Employers are increasingly moving beyond occupational safety and health to investing in the well-being of their workforce, understanding that healthy employees are integral to a healthy bottom line. Studies show that workplace health promotion can increase productivity at work, reduce voluntary employee turnover rates, decrease medical costs by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness, and yield value for investors.
One year after implementing workplace health interventions, the Dow Chemical Company demonstrated favorable results related to obesity prevention, employees weight, blood pressure, and tobacco use, and showed signs of improvements in absenteeism rates.
However, despite these types of gains, chronic diseases still threaten employers financial success and competitive advantage. In 2014, 79% of the organizations that provide coverage to their employees in the U.S. were very concerned about controlling health care costs. Dow Chemical recognized that to achieve the greatest impact on population health and its workforce, it needed to extend its corporate health strategy beyond the four walls of workplace and into the community.
Dow Chemical plays a key leadership role in the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance, a collective impact initiative serving 14 counties around its corporate headquarters. Their activities include implementing the Choosing Wisely campaign and addressing pre-diabetes using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evidence based model.
Read more about how Dow Chemical is Extending its Corporate Health Strategy in “Beyond the Four Walls: Why Community is Critical to Workforce Health”.
Has your employer offered wellness benefits outside the four walls of the workplace? Let us know how that has impacted you as an employee or your community members below, or on social media using the #beyond4walls
Image Credit: Dow Chemical
