1. Building a Well Workplace
Building a Well Workplace: Six Reasons Why Health Promotion Makes Good Business Sense

Today, more than 81% of American businesses with 50 or more employees have some form of health promotion program—the most popular being exercise, smoking cessation classes, back care programs, and stress management. Most employers offer wellness programs simply because they think the benefit is worth the cost. Yet business leaders continue to ask themselves how to control huge annual increases in health insurance premiums and healthcare costs.

For many companies, medical costs can consume half of corporate profits—or more. Some employers look to cost sharing, cost shifting, managed care plans, risk-rating, and cash-based incentives. But these methods merely shift costs. Only worksite health promotion stands out as the long-term answer for keeping employees well in the first place.

Below you’ll find six reasons why worksite wellness has become a national imperative. These reasons will challenge you to think twice about the investment you are making in your most valuable asset—your employees—as well as the impact this investment can have on your bottom line.



REASON #1: Although we spend more dollars on health care than any other industrialized nation, our citizens are not the world’s healthiest.

1. Our nation’s population is largely sedentary.
  • Over 60% of adults do not achieve the recommended amount of regular physical activity and 25% of all adults are not active at all.

  • Approximately one half of the youth in this country are not active on a regular basis.

    • Source: Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity & Health, 1996.

    2. Obesity is reaching monumental proportions.
  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 1 in 5 American adults is now considered obese.

  • Over half of all Americans are overweight.

    • Source: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases.

    3. Despite overwhelming evidence, tobacco use continues to be popular.
  • Since the release of the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health in 1964, Americans have consumed 17 trillion cigarettes and approximately 10 million people in the United States have died from smoking related causes.

  • Sadly, 3,000 young people begin smoking every day.

    • Source: The American Cancer Society, CDC.

    4. The World Health Organization describes stress as a “World Wide Epidemic.”
  • 72% of Americans experience frequent stress related physical or mental conditions.

  • 75-90% of visits to Primary Care Physicians are for stress related problems.

    • Source: Murphy, American Journal of Health Promotion, 1996.

    5. High risk alcohol consumption silently takes its toll on American’s health.
  • Excessive alcohol consumption causes more than 100,000 deaths every year in the United States.

  • 20-40% of all Americans in general hospital beds are being treated for complications of alcoholism.

    • Source: National Council on Alcohol & Drug Dependency, 1995.

    6. Chronic health conditions continue to plague the American population.
  • According to the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Health Survey, the typical US adult over the age of 18 has seven chronic health conditions.

  • In addition, more than 90 million Americans are presently living with chronic illnesses.

    • Source: National Center for Health Statistics.



    REASON #2: Much of the illness in the US is directly preventable.

    Over 95% of our nation’s health expenditures, including most of the billions of dollars employers spend on health coverage, is committed to diagnosing and treating disease only after it becomes manifest.

    Source: Partnership for Prevention.

    Researchers have estimated that preventable illness makes up approximately 70% of the burden of illness and the associated costs.

    Source: Fries, New England Journal of Medicine, 1993.

    Of the 2+ million people who die in the US each year, approximately 1 million of these deaths are due in large part to preventable causes. In fact, the leading causes of death in the United States in 1990 were:

  • tobacco (400,000)

  • diet and activity patterns (300,000)

  • alcohol (100,000)

    • Source: McGinnis & Foege, JAMA, 1993.



    REASON #3: Healthcare costs are an issue of significant concern.

    Our country spends more dollars on healthcare than any other country in the world.
    In fact we spend over $1 trillion dollars on healthcare, the equivalent of 13.5% of the gross domestic product.

    Source: Fries et al, New England Journal of Medicine, 1993.

    Healthcare coverage per person totals almost $4,000 per year.
    Lifetime costs are estimated at $225,000 per person.

    Source: Fries et al, New England Journal of Medicine, 1993.

    National health expenditures are projected to reach $2.1 trillion by the year 2007.
    According to the Kiplinger Washington Letter, the nation’s healthcare bill will jump more than 100% by 2007. What’s more, as a share of the GDP, health spending will grow from 12% now to almost 17% in just eight years.

    Source: Kiplinger Editors, The Kiplinger Washington Letter, 1998.

