Employee Health Screening

As the science behind Employee Health and Wellness Programs continues to evolve, so will the need to define the dimensions of a broad-based model of Employee Health and Wellness Programs. A representative model includes the following Employee Health and Wellness Program components; health education initiatives, staff member health services and benefits, physical fitness and nutrition initiatives, Employee Health and Wellness Program policies and procedures, counseling and employee assistance programs, a safe and healthy work environment, and the integration of company and community resources.

A broad-based approach to Employee Health and Wellness Programs will maximize the impact of all interventions by increasing communication between administrators, workers, and staff member families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite climate and culture. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of staff member wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond initiatives designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Employee Health and Wellness Programs by various departments and individuals inside and outside the company. As the structure of the workplace continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Employee Health and Wellness Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.

A Comprehensive Model For Employee Health and Wellness Programs

According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81 percent of companies in the United States with 50 or more workers have some form of Employee Health and Wellness Programs activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85 percent by the year 2000. Why are employers getting into the organization of Employee Health and Wellness Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Employee Health and Wellness Programs are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a method of boosting the morale of workers and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).

As the motivations for Employee Health and Wellness Programs differ, so do the extent of a Employee Health and Wellness Programs efforts. A program may consist of distributing the occasional health pamphlet on the warning signs of cancer to workers, or it may comprise an elaborate and strategically planned Employee Health and Wellness Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its workers. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Employee Health and Wellness Programs have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Employee Health and Wellness Programs consist of?

Close your eyes and imagine yourself working for the healthiest organization possible. What characteristics or Employee Health and Wellness Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that organization do to enhance the social, physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual aspects of staff member health? How does that organization develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all workers? Finally, how does that organization demonstrate its belief that workers are the organization’s most valued asset?

It is unlikely that any one single of a Employee Health and Wellness Program will be responsible for the positive health outcomes of all workers. Employee Health and Wellness Program have evolved from the occasional fitness center for the exclusive use of organization executives, or the sporadic staff member safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and initiatives. Employee Health and Wellness Program consultants frequently speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Employee Health and Wellness Programs in today’s workplace. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.