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Wellness In The Workplace
May 2009
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LoneStart, Social Networking, and Yes, Now Facebook - and Twitter

As we promote our message and wellness strategy, we continue to make new connections. We now have a new business page on Facebook and a presence on Twitter, and invite you to interact and show your support for LoneStart Wellness by becoming a "fan" on our Facebook business page, and "follow us" on Twitter. We also have "Find us on Facebook" and "Twitter" links on our website home page.

The feedback we get from client organizations is that our strategy is a positive "nuts and bolts" approach, is turnkey, inexpensive and wasn't a burden to administer. Our 63-Day Team Esteem Challenge has had the positive, though unintended benefit of creating a rare teambuilding opportunity for rank and file employees. These are benefits that go beyond the initial goal of wellness, yet address the important issues of employee satisfaction and retention. This is part of the social impact and sustainability we strive to achieve. To date, LoneStart Wellness has only served thousands. It has the potential to serve millions, and do it quickly and cost-effectively. Are Facebook and Twitter the social networking tools that will make this happen? Probably not, but perhaps they will prove to be effective links. We invite your feedback and participation.

Looking Forward
Prevention is Better than Cure

An ounce of prevention is better than (and a lot less expensive) than a pound of cure.

We all have a stake in the national discussion taking place on health care reform. We're hearing about proposals to make coverage fair and affordable. We're hearing about how the stimulus bill with $19 billion in funding for health IT will update our outdated health system. But, if we don't tackle the true cost driver in the health care system, chronic disease, we won't get very far in alleviating health care costs. Consider the following:

  • Almost one-half of all Americans report having at least one chronic illness.
  • Medical care for people with chronic diseases accounts for more than 75 percent of the $2.2 trillion we spend annually as a nation on medical care.
  • Productivity-loss associated with workers who have chronic disease are as much as 400 per cent more than the cost of treatment (direct and indirect costs).
  • Almost 80 percent of all chronic disease is caused by three preventable health behaviors-physical inactivity, poor nutrition and overeating, and smoking.
  • Physical inactivity contributes to disease and disability, accounting for 22 percent of colon cancer, 18 percent of osteoporotic fractures, and 12 percent of diabetes and hypertension.
  • Chronic diseases account for more than half of all deaths annually (57 percent),
  • In addition to being among the most prevalent and costly health conditions, chronic diseases are also among the most preventable of all health problems.

And, this goes directly into the workplace. What does chronic disease mean to an organization? These are your employees and their families. We're all familiar with the statistics that point out that 66 percent of our population is overweight, and almost one-third is obese. This is our most at-risk population, and this is the exact population LoneStart Wellness reaches where other workplace wellness programs do not.

Statistics aside, benefits of wellness are more far-reaching than reducing health care costs. A workforce engaged in creating a culture of wellness, and at the same time, addressing personal wellness, is a more informed, healthier and empowered workforce. Research shows that employees appreciate and value their employers more for showing an interest in their health and well-being. Morale improves, employee retention improves, absenteeism and presenteeism rates improve. And, new wellness values go home to the families of employees (more than half of employer health care costs are attributable to employees' dependents), benefiting life during and beyond work.

Preventing health related problems through a workplace wellness initiative is more cost-effective than losing employees for extended periods of time due to chronic illness. If you would like more information, or a specific proposal for how LoneStart Wellness can help your organization begin to build a Culture of Wellness with a cost-effective, positive, proven and proactive wellness strategy, CONTACT US at: information@lonestartnow.com, or give us a call at: 512-894-3440.
Measuring ROI
Developing a Wellness ROI

Return on Investment -- but how do you measure and define "investment?"

The strict definition of ROI is that it is a percentage derived from the benefits of a particular program - dollars made or saved - divided by the program's cost. Simply subtract the cost of the program from the savings and divide the resulting answer by the cost. Multiply the final answer by 100 to get a percentage.

Where wellness programs are concerned, a strong ROI would imply that a corporate wellness program is tied directly to overall business goals and ultimately, prove that wellness is indeed an essential company value with a positive impact on the bottom line. Say you figure an ROI of 225%, which means your organization is getting back (not having to spend) an estimated $2.25 over and above every dollar it invests. But, as good as that sounds, it doesn't count the benefits of better health, productivity, reduced absenteeism, and employee satisfaction.

This gets back to the original question: How do you define, and measure investment? You might be looking for a specific number, but with wellness, it goes deeper than the dollars spent to implement an initiative.

It's first necessary to identify the different levels of data being gathered to determine program results. There are different ways to look at the five levels listed below, but a simple matrix that rates the responses on a scale of one to five (five being the highest) provides a good example.

Level 1 Reaction: Did the employees like the program?
Level 2 Learning: What did the employees learn?
Level 3 Behavior: Did employee participation cause the desired behavioral changes?
Level 4 Results: Did the behavioral change positively affect the company?
Level 5 Return on Investment: What financial benefits did the company receive as a result of employee participation in a wellness program?

These questions - and answers, take your ROI beyond dollars invested and dollars returned - they carry over to your most important asset, human capital. What monetary value do you place on employee productivity, retention, satisfaction, motivation and engagement?
donut
Mindful Behavior, and Behavior Change

What We Eat (On Average)

An important component of our LoneStart Workplace Wellness initiative is engaging in "mindful behavior." The following is part of a recent post on our "Wellness and Well-Being Blog" we thought you might want to share with your employees and co-workers regarding "Mindful Eating." It's interesting food for thought, and offers some insight to where mindful behaviors and mindful eating can make a healthy difference.

The average American eats about 1,800 pounds of food per year, or about five pounds per day.
On average each of us consumes:

  • 64 pounds of beef per year
  • 57 pounds of chicken per year (about 27 chickens)
  • 50 pounds of pork per year
  • 14 pounds of turkey per year
  • 236 eggs per year
  • 200 sandwiches per year
  • 60 hot dogs per year
  • Refined white sugar - 100 pounds
  • Fats & Oils - 55 pounds
  • Soda - 300 cans/bottles
  • Chewing Gum - 200 sticks
  • Ice Cream - 80 quarts
  • Candy - 18 pounds
  • Potato Chips - 5 pounds
  • Other Snack Chips - 2 pounds
  • Doughnuts - 63 Dozen
  • Cookies & Cakes - 70 Pounds

The average American eats fast food seventy-two times a year, drinks 9 and a half pounds of coffee per year and eats about 35,000 cookies in their lifetime.

Here's the scary part (and this is the thing about "averages"). For every American who never eats doughnuts, someone is making up for them by consuming 126 dozen doughnuts a year!

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If your organization is ready to take responsibility for promoting healthy lifestyles and a healthy work environment, LoneStart is an effective, low-cost and easy-to-administer employee wellness program, which functions equally well as a stand-alone initiative or as a high-impact jump-start to existing or proposed employee wellness strategies.

Contact us today to find out how the LoneStart Wellness Initiative will change your workplace.

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A Challenge. An Opportunity. A Solution.
The LoneStart Wellness Initiative
phone: 512.894.3440