Task Force on Community Preventive Services - Research Paper Example

? Physical Training in the Workplace Executive Summary Due to increased pressure of work atworkplace, employees usually find it difficult to maintain their health. Organizations, every year loses a significant amount of business due to high absenteeism of employees because of their health issues. On the other hand, the monitory value of health benefits and expenditures made on employees’ wellness is another significant expenditure that the organization needs to make. In this context, it becomes essential for businesses to adopt a suitable employee wellness program which is not very costly and at the same time, helps the business to maintain good and healthy work related attitude within its organizational functions. This proposal describes the issues that ABC Corporation is facing regarding its employees health conditions, because of which a number of malfunctions are noticed in the operational capacity of the business. Moreover, ABC Corporation is paying a significant amount of its revenues to the insurance company, in the form of premium for its employees’ health insurance. Employees are also complaining about the boredom they are experiencing at the workplace. The proposal consists of background of the problem defining the issues that lead to adoption of a suitable employee wellness program, the theoretical evidences for the proposed program and a set of recommendations regarding program design and how to implement it so that the desired objectives can be achieved efficiently. Contents Executive Summary 2 1.Background 4 2.Theoretical Grounds 6 3.Introduction to the Organization 7 4.Identifying the Issue 8 Memo 9 Reference List 12 1. Background “The doctor of the future will give no medicines, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the causes and prevention of disease” (Adison, 1900) Providing a remedy to a disease with the help of medicines is easy but costly, at the same time, leaves medicine’s harmful effects on the human body. For this reason, rectifying the physical lacking and deficiencies from an individual’s health condition with the help of physical activities is beneficial as compare to the usage of medicines (DeVries, 2010). Any activity introduced by organizations’ managers and owner to improve the health conditions of the employees is known as Workplace Wellness Program. Business in the modern world design and implement policies and regulations that compel workers of that organization to adopt healthy behaviors at their designated work station, which consequently results in higher productivity level. Organizational and industrial experts suggest that organizations should implement processes within its functional capacities that enable the employees to get hold of and maintain control over their health conditions. For this reason, business implement a number of physical exercise activities in the name of “Corporate Wellbeing” such as Behavior Change Communication to Improve Health landscape, health related events and seminars, medical scrutiny of the employees on time to time basis, physical training, weight reduction programs, health notices or fitness facilities within the premises of the business (DeVries, 2010). Workplace Wellness programs introduced by an organization would include giving flexible timing to the employees for physical exercise, providing employees with healthy food menu and help them to develop healthy eating habits, conducting “walk and talk” meetings with the employees and offering a number of financial incentives and aide to the employees so as to motivate them to participate in wellness programs. With the emergence of globalization on the business horizon, organizations now need to engage employees into physical activities on a more rigorous scale, to maintain their health conditions. This activity results in keeping employees physically fit and increase their ability to counter the new challenges emerging every other day (DeVries, 2010). Obesity is considered as being t he major cause of boredom and declining health overview of the workers working in different organizations. Obesity and other interrelated diseases has increased to an alarming level in the last two decades. It is evident from available literature that the main cause of increasing health related problems amongst employees is the automation of organizational processes, i.e. increase used of computers and machines to perform organizational duty. The extensive amount of work that an organization demands from its employees has changed the way of living of the working class and contributing to a number of dangerous diseases such as hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, heart strokes, arthritis and carcinoma (Anderson, Quinn, Kahwati, & Buchanan, 2009). Beside the health conditions of the employees, another major burden that organizations must have to assume because of deteriorating health conditions is the economic impact of these diseases. The economic cost of these diseases is very high which need to be assumed by the organization, but the businesses’ concerns about this increasing monitory burden highlights the importance of “employee wellness” programs. Not only the monitory cost is concerning the businesses, but also the higher rates of absenteeism, injuries, disabilities and financial claims against the hospital bills drives the overall cost of managing employees in an organization (Anderson, Quinn, Kahwati, & Buchanan, 