    The number of people without health insurance continues to rise.
    In fact, in 1997 the number of people without health insurance reached the highest level in a decade at 43.4 million, or 16.1% of the population.

    Source: Iglehart, New England Journal of Medicine, 1993.



    REASON #4: The worksite is an ideal setting to address health and well-being.

    The majority of Americans work.
    In fact, of the nation’s 203 million people over the age of 16, 136+ million (67.1%) are employed in the U.S workforce.

    Source: Chapman, Proof Positive, 1996.

    People spend most of their waking hours at work.
    Believe it or not, the average workweek has grown to almost 50 hours per week. Indeed, the typical employee now works the equivalent of one extra month per year as compared to his or her counterpart in 1970. More than one-third of Americans are now working 10+ hours a day and 39% are working on the weekends.

    Source: Schor, The Overworked American, 1992.

    Employers have a vested interest in health-related issues.
    Because private employers and employees are the primary purchasers of health care through the insurance premiums they pay together for coverage, it makes a great deal of sense to address individual health and well-being. In fact, of the $585 billion that private payers expended for medical services in 1997, about 60 percent ($348 billion) was spent by employers and employees to purchase health insurance.

    Source: Igelhard, New England Journal of Medicine, 1999.

    Poor health habits take an enormous toll on American business.
    Consider the following statistics:
  • It costs on average $1300 for an employee who smokes per year.

  • Workplace alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use costs US companies over $100 billion each year.

  • Up to 40% of industrial fatalities can be linked to alcohol consumption and alcoholism.

  • Job stress is estimated to cost American industry $200-300 billion annually.

  • National Safety Council estimates that 1 million employees are absent on an average workday because of stress related problems.

  • Work injuries cost $121 billion in medical care, lost productivity and wages.

  • At least 100 million workdays are lost each year to lower back pain at a cost to employers of about $20 billion.

  • Every 5 seconds a worker is injured.

  • Every 10 seconds a worker is temporarily or permanently disabled.


    • Source: CDC.

    Unnecessary medical care costs consume corporate profits and employee paychecks. In many instances, medical care costs can consume half—or even more—of corporate profits.

    Source: Rosen, The Healthy Company.

    Unless employers take aggressive measures, the end appears to be nowhere in sight. In a recent article, The Wall Street Journal cited a survey of Fortune 500 benefits managers, who anticipate premium increases averaging 10.3 percent for 1999, as compared with 5.9 percent for 1998. Small businesses’ costs are expected to rise even faster.

    Source: Kuttner, New England Journal of Medicine, 1999.



    Reason #5: Recent empirical research validates that health promotion programs can improve health, save money and even produce a return on investment.

    Here is what the experts have found:

    1) Steven G. Aldana, PhD—In a review of literature on the financial impact of worksite health promotion covering 54 studies, Dr. Aldana notes that, “the reductions reported in medical care costs and absenteeism are significant in most cases.” Of these studies, which span from 1975 to 1997, almost all support the hypothesis that health promotion programs can reduce employee related health care costs and absenteeism. (1)

    2) Mark G. Wilson—In a review of 316 studies which critically examined the effectiveness of worksite health promotion programs. It was found that “although the relationship is stronger in some areas than in others, the evidence generally supports the effectiveness of worksite health promotion programs.” (2,3)

    3) Larry S. Chapman—30 articles examining comprehensive worksite health promotion programs were reviewed in Proof Positive. These publications examined more than 293,000 experimental subjects and comprise more than 120 years of formal study. All but two of the thirty studies reviewed provide evidence of positive cost savings. (4)

    4) Kenneth R. Pelletier—Health and cost outcomes of worksite-based comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention programs indicate: (5)

  • Immunization for measles, mumps and rubella can save approximately $14 for every dollar spent

  • A program to increase the use of bicycle safety helmets can yield an estimated net savings of more than $200 million each year.

  • Screening mammograms for women 50 to 70 years of age every 2 years is highly cost-effective at $4,050 per year of life saved.

  • Programs that target smoking during pregnancy can save more than $6 for every dollar spent.


