Employee Wellness: Motivators and Savings

Employee Wellness: Motivators and Savings

BMGT 6311

June, 15 2014

Employee Wellness: Motivators and Savings

Citation

Churchill, S. A., Gillespie, H., & Herbold, N. H. (2014). The Desirability of Wellness Program and Incentive Offerings for Employees. Benefits Quarterly, 30(1), 48-57.

Major Thesis

This article discusses the need for employers to implement and support and employee wellness program to not only help the employees be more productive, but to also reduce costs for medical premiums and claims. According to the article, average employer-sponsored family premiums increased 97 percent between 2002 and 2012 due to chronic disease such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes as well as underlying disorders, such as obesity. (Churchill, Gillespie, and Herbold 2014) The article supports its assertion citing surveys conducted on return of investment (ROI) or existing wellness programs. The most significant of these metrics are the 2013 ROI outcomes of $1.50 to $3.90 for every dollar spent of wellness. (Churchill, Gillespie, and Herbold 2014) Other factors that companies need to consider are the soft benefits. The article discusses some soft benefits such as absenteeism, productivity, stress level, and job satisfaction. (Churchill, Gillespie, and Herbold 2014) Finally, the main point of the article is determining motivating factors for participation and designing an effective wellness program to encourage employee adoption. The survey designed and executed in the article provided a look into a specific demographic, public sector employees. The survey evaluated different perceptions of motivators by sex and age group looking to establish correlations for key motivating and ongoing participation factors. The article finished by summarizing its findings stating that financial motivators were highly motivational and that younger age groups were more likely to participate in wellness than older respondents.

Utility

The points presenting in...