2009). Other vital factors such as aging of workforce and chronic health conditions are also responsible for increasing the economic cost of employees’ health wellness. Only in United States of America, $ 117 billion were being spent by organizations on health related expenditures of their employees. It is also estimated that obesity amongst the employees due to automation of the organizational processes is the major cause of preventable deaths, which sums around 112,000 individuals. A study carried out by the students of East Carolina University suggests that it takes around $ 1,019 per employee, for a business to look after its physically active employees’ health conditions whereas the same cost for looking after a physically inactive employee is around $ 1,349. These costs increases each year , where obesity and over-weight related diseases requires another $ 395 to be added into the personal health plans of every employee. In another study, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Sciences (NCDHHS) states that around 70% of the total employee wellness budgets are spent on treatment of employees having chronic diseases and life style risks. These include physical inactivity, diet problems and excessive use of alcohol and tobacco. Moreover, it is also estimated that physically inactive employees spent 77% more on medicinal supplies. It is noticeable that around 72% diseases experienced by employees in different organizational settings are preventable (U.S Chamber of Cmmerce, 2009). 2. Theoretical Grounds “Intrinsic motivators such as challenging work, recognition, and responsibility produce employee satisfaction, while extrinsic hygiene factors, including status, job security, salary, and fringe benefits – if absent – produce dissatisfaction” (Herzberg F. , 1964) Frederick Herzberg, a well known psychologist, suggested his famous “two factor theory” in which he stated that the job satisfaction of employees is dependent on motivation-hygiene factors. This theory implies that, where there are several reasons of dissatisfaction from job reported by the employees, there are also factors of satisfaction that are associated with the physical and mental health of the employee. Herzberg states that the attitude and condition of mental health of employees are related to the motivators provided to them in order to improve employees’ physical and mental health. Moreover, Herzberg also suggested that employees concentrate more on achieving higher-level needs such as psychological and financial needs that include sense of achievement, recognition received for work, responsibility given to the employees, advancement on career paths and the organizational incentives for maintaining health conditions. In this context, it appears that employees’ motivation towards work is remarkably influenced by the degree of organization’s ability to positively influence the health conditions of the employees and managing them in a manner that provides them inner satisfaction from their workplace (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959). 3. Introduction to the Organization ABC Corporation is an online shopping platform, which is used by consumers all around t he world. ABC offers complete variety of grocery items on its online business portal, i.e. the website of the company. The idea of the business is to provide online grocery shoppers with a variety of grocery items over its online business portal and let the shopper chose what he want to purchase. There are order takers who will align the required grocery items according to the customers’ demand and than dispatch them to the customers’ destination through different delivery channels. 4. Identifying the Issue As it is clear from the introduction of ABC Corporation, majority of its workforce is required to sit in front of computers to confirm orders by the customers and keep the offered grocery item list updated for facilitating the clients. The management of the company is complaining about lower productivity over the course of last two years and while comparing the business in last two years with the business’s situation before that, it reveals that the company’s productivity is reduced by a significant 12.34% per annum. In addition, rate of absenteeism has also increased by 21% in the last two years which indicates that employees are either having bad health conditions or they are bored with t heir jobs. Last but not the least, financial controller of the company has revealed that company has invested around 29% of its total revenue in two years on the wellness of employees and paying another 6% for insurance and health covers of the employees. Now ABC Corporation is looking for the available options, to improve the health conditions of its employees in order to reduce the economic cost of bad health conditions. The next section of the report would propose a comprehensive ‘Employee Wellness” program to ABC Corporation to achieve the management’s desired results. To: Employees of ABC Corporation From: Director Human Resources Frank Steyn CC: Board of Directors Date: 26th September, 2013 Re: Energy Burst 2013: A Healthier and Brighter Future ABC Corporation has implemented an employee wellness initiative into its organizational systems for employee wellness, which is named as Energy Burst 2013. This program is aimed at improving the health conditions of the employees of ABC Corporation and its major objectives is to spread awareness regarding healthy working conditions with the help of a organization-sponsored disease prevention initiative. This program is based on five major elements which are as follows: 1. Health Awareness: This part of the program focuses on developing the skills of the employees and changing their behavior by exposing them to a better lifestyle by increasing their knowledge and enhancing their capabilities in the area which interests them. 2. Improved Macro Environment: Organization would implement policies which compels its employees to adopt healthy behaviors and minimize exposure to greater physical or mental health risks. 