    • (1) Aldana, S. G. (1998). Financial Impact of Worksite Health Promotion and Methodological Quality of the Evidence.
    The Art of Health Promotion. Volume 2, Number 1.

    (2) Wilson, M.G. (1996). A Comprehensive Review of the Effects of Worksite Health Promotion on Health-related Outcomes.
    The American Journal of Health Promotion. Volume 10, Number 6.

    (3) Wilson, M.G. (1996). A comprehensive Review of the Effects of Worksite Health Promotion on Health-related Outcomes: An Update.
    The American Journal of Health Promotion. Volume 11, Number 2.

    (4) Chapman, L.S. Proof Positive: An Analysis of the Cost-effectiveness of Worksite Wellness. 3rd ed. Seattle: Summex Corporation, 1996.

    (5) Pelletier, K.R. A Review and Analysis of the Health and Cost-effective Outcome Studies of Comprehensive Health Promotion and disease Prevention Programs at the Worksite: 1993-1995 Update. The American Journal of Health Promotion. Volume 10, Number 5.



    REASON #6: More and more companies are building world-class wellness programs.

    Union Pacific Railroad:
    Wellness on the Fast Track.
    Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) has 57,000 employees in 23 states throughout the US. Most employees are mobile, unionized, blue-collar workers. In 1990, UPRR determined that 29% of their health care costs were lifestyle related, compared to a national average of 19%, and the medical costs per employee were nearly double.

    Their program started with a self-care initiative at an annual cost of $50 per person. That program alone achieved a net savings of $1.26 million for a benefit cost ratio of $2.77 for every $1. Employees in the treatment group lowered their risk of high blood pressure (45%) and high cholesterol (34%); others moved out of the at risk range for weight problems (30%); and 21% stopped smoking.

    After five years of targeted health promotion activities, UPRR has reduced the rate of lifestyle related health costs from 29% to 24%. What’s more, they estimate that they have saved three times as much money through indirect productivity savings as they have in direct medical costs. Union Pacific re-certified as a Gold Well Workplace in 1999.

    Lab Safety Supply:
    Commitment to prevention.
    Lab Safety Supply (LSS) is the leading catalog supplier of safety and industrial supplies. They employ 750 people in Janesville, Wisconsin. More than 75% of their population is female and the average age is 36. LSS earned WELCOA’s Gold Well Workplace in 1996, and was re-certified in 1999.

    They offer fitness programs, health fairs, medical screenings, counseling, safety training, self-education programs, insurance liaison services and more. Since 1995 they have seen a 97% decline in lost workdays, which is due in part to immediate case management and follow up, onsite rehabilitation, and back to work through a light duty program.

    What's more, realizing that they had 20% of their employees still smoking in designated areas, LSS decided in 1998 the company would go completely smoke-free. In addition to implementing a no smoking policy, LSS went above and beyond in helping smokers by offering a variety of free smoking cessation programs. The results were amazing. Corporate smoking cessation programs are considered very successful if they achieve 30-35% quit rates. At LSS, 80% of the 82 people in the nicotine patch program quit. Eighty-five percent of the 78 people in the hypnosis program quit, and after six months, 68% were still not smoking. At Lab Safety Supply the commitment to their employees is apparent at every turn.


    Offutt Air Force Base:
    Wellness for a large population.
    Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska is home to the Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth, the largest wing in the Air Combat Command. The Department of Defense allocated funds to develop health promotion programs for the Air Force in 1994. That same year, Offutt established their Health and Wellness Center. They serve approximately 7,800 active duty personnel and their families, retirees, and civilian employees—almost 58,000 people in all. They have four remote sites, and were awarded the Gold Well Workplace Award in 1998.

    The former airplane hanger at Offutt now contains a soccer field, Olympic size pool, basketball, volleyball, racquetball and tennis courts, cardiovascular and strength training machines, and a running track. Next to the gym is the health and wellness center, which has a full kitchen for cooking demonstrations, nutrition classes, classrooms, offices, a library of videos and books, a physical therapy satellite clinic, and their fitness testing room.

    Although two-thirds of the Health and Wellness Center’s clients are active duty, all of their programs are open to the entire Offutt community. In addition, due to the fact that many personnel are deployed each month, they implement programs that are frequent and flexible.


