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Workplace wellness is any workplace health promotion activity or organizational policy designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace and to improve health outcomes. Generally speaking, health promotion is defined as "the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health,"〔(World Health Organization. Health Promotion Glossary. http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/hp_glossary_en.pdf)〕 and health promotion can be carried out in the workplace as well as many other settings. Known as 'corporate wellbeing' outside the US, it consists of a variety of activities such as health fairs, health education, medical screenings, healthy office snack delivery services, health coaching, weight management programs, wellness newsletters, on-site fitness programs and/or facilities and educational programs. With more attention focused on nutrition and overall health, research is beginning to show a link between the nutrition and exercise of people in the workforce and how it affects overall productivity. Even though wellness programs require investments up front, large companies should subsidize these programs because they will save companies money in the long run, improve overall workforce productivity, and enhance employee morale. In order to support the position, research included interviews, online articles, and workplace observations. Large corporations who have not already implemented a wellness program should do so to ensure maximum productivity and all around healthy, positive, and hard-working employees. (Kira Zinck) Workplace wellness includes organizational policies designed to facilitate employee health including allowing flex time for exercise, providing on-site kitchen and eating areas, offering healthy food options in vending machines, holding “walk and talk” meetings, and offering financial and other incentives for participation, among many other options. Workplace wellness has been expanded over the past decade to encompass the overall creation of a “culture of health” within the worksite.〔DeVries, George Thomas III. (2010). Innovations in Workplace Wellness: Six New Tools to Enhance Programs and Maximize Employee Health and Productivity. ''Compensation & Benefits Review'' 42:46.〕 == Rationale == Obesity and related conditions have risen to epidemic levels in the US and around the globe. The causes for this are numerous and included among the list are increases in automation and labor-saving devices that have resulted in a change in the way we live and work. Many workplaces are now sedentary settings and often provide easy access to energy-dense food and beverages. As a result, workplaces are contributing to the obesity epidemic. Obesity has been linked to numerous chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis and some cancers.〔Anderson, L. M., Quinn, T. A., Glanz, K., Ramirez, G., Kahwati, L. C., Johnson, D. B., Buchanan L. R., Archer, W. R., Chattopadhyay. S, Kalra, G. P., Katz, D.L., Task Force on Community Preventive Services (2009). 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〕 Concern about the economic burden associated with obesity is growing. Obesity drives up costs for employers and is associated with increased absenteeism, disability, injury and healthcare claims. Furthermore, when compared to other industrialized countries, the US has the highest per capita costs for health care and also as a percentage of Gross domestic product, yet ranks in the bottom quartile for life expectancy and infant mortality.〔Healthy Workforce 2010 and Beyond. (2009). Partnership for Prevention. Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefits Division: U.S. Chamber of Commerce〕 700px While the stated goal of workplace wellness programs is to improve employee health, many US employers have turned to them to help alleviate the impact of enormous increases in health insurance premiums〔Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research Education Trust. (2007). (Employer Health Benefits Survey. )〕 experienced over the last decade. Some employers have also begun varying the amount paid by their employees for health insurance based on participation in these programs.〔Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research Education Trust. (2007). ( Employer Health Benefits Survey Exhibit 6.18 )〕 Cost-shifting strategies alone, through high copayments or coinsurance may create barriers to participation in preventive health screenings or lower medication adherence.hypertension.〔Healthy Workforce 2010 and Beyond. (2009). Partnership for Prevention. Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefits Division: U.S. Chamber of Commerce.〕 One of the reasons for the growth of healthcare costs to employers is the rise in obesity-related illnesses brought about by lack of physical activity, another is the effect of an ageing workforce and the associated increase in chronic health conditions driving higher health care utilization. In 2000 the health costs of overweight and obesity in the US were estimated at $117 billion.〔http://www.ecu.edu/picostcalc/pdf_file/FactsandFigures.pdf〕 Each year obesity contributes to an estimated 112,000 preventable deaths.〔http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/obesityvision/obesityvision2010.pdf〕 An East Carolina University study of individuals aged 15 and older without physical limitations found that the average annual direct medical costs were $1,019 for those who are regularly physically active and $1,349 for those who reported being inactive. Being overweight increases yearly per person health care costs by $125, while obesity increases costs by $395.〔 A survey of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services employees found that approximately 70 cents of every healthcare dollar was spent to treat employees who had one or more chronic conditions, two thirds of which can be attributed to three major lifestyle risk factors: physical inactivity, poor diet, and tobacco use.〔http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/nov-dec-06/running.pdf〕 Obese employees spend 77 percent more on medications than non-obese employees and 72 percent of those medical claims are for conditions that are preventable.〔 According to Healthy Workforce 2010 and Beyond, a joint effort of the US Partnership for Prevention and the US Chamber of Commerce, organizations need to view employee health in terms of ''productivity'' rather than as an exercise in health care cost management. The emerging discipline of Health and Productivity Management (HPM) has shown that health and productivity are “inextricably linked” and that a healthy workforce leads to a healthy bottom line. There is now strong evidence that health status can impair day-to-day work performance (e.g., presenteeism) and have a negative effect on job output and quality.〔 Current recommendations for employers are not only to help its unhealthy population become healthy but also to keep its healthy population from becoming sick. Employers are encouraged to implement population-based programs including health risk appraisals and health screenings in conjunction with targeted interventions.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Workplace wellness」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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