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By Lexie Williams and Erin Gloeckner
Life-saving medical treatments and devices have lulled many Americans into believing that an increase in life expectancy is a sure thing. But former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona provided sobering news when he said that “Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy their parents.” Do you agree that the children of Generation Z could have shorter life expectancies than their parents?
Perhaps even more devastating is the fact that this decline in life expectancy is largely preventable. National health epidemics related to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart conditions, can be averted.
Fortunately, the trend of implementing wellness initiatives in the workplace is on the rise. And wellness in your workplace has the potential to do more than extend the lives of employees vital to your mission: it may extend their productivity as well.
Though research on effective employee wellness programs is still growing, many workplace wellness initiatives have already positively impacted employee health and productivity. If your office has yet to integrate these beneficial programs or you find your current wellness program to be ineffective, then it’s time to assess the benefits of an office health program and reflect on the risks of abstaining from this surging trend.
Sedentary workers with poor eating habits tend to create greater medical expenditures, increase absenteeism rates, and decrease productivity within an organization. Any one of these conditions poses significant harm to both the organization and the employee. Office health initiatives establish practices in the workplace that promote healthy behaviors while offering social support to employees. Considering that a majority of public entity employees stay at their organization for several years, the positive interventions within a healthy office culture tend to benefit employees long-term. This is merely one of the many ways in which organizations limit employee risk through workplace health promotions:
A report by Nonprofit HR Solutions states that nonprofit leaders often overlook employee wellness programs due to cost and perceptions of low merit. Yet evidence clearly shows that a tailored workplace health initiative can bring cost-savings and happiness to both employees and employers. Today’s entities have myriad opportunities to support employee health and productivity as means of mission advancement. You could be the next public entity leader to nurture members of Generation Z as they enter the workplace, helping to lengthen the life expectancy of America’s workers. Are you willing to risk missing out on these benefits?
To create or revamp your own employee wellness program, consider implementing these popular and often-effective program components. Remember that the worth of any workplace wellness initiative rests on its alignment with your entity’s culture and the health needs of your employees.
Lexie Williams is a former Risk Management Summer Intern at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
Erin Gloeckner is the former Director of Consulting Services at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
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“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
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“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
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