    Miami Valley Hospital:
    Focusing on risk factors.
    Miami Valley Hospital employs about 5,000 people in Dayton, Ohio. Eight percent of the employees are female, with an average age of 39. they received the Gold Well Workplace Award in 1998.

    Miami Valley Hospital is serious about getting measurable results in their program. In fact, with the implementation of their wellness initiative, they have significantly reduced the number of lifestyle related risk factors their employees carry. They are able to achieve such results by offering monthly awareness programs based on employee risk factors and ‘round the clock, portable, flexible programming that allows them to reach workers on all shifts.

    They have a fitness center that is open 24 hours where employees can work out or take classes ranging from personal finance to gardening on the lunch hour and in the evenings. Finally, they offer an HRA that focuses on readiness to change and provides follow up based on the risks identified. Since the inception of their HRA program, Miami Valley employees improved in 11 out of 14 health categories in two years.


    MassMutual Life Insurance:
    Frequent interventions yield cultural change.
    Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is a Fortune 500 company operating primarily at two sites. About 3,800 people work in Springfield, Mass. and another 1,200 employees are located in Hartford, Conn. The company was awarded the Gold Well Workplace Award in 1995 and again in 1999, and has repeatedly made Working Mother magazine’s list of the 100 most family-friendly places to work.

    The focus at MassMutual is on culture change where they program for a younger, more diverse workforce. Prenatal care, parenting classes, and work/family balance are just some of the program priorities they offer. Their wellness program believes that short, frequent interventions several times a week for months result in meaningful changes.

    Since nearly everyone at MassMutual operates from a computer, future plans for their program include going on-line—utilizing their company Intranet. They are developing their wellness web site so that the user is able to choose from dozens of health and wellness topics, which will make their programs year round instead of occasional.


    DaimlerChrysler:
    Commitment to setting the standard.
    From 1986 to 1998 DaimlerChrysler Corporation worked to implement a comprehensive on site health promotion program at all 34 of their sites in North America that employ 500 or more workers.

    DaimlerChrysler Corporation’s wellness program is confidential and voluntary. Outside vendors, the StayWell Company and the American Institute for Preventative Medicine, provide the staff and programming elements. DaimlerChrysler Corporation, along with the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) provides the guidelines, corporate atmosphere and oversight that ensure the program’s success. Employees are given a health risk appraisal and offered risk reduction programs based on their health needs. In addition, employees earn incentive points for participating in the wellness program.

    DaimlerChrysler Corporation made a very large commitment to health promotion at a time when the research to support such a comprehensive program didn’t exist. Their determination has continued with the growth of their program. To date, 30 of DaimlerChrysler’s sites have received the Gold Well Workplace Award—23 in 1998 and 7 in 1999.


    Lincoln Plating Company:
    A team approach yields bottom line results.
    Lincoln Plating Company is an electro finishing plant in Lincoln, Nebraska that employs 210 people. They won the Silver Well Workplace Award in 1991 and were awarded the Gold Well Workplace Award in 1997.

    They estimate that they made an $800,000 return on an $85,000 investment in employee wellness in just over five years! Most of the savings have come from lower heath insurance premiums. The rest of the savings result from a 50% reduction in injuries, and reducing workmen’s compensation costs. They attribute the decrease in injuries to making stretching before work part of the daily routine. These figures don’t include dollars saved in reduced annual turnover (down 70% in 1996 to 35% in 1998), lower absenteeism rates or increased productivity—which reached a new high in 1998


    Jacksonville Electric Authority:
    A grass roots wellness program.
    JEA is a public utility that operates electric, water and sewer systems that serve more than 335,000 customers in and around Jacksonville, Florida. JEA won the Bronze Well Workplace Award in 1995, and was awarded the Gold in 1999.

    JEA’s wellness program started in 1989 with a small group of employees who wanted a place to work out. After getting approval from management for space, they went to their credit union and signed a loan to purchase used exercise equipment. After signing up members, they were able to pay off the loan in just a couple of years and the program continued to grow. Today, their gym has 227 employee members, $100,000 worth of top of line equipment, and aerobics classes. Employees pay a $35 initiation fee and only $5 per pay period to use the facility and participate in other wellness programs.


