A new report shows that the number of companies with 20,000 or more employees that provided fitness centers, subsidies or other fitness oriented wellness programs grew by 11 percent from 2009, according to a 2010 national survey by Mercer (a benefits consulting firm) reports the Washington Post.
Another survey, by the Society for Human Resource Management, shows that the proportion of companies offering gym benefits has held steady since 2007. During the same period, many employers were cutting back on retirement and other financial benefits because of the recession.
The reason, according to many studies, is that wellness benefits provided in the workplace yield more productive employees who require less health care. That translates into savings on health insurance for companies and workers. In an era with health care costs skyrocketing and insurance prmiums following suit, wellness programs provide an employer oasis.
"It’s not just the employer saying, 'We’re going to do this for you out of the goodness of our hearts,' " said Paul Fronstin, director of health research programs for the independent Employee Benefit Research Institute. "They’re hoping to get something out of it. And that something is [the health] of this employee, who’s not just more productive, but uses less health care."
A 2010 Harvard Business Review article found that wellness programs, of which fitness is a component, can return as much as six times their cost to the companies that sponsor them. Another 2010 review by a separate team of Harvard researchers, published in the journal Health Affairs, concluded that “medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent."
Not everyone is sold on wellness programs return on investment. Skeptics have long argued that employees already inclined toward a healthy lifestyle are the ones who most often take advantage of benefits such as fitness classes, which, if true, would limit their effectiveness for the workers who need them most.
In that vein, the Congressional Budget Office remains uncommitted on the subject of the valuehe value of wellness programs. “Evidence regarding the effect of wellness services on subsequent spending on health care is limited, the CBO has said. Research also has found that small companies are much less likely, or able, to offer fitness programs and other wellness benefits.
Research Results Mixed
Even the best research cannot pinpoint which wellness programs provide companies the most bang for the buck. Is it the yearly health risk assessment that workers value most? The smoking cessation group? The employee nutrition education classes?
After taking a closer look at 32 of the best studies, the Health Affairs researchers concluded that their work “cannot address the important question of which attributes of wellness programs are most important. . . . Indeed, the answer might not be the same everywhere as each employer has its own culture and demographics.
Employer Examples
Johnson & Johnson, often cited as a leader in wellness programming, expanded some of its offerings despite difficult times from 2008 to 2010, said Fik Isaac, vice president of global health services. That included a $150 benefits bonus for overweight employees who could reduce their body mass index by 10 percent.
The company, with 115,000 employees worldwide, self-insures for health care. It concluded in one review that its wellness programs slowed the rate of increase of its health-care costs by $565 per employee.
Citigroup debuted a new wellness program not long before it became one of the firms directly involved in the 2008 financial crisis but decided not to trim wellness benefits, said Niko Triantafillou, vice president for wellness and health plan strategy. The company says every dollar spent on wellness returns $2 to the company, which has 236,000 employees worldwide and is self-insured.
At the Verizon fitness center, about half of the facility’s more than 700 employees are enrolled, and spokeswoman Melanie Ortel said the company has “increased some of its offerings over the past few years,” adding Pilates, yoga, Zumba and walking groups.
Small Business
The PPACA now also allows small businesses with less than 100 employees to get in the wellness act, with grants for employers with less than allocates $200 million for a five-year period. The grants offer help to small businesses to aide them in providing comprehensive workplace wellness programs. The grants became available this year and are awarded to eligible employers to provide their employees access to new workplace wellness programs.
An eligible employer is one who:
- Employs fewer than 100 employees, who work 25 hours or more per week, AND
- Did not have a workplace wellness program as of March 23, 2010, the date PPACA was signed into law.
