Investing in wellness programs can improve both employee health and the bottom line, according to a speaker at Benefits Canada’s Calgary Benefits Summit.
“We can draw a dollars and cents connection between wellness and how it impacts the bottom line,” Colleen Hutchings, director of organizational health at Sun Life Financial, told participants at the May 5 event.
Hutchings pointing to an ongoing study by Sun Life and the Ivey School of Business that found organizations can attach a tangible dollar amount to what they get back as a result of their investment in wellness.
Employers need to adapt to a changing workforce, said Hutchings, noting that millennial workers have different expectations than other generations. In 2015, approximately 85 per cent of employees expected their employer to support both their psychological and physical health.
The Sun Life-Ivey study found wellness programs can actually reduce absenteeism by 1.5 to 1.7 days per year. “When you look at the numbers year over year, it starts to add up to hard-cost savings for organizations,” said Hutchings.
Further, the study’s early findings noted the impact of things such as greater physical activity and better nutritional habits on employee engagement and corporate culture. A positive corporate culture can improve employee health, “which starts to move the bottom line because it can impact employee engagement,” said Hutchings. “Happy and engaged employees tend to show up more and be more productive.”
Companies can draw on low- or no-cost tactics to help maximize the value of their wellness strategies, Hutchings noted. They include taking a careful look at their leadership approach, policies and practices. “Make sure you have strong and clear vision and mission statements so that your employees understand the value of the work they do every day,” she said.
In addition, a variety of tools and assessments are available to organizations. For example, the Canadian Mental Health Association offers a variety of tools, available at no cost, to help companies assess and build a plan around mental health in the workplace.
Hutchings also noted the importance of measurement and data. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” she said, suggesting plan sponsors without access to data can ask their carriers and vendors for the relevant information.
“Organizations should feel they can ask their providers, carriers and vendors for the data and push them to work together collaboratively in a way that supports integration along the health continuum for best-in-class results.”
Read more from Benefits Canada‘s 2016 Calgary Benefits Summit