    Townsend Engineering:
    A vision with history.
    Townsend Engineering, manufacturers of meat processing equipment, was re-certified as a Gold Well Workplace in 1999. Townsend has grown from their initial four employees to 157 today, and employs another 50 at a plant in Holland.

    The founder of Townsend Engineering, Ray Townsend, built a 30,000 square foot wellness facility in 1978. In addition, he always believed that labor and management were not adversaries. Their corporate pledge states that “when the company prospers so to will their employees.” Based on their product sales, bonuses are split and distributed evenly every six months. In addition, Townsend Engineering pays for their employees and families to go on company trips to places like Hawaii and the Bahamas.


    Highsmith, Inc.:
    Total employee development.
    In 1989, Highsmith, Inc. became one of the pioneers in developing risk-rating to assess and reward good health among its workers. From the beginning, the risk-rating program was completely voluntary and embedded in a larger, comprehensive approach to wellness. Employees who chose not to participate continued to receive the company’s standard health insurance premium contribution of 60%. Those who were willing to sign on received a higher contribution—up to 80% for low risk employees.

    While these efforts were effective in the fiscal management of corporate health, research indicated that the program should address more specifically the population needs of Highsmith employees. The company also took note of the impact risk-rating appeared to be having on the corporate culture. It frustrated some employees whose good faith efforts to adopt healthy lifestyles produced no improvement in annual screening scores. Further evolution was prompted by passage of the Health Insurance Portability Act, which prohibited the incenting of employees based upon health outcomes. Risk-rating gave way to a new initiative entitled TAG, which stands for:

    Total commitment to developing human potential
    Access to learning opportunities
    Growth as an individual and as a company

    The initiative demonstrates Highsmith’s belief that traditional job and career development are just the beginning of helping an employee reach full potential. Personal and physical well-being, self-care and work/life enrichment are all aspects of individual and organizational growth.


    5. Getting the Most from the Well Workplace Website
    Getting the Most from the Well Workplace Website

    The Well Workplace Awards Initiative was designed a decade ago to help employers create healthier working environments. Today, we are pleased to say that nearly 700 organizations have embraced WELCOA’s Well Workplace model, helping over one million employees lead happier, healthier lives.

    This website details WELCOA’s Well Workplace Initiative in detail. From Well Workplace’s history, to the seven critical benchmarks of success, to the Well Workplace Award winners—it’s all here, and we encourage you to click through the site and learn as much as you can about how Well Workplace can help you build a healthy organizational culture.

    With that in mind, here are some guidelines that will help you use this site most effectively.

    Citing Material
    All information on this site is copyrighted and is sole property of the Wellness Councils of America. However, if you wish to use information from this site in your own publications or presentations—internal or external—we encourage you to do so. All we ask is that you follow the guidelines below.

  • Cite all information with the WELCOA name, publication name, and date

  • Always include a reference to the WELCOA website (www.welcoa.org)

  • Include author’s first and last name when available


    • Maximizing the Well Workplace Website—Section by Section

    Well Workplace Overview
    In this section you’ll learn why WELCOA concentrates its wellness efforts by focusing on working Americans. Learn the history and vision behind our Well Workplace movement, and find out how it relates to Healthy People objectives. Don’t forget to click on “Process and Developers” to learn how your organization can join the hundreds of others that have already made the decision to get healthy.

    Seven Benchmarks of Success
    In this section you’ll learn about the seven benchmarks of success that define a healthy company. The 700+ organizations that have achieved Well Workplace status have used these benchmarks as a roadmap to ensure success. From securing senior level support, to collecting data, to evaluating efforts, check out what it takes to create a truly healthy working environment.

    Application Process
    Thinking about applying for a Well Workplace Award? Check out this section for six straightforward steps to get you on your way to becoming a Well Workplace.

    Well Workplace Award Winners
    Use this section to view Well Workplace Award winning companies from the past few years. From Fortune 500 organizations to small businesses, you’ll see the best of the best in worksite wellness. Don’t forget to click on the company name to get a custom overview of how wellness fits into the organization as a whole!

