Companies seeking to maintain their competitive edge look at many opportunities, assets and cost factors, that impact their bottom line. This includes everything from technology to natural resources.
In fact, PEOPLE are one of a company's greatest assets, and attracting top talent is just the beginning.
In today’s competitive business world, companies also need to create a corporate culture that promotes overall health among its employees, and an environment where their employees can thrive. This kind of corporate culture in turn maximizes productivity and job satisfaction, especially as the population in the workforce ages and the cost of healthcare increases.
Employee wellness programs are now sprouting up in companies of all sizes now, faster than ever before. Existing programs are becoming more sophisticated, measurable, and closely tied to the bottom line goals of the corporation.
According to the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA), more than 80% of businesses in the U.S. now offer some type of employee wellness program.
So, what exactly is an employee wellness program? There is no ‘one size fits all’ program.
For some companies, it is a program initiated by the human resource department to reduce health plan costs.
In other companies and organizations, it is a comprehensive lifestyle transformation that includes a top down commitment to improving health for every employee. It’s probably not surprising to learn that this type of program generates the greatest benefit, including those spiraling healthcare costs.
- Wellness programs are an overall wise investment by employers.
- The indirect cost of poor health—like missing work—can be 2-3 times higher than direct medical costs.
- Bonus: Healthy employees get sick less frequently and miss less work days.
- Employees tend to be more productive and stay employed longer at a company that has a successful wellness program in place.
Key components in a versatile wellness programs include:
- Nutritional counseling
- Incentives for physical activity
- Smoking cessation tools
Dental care is also an important part of an excellent wellness program because of the links between dental health and overall good health.
- Gum disease is linked to diabetes, and dentist can identify symptoms of up to 120 diseases like kidney disease and anemia from a routine exam.
- Two of the most common types of oral disease - tooth decay and gum disease- can practically be eliminated through preventive oral health care.
Preventive Dental Care makes sense!
- According to the NIH (National Institute of Health), Americans save nearly 4 billion dollars annually in dental bills because of preventive oral care.
- For every dollar spent on preventive dental care, between $8-$50 is saved in restorative dental treatments.
- According to a report from the Surgeon General, waiting for a dental problem to occur can be very costly,not only because of increased costs for the treatments.
- Employed Americans lose more than 164 Million hours of work each year due to dental disease or dental visits.
- The Surgeon General also reported that children lose approximately 51 million hours of school due to dental related illness, which also causes more lost work time for parents and caregivers while they tend to their children’s dental issues.
Wellness programs really do make the difference. No longer viewed as just a ‘nice extra’, they are now shown to be a truly wise investment.
Because more than 60 percent of adults in the U.S. spend nearly half their waking hours on the job, the workplace is the ideal place to promote good health.
More than 61 percent of American employees receive their health insurance through their employer. (According to the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation) which is an opportunity to encourage wellness for employees and their whole families.
Today, wellness programs are a vital part of the business world, and oral health is vital to overall health and well being.
To help spread knowledge and awareness, Dental Dental provides an extensive online library and video collection regarding various oral health matters.
To learn more about oral health for you and your family, at every stage of life, we invite you to use these resources on our website www.deltadentalnj.com
Delta Dental believes wellness programs that empower employees to be healthier— and good oral healthcare—are both something to smile about!
