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The price is right: making workplace wellness financially sustainable

The price is right: making workplace wellness financially sustainable Purpose – The public health argument for developing and maintaining workplace wellness programmes in organisations is well‐documented, particularly within the healthcare sector which aims to “set the example” for workplace health. However, workplace wellness also makes good business sense, since it is established that investing in employee health can reduce absenteeism, improve job satisfaction and productivity and enhance corporate image. Organisations often place workplace wellness low in their priorities. The purpose of this paper is to present the case for an initial resource investment and top‐level support to pump‐prime a financially sustainable, and even profitable, programme. Design/methodology/approach – A discussion is presented based on academic literature and practical applications from the authors' experiences in practice. Findings – The authors use their own in‐house scheme, “Q‐active” as a case example based in an NHS Trust setting, to demonstrate how such schemes can be developed and successfully implemented and maintained in practice. The paper presents the use of the Business Healthcheck Tool for developing a business case for such schemes. Originality/value – Workplace wellness schemes are financially viable and can become a vital part of a large organisations' infrastructure embedded within policies and internal “health culture”. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Workplace Health Management Emerald Publishing

The price is right: making workplace wellness financially sustainable

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References (24)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1753-8351
DOI
10.1108/17538351011031948
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The public health argument for developing and maintaining workplace wellness programmes in organisations is well‐documented, particularly within the healthcare sector which aims to “set the example” for workplace health. However, workplace wellness also makes good business sense, since it is established that investing in employee health can reduce absenteeism, improve job satisfaction and productivity and enhance corporate image. Organisations often place workplace wellness low in their priorities. The purpose of this paper is to present the case for an initial resource investment and top‐level support to pump‐prime a financially sustainable, and even profitable, programme. Design/methodology/approach – A discussion is presented based on academic literature and practical applications from the authors' experiences in practice. Findings – The authors use their own in‐house scheme, “Q‐active” as a case example based in an NHS Trust setting, to demonstrate how such schemes can be developed and successfully implemented and maintained in practice. The paper presents the use of the Business Healthcheck Tool for developing a business case for such schemes. Originality/value – Workplace wellness schemes are financially viable and can become a vital part of a large organisations' infrastructure embedded within policies and internal “health culture”.

Journal

International Journal of Workplace Health Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 30, 2010

Keywords: Workplace; Exercise; Employees; Personal health; Cost effectiveness; Quality of life

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