What a smart employer should know about wellness programs

If you or your company is searching for a benefits program, you’ve probably seen so much insurance jargon your head is spinning.

Wellness, MVP, MEC, gap coverage, FSA, HSA contribution gaps, cafeteria plans… the list goes on, but that doesn’t answer your questions about what benefits you do and don’t need

What you do need to understand about wellness plans is that you can seriously benefit in investing into one, even if your company is under the size requirement for the Affordable Care Act’s mandate.

The key word to understand now: investment!

The wellness of your employees should be considered an investment from a business standpoint. It’s a fact: healthier employees are generally happier and use fewer sick days. This means additional productivity for your company.

We all know it’s harder to perform at 100% when you’re under the weather, and sick employees cost companies billions of dollars in lost revenue each year. It sounds backwards, but not investing in wellness could be costing your company much more than you would be spending on preventative care.

Besides just improved health, a group wellness program can help improve the morale of your company. Going to the gym, fitness classes, and wellness seminars together can help create a sense of teamwork and comradery that has a lasting effect on the office atmosphere. Comradery can encourage employees to achieve goals and share in individual success both in and outside of the office.

In addition to the benefits listed above, financial incentives can be bundled into your wellness investment, too! There are “participatory wellness programs” for any level of wellness that can reimburse the cost of fitness centers, and there are reimbursement rewards of 20-30% of the cost of wellness programs. That reimbursement number jumps up to 50% for tobacco cessation programs, which can be a huge benefit for companies.

So if greater morale, increased productivity, employee health, and preventative care isn’t on your priority list, then by all means feel free to forego a wellness program as a means of bettering your company. But if you’re one of the smart employers who values these things, maybe it’s time to see what a wellness investment can do for you.