3. Physical Exercise Plans: Organization would provide 30 minutes during lunch hours or after official working hours. A gym would be established with a capacity of around 25 employees at a time. In the gym, there will be suitable training and physical exercise equipment available so that employees can work out mental fatigue and physical issues. 4. Diversification: ABC Corporation will give its employees opportunities to diversify their set of skills by enrolling into related courses which are related to the functional areas of ABC Corporation. 5. On-Job Health Screening: ABC Corporation is going to implement systems that conduct health scrutiny of employees on random basis. This scrutiny should take place from time to time to ensure that employees are in good health, to identify future health risks and to assess the mental health of the employees with the help of mental health screening tests. The secondary elements of Energy Burst 2013 would be as follows: 1. ABC Corporation would provide every possible assistance to the employees in order to change their behaviors, with the help of psychological sessions, and then following up with the employees about their improved behavior in personal and professional life. 2. The program supervisor and director human resources will get feedback from the employees about the effectiveness and efficiency of the program to influence their health-related behaviors. ABC Corporation ensures its employees that it will provide the resources required in order to assist its employees to counter their physical and mental health issues that they may face during their job-duration at the company. Energy Burst is programmed to suit the physical and mental exercise needs of the employees. The major benefit of this program is that it provides an opportunity to the employees to keep themselves physically fit and mentally fresh, with the help of customized exercise plan for each employee according to their chronic age. ABC Corporation would introduce health awareness programs which will be available to the employees on compact disks (CDs). Employees may watch the visual aide programs to enhance their knowledge about their health conditions. Additionally, the Board of Directors of the company has hired the services of a retired Army officer, Mr. Wayne Cole, who is working currently as Corporate Consultant to Corporations looking to implement employee wellness programs. Mr. Wayne has previously worked with Google, Pepsi and Nestle as Corporate Consultant on Employee Wellness initiatives, which establishes his reputation as a master of his field. The implemented employee wellness program is also prepared by Mr. Wayne who would also develop the policy framework to implement the program. This policy framework would require every employee of the company to spent at least half an hour in the gym facility and get themselves checked by the physician at least once in three months time. The physician will also be responsible to develop and implement a customized Physical exercise program with the assistance from Mr. Wayne Cole. This physical exercise program will be developed according to the individual requirement of each employee. In addition to this, Mr. Wayne will be conducting a survey from the employees of ABC Corporation within next few days, which aimed at identifying the individual needs of each employee from knowledge and skill enhancement perspective. I personally thank you all for reserving 5 minutes from your precious time and read this memo. I hope, all the employees would appreciate this initiative of the organization and support it with their honest participation in the Energy Burst program. I am looking forward to a brighter and healthier environment within ABC Corporation and its functionalities. Reference List Adison, T. A. (1900). Medicine Quotes. Retrieved September 24, 2013, from www.searchquotes.com: http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/%22The_doctor_of_the_future_will_give_no_medicine,_but_will_interest_his_patients_in_the_care_of_the_h/232181/ Anderson, L. M., Quinn, T. A., Kahwati, L. C., & Buchanan, L. (2009). Task Force on Community Preventive Services . The effectiveness of worksite nutrition and physical activity interventions for controlling employee overweight and obesity: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(4), 340-357. DeVries, G. T. (2010). Innovations in Workplace Wellness: Six New Tools to Enhance Programs and Maximize Employee Health and Productivity. Compensation and Benefits Review, 1(1\), 42-46. Herzberg, F. (1964). The Motivation-Hygiene Concept and Problems of Manpower. Personnel Administrator, 27(1), 3-7. Herzberg, F., Mausner, b., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. NY: John Wiley. U.S Chamber of Cmmerce. (2009). Healthy Workforce 2010 and Beyond. Washing D.C.: U.S Chamber of COmmerce. Read More