    The Platinum Award
    The pinnacle of results-oriented worksite wellness programming, the Platinum Well Workplace Award is a truly special achievement. In this section you’ll find everything you need to know about our Platinum Well Workplace Award winners. Best of all, you can download their completed Platinum Well Workplace applications to get an inside look at what makes these organizations so special when it comes to workplace wellness.

    Well City USA
    Well Workplace isn’t just about single organizations. Entire business communities are embracing the model—and getting healthy on a large scale as a result. In this section you can learn about the experiences of seven special communities that have taken worksite wellness citywide. Learn what it will take to get your business community added to the list!

    Key Resources
    Over the history of the Well Workplace Initiative, WELCOA has had the pleasure of reviewing some very special wellness programs. In this section of the site you can get a glimpse of some of the forms and documentation that prove just how unique these programs are. From operating plans, to vision and mission statements, to letters of senior level support, you can download the very best example documents and use them as key resources in your own worksite wellness program.


    4. Process and Developers
    Well Workplace Process Development
    The Well Workplace Process was developed by the Wellness Councils of America and is trademarked and copyrighted. For over a decade, the Wellness Councils of America has been developing and certifying organizations in the Well Workplace process. After extensive research and consultation with hundreds of companies all across North America the process has been refined and is now considered one of the standards for developing results-oriented wellness programs.




    2. Why Build a Well Workplace?

    Why Build a Well Workplace?

    In July of 1979 the Surgeon General’s office released a report titled Healthy People: The Surgeon General’s Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. It was the nation’s first report card on health, and it lives on to this day.

    The central theme of the original Healthy People document—and what has been substantiated in more recent Healthy People 2000 and Healthy People 2010 reports is that—“The health of the nation’s citizens can be significantly improved through actions individuals can take themselves, and through actions decision makers in the public and private sector can take to promote a safer and healthier environment for all Americans at home, at work, and at play.”

    It is a statement that we have taken to heart—and to the workplace.

    Founded on the principles of Healthy People, WELCOA has, over the past fifteen years, endeavored to operationalize the principles of healthier living this document espouses. Using the workplace as the foundation, WELCOA has built a framework that allows American employees to live healthier, more productive lives.

    Getting to Work
    Why worksite health? To begin with, the workplace is an ideal setting for health promotion and disease prevention programs. After all, the majority of Americans work. In fact, of the nation’s 203 million people over the age of 16, 136 million are employed in the US workforce. Add to this the fact that Americans spend a substantial amount of time at work (nearing 50 hours per week) and the workplace emerges as an ideal setting to address issues of health and wellness.

    Realizing this, WELCOA set out to establish an effective system for building health promotion programs into the landscape of corporate America at large. But it was a challenging process.

    Says WELCOA founder William Kizer Sr., “In the beginning, I learned firsthand how difficult it was to incorporate health and wellness into a work setting. There weren’t any resources, and there didn’t seem to be any well-established procedure for getting it done. I knew that if we were going to see results on a large scale, there needed to be a well-organized plan that companies could follow.”

    That well-organized plan took years to develop, but the effort has paid off. What has emerged is working—and working well.

    The Well Workplace Model
    WELCOA originated the Well Workplace process as a key component to operationalizing Healthy People objectives. This trademarked, seven-step, benchmarking initiative gives organizations a roadmap to successfully build results-oriented wellness programs into their working environments while avoiding common pitfalls.

    Organizations that complete WELCOA’s Well Workplace framework are guided through a process that involves securing senior level support, assembling a wellness team, collecting organizational data, writing an operating plan, implementing interventions, fostering a supportive environment, and evaluating outcomes. They learn how to implement and administer workplace health initiatives that stand the test of time by squarely linking health promotion objectives with the organization’s overall mission and vision.

    This Well Workplace design for building healthy companies has proven itself to be effective in individual worksites and communities, but what about the bigger picture? What about Healthy People objectives for the nation as a whole?

    The Local Council Model
    Promoting healthier lifestyles, and meeting the objectives of the Healthy People documents, means having reach. WELCOA is beginning to achieve this reach through the establishment of locally-affiliated wellness Councils located throughout the nation. Led by devoted Executive Directors, these wellness Councils are responsible for leading companies through the Well Workplace process in their respective communities, ensuring that health as an organizational priority becomes not just a concentrated rarity, but a national enterprise.

