As Experts Say Programs Create Healthier, More Productive Employees, UnitedHealthcare Provides Wellness Incentives, New Offerings

Companies that work to create a happy, healthy work environment for employees will find that those employees will be happier, healthier -- and more productive.  That's the economic calculation underpinning the surge of wellness and other employee programs in companies around the United States.

As part of its aggressive consumer directed healthcare initiative, UnitedHealthcare has started issuing policies that reward workers for healthier results, not just efforts to be healthier.

Workers in the program receive evaluations and blood tests and if they meet goals for weight, cholesterol and blood pressure, they qualify for $500 credits toward the deductible. UnitedHealthcare may launch the plans nationwide next year.

"Organizations are communities of people," said Robert Rosen, chief executive of Healthy Companies International, an Arlington-based management consulting firm, "and if these people are healthy psychologically and physically, if they're committed and engaged in the organization, if they believe in the mission of the company, if they work in an environment where they're challenged and inspired and where the people are valued, the business will be reasonably healthy."

The happy-worker-equals-healthy-company model seems to be paying off. A 15-year review of literature from the fields of psychology, business, medicine, public health, sociology and economics suggests a link between job satisfaction and lower absenteeism, lower turnover and higher performance. Workplaces with employee involvement programs, such as self-managed work teams, demonstrate a 2 to 5 percent increase in productivity. Those with health-promotion programs showed an average of $3.50 savings for every dollar spent, as measured by reduced absenteeism and health-care costs. Others with healthy workplace practices report significant reductions in on-the-job injuries and in work-related stress levels.

And employees appreciate that. "They let you know you're important, and they value your commitment," said Sonja Roberts of her employers, Carl M. Freeman Cos., a developer based in Olney. "They're very open to changes in life and work. They care about you getting your work done, but they also care about you as a person -- and that's real important."

According to studies cited by the American Institute of Stress, a nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., 80 percent of U.S. workers feel stress on the job, and 1 million workers a day fail to show up because of work-related stress. Workplace stress contributes to ailments including neck and hand pain, insomnia and aching eyes.

But reducing stress is just one piece of a workplace environment that is psychologically healthy. "People overall are trying to integrate career success with personal life goals and values," said Douglas LaBier, a business psychologist in Washington. "They want a management culture that promotes teamwork, that's transparent and open, that has a positive workplace culture that is supportive and that provides opportunities for ongoing learning, growth and creative challenge."

Matthew Grawitch, interim director of the Organizational Studies Program at Saint Louis University who conducted the review into workplace satisfaction, identified five categories of practices that contribute to a psychologically healthy workplace:

• Work-life balance. When they are encouraged to turn off their laptops and cellphones on the weekend or offered flex-time to be with their kids, employees have higher job satisfaction and commitment.

• Employee growth and development. When employees are given opportunities for training, developing new skills and applying what they've learned, they have reduced levels of stress and increased motivation.

• Health and safety. Wellness programs such as smoking cessation, weight loss or stress reduction not only have direct health benefits, but also demonstrate to employees that the organization is concerned about their well-being.

• Recognition. Compensation and benefits are the most obvious and important ways to recognize employees, but activities such as employee-of-the-month awards also raise morale and motivation.

• Involvement. Encouraging employee input into decision-making and building strong workplace teams enhance both employee well-being and productivity.

More important than any particular practice, said LaBier, is the culture and philosophy of the organization and how it supports -- or undermines -- individual health, well-being and creativity. He identifies three obstacles to achieving a healthy workplace. "One is abusive management or a bullying culture, or, to a lesser extreme, a non-supportive, manipulative, game-playing management culture," he said. "The second one is boredom, which is rampant in many workplace cultures. This comes from a mismatch from what the person is doing and what they're able to do. The third big problem is relationship conflicts and office politics."
When management doesn't address these problems, he said, recognition plaques and yoga classes aren't going to cut it.

For more information, visit the American Psychological Association's workplace health Web site (http://www.phwa.org), LaBier's Center for Adult Development (http://www.adultdev.org), and Healthy Companies International (http://www.healthycompanies.com)

Adapted from “Pass the Pasta, Please, and Hold the Stress” by Beth Baker

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