|
Larry Chapman’s Blog
Results-Driven Worksite Wellness
Personally Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic
|
|
Coronavirus Resource Kit
|
|
How to cope with stress during COVID-19 outbreak – WHO
#COVID19
Global Wellness Trends in 2020
|
|
Prescription for Longevity in the 21st Century
Source: JAMA
What is this about?
This just-published 2-page opinion piece from JAMA identifies in a pithy and no-nonsense way the basic lifestyle characteristics that are associated with long (and seemingly worthwhile) lifestyles for the 21st Century. This piece reflects an interesting view of relevant literature and studies and identifies the “sweet spot” for employee wellness efforts from the physician’s perspective. Recognizing that genetic predisposition constitutes only about 30% of the risk for early death while the lion’s share is associated with social circumstances, environmental exposures, behavioral choices and lifestyle choices. Not surprisingly, behavioral and lifestyle choices can also ameliorate a significant amount of the major chronic condition risks that are associated with genetic predisposition. It should then be very clear that Wellness and Well-being interventions can play a very large potential role in the prescription for longevity in the 21st Century.
The major elements recommended for long life in the 21st Century are;
- Participate in interventions to reduce your genetic predisposition for early death(chronic disease prevention)
- Seek higher education levels
- Avoid poverty and low-income status
- Avoid illegal drugs and abuse of alcohol
- Avoid suicidal ideation
- Avoid high-risk environments and situations
- Seek social engagement and maintain meaningful social relationships
- Adopt a purposeful life that transcends self-interest (Be interested in and/or serve others)
- Pursue meaningful activities and seek personal growth
- Adopt healthy eating practices, regular exercise, maintain healthy body weight, avoid harmful substances like tobacco, practice stress reduction techniques and secure healthy sleep patterns
Why is this important?
This pithy set of recommendations for long life that physicians are now encouraged to give their own patients is very useful as a summary blueprint for our own approach to employee wellness and well-being. It is important because it is short, persuasive and unusually prescient for a physician’s perspective on prevention and well-being. It is also important because it brings our wellness/well-being work into direct alignment with what the Nation’s physicians are being urged to recommend. This article is important also because it gives legitimacy to our more holistic and social determinants-oriented approach to human health and a broader well-being oriented perspective on health. Repetition and consistency are key to helping employees choose a wellness-oriented lifestyle and that will happen faster if our messages are aligned better with the messages employees receive from their doctors.
What can you do with this document?
- First, read the 2-page document and familiarize yourself with its content.
- Next, put a list together of who you want to send it to including: wellness advisor committee members, wellness ambassadors, HR and benefits staff, wellness vendors and your executive team.
- Consider whether you want to offer a Healthy Aging or Secrets of Long Life oriented educational session or series using the document’s content.
- Consider modifying and using the bullet points above as a way to provide a “short-hand” approach to the information.
- Consider setting up a contest with a very desirable prize for submission of a set of “secrets to long life” and use these bullet points as your ideal or winning answer. You could also have a prize for the most humorous submission.
- Consider using this document to introduce how to get more “quantity of life” then move into “quality of life” considerations by emphasizing well-being issues.
In summary, this document contains a very useful and pithy perspective on a lifestyle that is likely to result in long life. Each of the summary bullet points can be explored in more depth if there is enough general interest in the topic. This information can also help to create a more holistic approach to employee wellness and well-being.
(Everyone can now download these documents regardless of membership status.)
Click here to download this document
If you have any problem downloading the article or tool go to the membership section of our website and search by the topic or name of the document.
|
Employee Wellness Industry Trends for 2020
Source: Wellable
What is this about?
This just-released 53-page summary report based on a national sample of 92 health insurance brokerage professionals surveyed in 2019 focuses on their perceptions about important trends affecting employer investment in employee wellness programs along with key decision issues. Conducted by Wellable, a leading wellness program vendor, the report provides a useful snapshot of the brokerage and benefits field about how they view current employer attitudes about wellness and well-being programming. The benefits professionals surveyed were primarily from Massachusetts, Texas, and California with a few from other states. The survey respondents work primarily with employers with 250 to 1,000 employees and three-quarters of respondents had more than 5 years of experience in the benefits field.
A few of the major findings contained in this report include:
- Increased investment is likely in disease management, financial wellness, flu shots, free healthy food, gym reimbursement, health coaching, health education/literacy, health fairs, mental health, mindfulness & meditation, stress management/resilience, telemedicine, tobacco cessation, weight management, and wellness challenges.
- Decreased investment is likely in biometric screening, health risk assessments, fitness classes and onsite or near-site clinics.
- The top 5 growth areas in employee wellness in 2020, in their order of likely magnitude, will be:
1st Financial wellness
2nd Telemedicine
3rd Stress management & resilience
4th Mental health
5th Mindfulness & meditation
- A “deep dive” is offered on financial wellness and mental health interventions.
- 82% of employers are perceived to be significantly or somewhat influenced by the measurement of the wellness program’s ROI.
- 80% of employers are significantly influenced by the rising cost of benefits.
- Pricing is the top criteria for evaluating wellness vendors.
Why is this important?
This well-done industry survey report of the brokerage community provides a credible and useful picture of emerging trends in employee wellness. It identifies the likely growth areas and the employer decision factors that are influencing programming choices. The report forecasts some of the likely ebbs and flows of programming for the near turn and provides very useful insights for program planning. This report allows you to answer the question of …:what are the likely newer trends affecting employee wellness in 2020 and beyond?”
What can you do with this document?
- First, look through the 53-page report and focus on the issues that are most important for you.
- Next, put a short “sound bite” together of the report’s key findings (see above) and determine who you should send it to.
- Then, at a minimum send it to your HR and benefits staff.
- Then, determine whether the reported trends are likely to be reflected in the employee groups you are working with.
- Then, decide how else you can use this information to help employees and management staff understand the changing needs of employees and their family members.
In summary, this document contains a useful set of insights from the perspective of the brokerage community on how they see their employer clients approaching employee wellness in 2020 and in the years ahead. Remember – there will always be ebbs and flows around the various targets and interventions that are used in our field. We have a tendency historically to downplay certain issues and then later to resurrect them. This survey data reflects a constantly changing and very dynamic aspect of our collective pursuit of employee wellness and well-being.
|
|
Loneliness in the Workplace: 2020 Cigna National Survey
|
|
National Health Costs 2018 & 2019
|
New Guidelines for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
|