    Local council involvement gives area businesses the opportunity to address health issues specific to their workforces and to their part of the country. Using annual conferences, continuing education, and face-to-face interaction, the local Council Executive Directors who are in the trenches, have been extremely instrumental in helping to develop practical, hands-on strategies for improving health through workplace wellness initiatives.

    Finding Results
    The results of WELCOA’s efforts to realize Healthy People Objectives are becoming evident. To date, over 600 organizations, employing over 1 million people, have embraced the Well Workplace process set forth by WELCOA and its locally affiliated Councils. Representing a diverse number of industry types including Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, educational institutions, and government entities, these organizations have become part of a group known as America’s Healthiest Companies.

    In becoming Well Workplaces, these organizations have realized some of Healthy People’s most significant goals such as increasing employee health education, creating supportive physical environments, integrating health into the fabric of the organization’s culture, implementing follow-up interventions, and regularly evaluating programming efforts. Their efforts are to be commended.

    The Next Fifteen Years
    Founded on the goals and objectives set forth in the Healthy People literature, WELCOA is proud to be associated with the Healthy People initiative. WELCOA is pleased to have played an important role over the past 15 years in advancing the cause of improved employee health through the Well Workplace process and local Council model.

    May the next 15 years be just as effective in helping American employees live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.


    3. History and Vision
    A Quest For Excellence: WELCOA's History and Vision



    WELCOA’s Vision of a Well Workplace Takes Shape
    Improving health is a difficult business. Over the past 15 years, we have seen this statement proved out time and time again. Health promotion takes patience. It takes creativity, thought, and resources. It takes vision. But anything worthwhile does. Consider the words of Glendon Johnson, retired CEO of John Alden Life Insurance Company and Chairman of the Board for the Wellness Councils of America.

    “Health is the pearl of great price. It is only after it is lost, that people value it most.”

    These words become even more poignant when you consider the reality of America’s current health status.

    Status Woe
    Recently the National Center for Health Statistics reported that the typical working American has approximately seven chronic health conditions. Consider also that the World Health Organization has described stress as an epidemic, stating that seventy-two percent of Americans experience frequent stress-related physical or mental conditions. Add to this the fact that most Americans are now overweight (twenty-two percent of which are obese), and it becomes quite evident that Americans need to get healthy—and fast.

    But there are significant challenges involved in improving the health of our nation’s citizens. While most Americans would agree that a healthier lifestyle would afford them certain benefits, many are unaware of what their health risks actually are. And even for those who understand the forces driving unhealthy behaviors, changing health habits that have become entrenched over several years is often an exercise that ends in disappointment.

    To compound the matter further, we live in an environment that makes good physical health difficult to achieve. Our busy schedules encourage the consumption of quick and easy, high-fat foods. Technological advancements have all but eliminated the need for physical labor during the workday, and with the proliferation of escalators, elevators, and moving walkways, even simple movement is coming under attack.

    But when it comes to improving national health, where do we start? What’s the best way to get—and keep—Americans healthy? The answer, no doubt, is as complex as the question. But as a key component to a multi-faceted approach, worksite wellness is beginning to demonstrate its promise.

    Workplace Wellness Works
    For the past 15 years, WELCOA’s vision of improved national health has found its roots in worksite health promotion. Through the implementation of its Well Workplace process into hundreds of organizations all across America, WELCOA’s vision of a healthier America is beginning to take shape. As an initiative that clearly establishes benchmarks for building healthier working environments (explained in detail in the following pages), WELCOA’s Well Workplace initiative—along with a growing body of evidence demonstrating the efficacy of workplace wellness programs—is beginning to generate interest. And for good reason.

    Why Workplace Health Promotion?
    Again, most people work. In fact, of the nation’s 203 million people over the age of 16, more that 136 million are employed in the US workforce. This, in and of itself, is a good reason for using work as a medium for promoting a healthier lifestyle. But there’s more.

    According to Juliet Schor, author of The Overworked American and respected Harvard economist, the average workweek has grown to nearly 50 hours. The typical employee now works the equivalent of one extra month per year as compared to his or her counterpart in 1970. More than one third of Americans are now working over 10 hours per day and thirty-nine percent are working on the weekends.

