance, boost productivity and attract and retain more loyal and dedicated workers, say the creators of the new Howard County Workplace Wellness Award program.

The Howard County Chamber of Commerce and The Horizon Foundation have joined to establish the award program to recognize Howard employers that sponsor practices that help their employees improve their physical health, reduce stress, address psychological issues that affect work performance, tend to family matters and protect their health and safety on the job.

The Horizon Foundation will award $2,500 prizes to businesses with the top-rated health and wellness programs in two divisions: those with 26 or more employees and those with 25 or fewer. The foundation is hoping the recognition will encourage more businesses to emulate the winning models.



Three-Point Play

The Workplace Wellness Award is comprised of three categories: 1) Physical Health and Wellness; 2) Psychological Health; and 3) Environmental Health. The awards will be announced in October 2006 at the Chamber of Commerce's annual ACE Achievement Awards banquet. Award winners will be chosen based on a selection committee's evaluation of outcomes, such as percentage of employee participation, evidence of behavior changes and improvement in employee morale according to survey results.

The new program is intended to send a message to Howard County employers that investing in health and wellness programs is "really a win-win" scenario for companies and their workers, said Richard M. Krieg, president and CEO of The Horizon Foundation, a Columbia-based philanthropy that promotes health and wellness through grants, community initiatives and partnerships with business, nonprofits and government.

"Studies show that companies attentive to employee health and wellness increase productivity while boosting morale," Krieg said.

"The experience around the country is that employees appreciate just having the discussion about health and wellness at work and to have the benefits of these types of programs in their lives," he said. "Many of us spend a lot of time in the workplace. Healthier employees can be the building blocks of a healthier business."

Both Krieg and Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Klahr emphasized that workplace wellness programs can help businesses save on rapidly rising health insurance costs. "It's such a harsh reality," Klahr said. "If we can encourage the workforce to be healthy from the start, the cost of health care won't be as big an issue."

Krieg stressed that the wellness programs can cost little or nothing to implement. "They don't necessarily have to cause 'sticker shock,'" he said. "For a relatively small investment, businesses can recoup substantial benefits. It's a very sensible thing to consider."

And in a competitive marketplace for recruiting top-quality employees, an attractive wellness program could distinguish one company from another, Krieg added. "Employees will gravitate to companies that think about the wellness of their workers," he said. "Usually those are the companies people enjoy working for."



Happily Producing

The Workplace Wellness program encompasses a broad range of options. Some could be costly, such as an employer-sponsored gym; others cost nothing, such as allowing flexible time for walking during the workday or arranging for telecommuting. Among other options are reimbursement for gym memberships; on site courses on yoga, nutrition, smoking cessation or weight-loss; promotion of healthy eating including provision of a refrigerator and microwave; mental health insurance coverage; flexible work schedules that accommodate family demands; an Employee Assistance Program; and injury prevention and air quality improvement measures.

"Wellness programs are hugely important," said Marc Rubin, chairman of the chamber's Business Recognition Committee and managing partner at the Ellicott City public accounting firm Berman, Goldman & Ribakow, LLP. "There are huge amounts of benefits for the company, employees and the community. There are some amazing statistics on cost savings, increased morale and productivity."

In the new book, The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Employees What They Want, the authors found that firms where employee morale is high tend to outperform competitors. The research by David Sirota, of Sirota Survey Intelligence, and two other authors is based on results of 2.5 million employee surveys over the last 10 years. For example, in a study of 28 companies employing nearly 1 million people, the researchers found that the share price of 14 companies considered to have "high morale" increased an average of 16% compared to an industry average of 6%. Six companies evaluated to have "low morale" saw share prices increase just 3% compared to averages in those same industries of 16%.

Shirley Collier, a Horizon Foundation Trustee and CEO of Optemax, said, "This award encourages businesses to think broadly about quality of life issues for their employees and finding balance in the workplace. It's a great way for the Foundation and the business community to come together to do something positive for those of us who work in Howard County."

Caroline Sherman, another Chamber Business Recognition Committee member, said the establishment of the Workplace Wellness program signals an opportunity to raise awareness of health and wellness issues within her own company, the PCA Group, a 30-employee accounting, financial services and business consulting firm in Columbia. "I have a feeling Howard County companies are just a little more aware than the national average," she said.

Applications for Workplace Wellness awards are due June 30, 2006 to the Howard County Chamber and can be obtained online at www.howardchamber.com or www.the horizonfoundation.org.