Employee Wellness Program Participation Can Be Spurred by "Well City" Status, Says EmployeeWellnessUSA

Employee wellness program participation can lag during the chill of winter or the doldrums of summer, forcing human resources managers to seek out new ways to keep their workforces motivated about staying healthy. For that purpose, corporate wellness solutions provider EmployeeWellness.com suggests aiming at group and community health management goals like the prestigious "Well City" program.

"Well City" is a designation developed by the non-profit Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA). Only communities with widespread employer, individual and civic commitment to health management and fitness can be awarded this exclusive title. So far only nine cities - from the states of Maine, West Virginia, Nebraska, Florida, Indiana and Tennessee - have reached that lofty goal.

"Well City is a prime example of a community-oriented employee wellness goal that can galvanize employee fitness," says Holt Vaughan of EmployeeWellness.com. "If employees have a group goal, they're no longer fighting the wellness battle alone. Instead, they're doing it for their coworkers, families and civic pride."

Vaughan is quick to point out that Well City is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to group employee wellness goals. "Not every company is sited in a Well City or in a community that has the necessary components to apply for Well City. For those corporations, we encourage more immediate group goals, like a company-wide weight loss goal."

The benefits of increased employee fitness are well documented. Analysts have determined that the return on investment for corporate wellness programs is anywhere from $2.30 to $10.10 per dollar spent. These staggeringly positive returns come in the form of increased productivity, reduced sick time and lower health-related medical expenses. For example, Coors Brewing reports an 18% drop in absenteeism for employee wellness program participants, and Coca-Cola has announced a $500 per-year, per-employee savings despite only a 60% employee participation level.

Meanwhile, on a personal and ethical level, EmployeeWellnessUSA clients find that supporting employee fitness is rewarding on its own merits, regardless of the financial returns. Employee wellness managers are invited to contact EmployeeWellnessUSA for a no-obligation consultation regarding the best group fitness goals for their employees.

About EmployeeWellnessUSA

EmployeeWellnessUSA offers a number of services to assist companies seeking to improve the fitness of their workers. Their offerings include a unique online health management system that makes it easy for human resource managers to coordinate the scheduling and reporting of fitness-related lab tests. Testing can be performed at the time and place that best fits employees, whether at nearby labs or at the workplace. EmployeeWellnessUSA has staffing capabilities in all fifty states and all their tests are performed by fully accredited facilities.