    Health related concerns are not only an issue for employees, but for the nation’s employers, too. Health care costs are rising at an alarming rate. Double-digit percentage increases in health care premiums have been the norm for the past few years, and it’s not uncommon these days to see nearly half of corporate profits being consumed by health care costs. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

    A Better Way
    The Well Workplace Awards initiative is designed to help organizations improve the health of their employees, and in so doing, reduce unnecessary health care expenditures. In short, Well Workplaces are meant to be better places to work. Because healthy living is incorporated into the very fabric of an organization’s culture, and because employees are empowered to take control of their own personal health, Well Workplaces have happier, healthier, and more productive employees.

    But is doesn’t end there. The organization benefits too. Stacks of research validate the fact that healthy employees get sick less often, are more productive during the day, and stay with the organization for longer periods of time.

    Benefits to the organization’s bottom line are also not uncommon in Well Workplaces—a direct result of an organization linking its health promotion objectives to its business outcomes. Well Workplaces invest in employee wellness—the best ones invest in a healthy workforce as a means to corporate competitive advantage. Ultimately, Well Workplaces aim to become arenas for both employee and employer to enjoy the best of what work has to offer.

    Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Scores of companies all across the United States are taking WELCOA’s vision of a healthy workplace and weaving it into their corporate cultures. Take a look at two case studies from WELCOA designated Platinum Well Workplaces.

    Union Pacific Pulls Ahead
    Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) has nearly 48,000 employees in 23 states throughout the US. Most employees are mobile, unionized, blue-collar workers. In 1990, UPRR determined that twenty-nine percent of their health care costs were lifestyle related (compared to a national average of nineteen percent), and that medical costs per employee were nearly double the national average.

    Knowing this, UPRR began a self-care initiative at an annual cost of $50 per person. After careful implementation, the program achieved a net savings of $1.26 million—a benefit cost ratio (ROI) of $2.77 returned for every $1 invested.

    Health risks were dramatically improved as well. Forty-five percent of employees in the treatment group lowered their risk of high blood pressure, thirty percent moved out of the at risk range for weight problems, and twenty-one percent stopped smoking.

    After five years of targeted health promotion activities, UPRR has reduced the rate of lifestyle related health costs from twenty-nine percent to twenty-four percent. What’s more, they estimate that they have saved three times as much money through indirect productivity savings as they have in direct medical costs. Says Dick Davidson, Union Pacific CEO when referring to UPRR’s wellness program, “It’s one hell of an investment.”

    High Achievement
    UPRR isn’t the only company that has seen tangible results come from its wellness initiative. Highsmith Inc. is also a great example of how a well-designed health promotion program can produce bottom-line outcomes.

    Located among the cornfields of rural Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Highsmith is a $55-million business that sells products to libraries and schools by catalog. The company employs approximately 300 people. Eighty percent of its employees are women, and the average age is 39. A Platinum Well Workplace award winner, Highsmith has achieved some enviable results from its wellness initiative.

    Highsmith’s wellness program began in 1989 when they realized that their group health insurance premiums had increased by fifty-three percent. It was then that Highsmith began an aggressive wellness program that, to date, has included building a walking path around its campus and offering its "mini-university," a program that enables employees to sign up for a wide variety of continuing education classes—many of which are offered on company time.

    Highsmith’s concept of total employee wellness has enabled the company to bargain with its insurance provider, negotiating little, if any, increase in yearly health insurance premiums. Employee satisfaction at Highsmith has reached new heights as well—a recent employee retention study revealed that the average length of employment at Highsmith was 14 years.

    The two companies featured here are just samples of the hundreds around the nation that have begun the difficult task of creating workplaces that thrive in today’s tough environment. They deserve to be congratulated and emulated as models of what a healthy workplace can be.

    And while there is no single salve to soothe the nation's health dilemma, one thing is certain: WELCOA’s vision of the Well Workplace has emerged as a viable option for combating worsening national health and rising health care expenditures. As the nation continues to wrestle with the difficult health issues it faces, WELCOA will continue to offer forth its vision of what a Well Workplace is, and ought to be.




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