Early retirement programs do not necessarily result in the greatest savings. To ensure a successful program, employers must consider all factors that influence an employee's decision to participate. (JOW)

This study estimates the economic costs of an enhanced Employee Assistance Program (EAP) intervention at a large midwestern EAP that serves 90 worksites. Results specify developmental and implementation costs and provide benchmark cost estimated for other EAPs that may be considering enhanced services. (SLD)

The conflict between family and work is not going to go away by itself. Many companies offer programs, benefits, and services that support workers and their families. Tracking results of the programs on such issues as productivity, turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness will help organizations modify or supplement their training and education…

If developing a healthy workforce is critical to reining in the skyrocketing cost of health care, then why have so many attempts at preventive health or disease management fallen short? How can employers connect with employees to engage them in changing unhealthy habits or lifestyles? Duke University has launched an innovative new approach called…

A series of benefit programs for school personnel in a Maryland county includes a smoke-free workplace, an employee wellness program, and an employee assistance program. The county has been able to correlate a dramatic decrease in the cost of health insurance for employees with the activities of these programs. (MLF)

The continuing surge of women into the work force and the tendency for women to remain on the job throughout pregnancy and to return to work within months after delivery have led companies to initiate and place increasing importance on prenatal health promotion. Such programs have been found to improve employees' prospects for healthy pregnancies…

Company policies and programs aimed at reducing smoking among employees have a number of other important benefits to employees and the company alike. Limiting or banning smoking helps create a safe and healthy workplace and may reduce direct health care costs, health and life insurance costs, employee absenteeism, costs associated with maintaining…

A wellness program is a formalized approach to preventive health care that can positively affect employee lifestyle and reduce future health-care costs. Describes programs for health education, smoking cessation, early detection, employee assistance, and fitness, citing industry success figures. (eight references) (MLF)

Increasing numbers of small businesses are providing wellness activities for their employees. By instituting wellness programs, small businesses can improve employee morale, engender a commitment from employees, enhance the feeling of "family" among employees, improve worker productivity, and contain health care costs. Wellness programs are…

Companies are promoting employee leadership and decision making in their worksite wellness programs for the following reasons: to make the best use of limited resources, to increase programs' chances for success by fostering employee ownership of program plans, to help integrate positive health and safety features into workplace policies and…

Alcohol and drug abuse have serious physical, psychological, and social consequences, and employees who abuse alcohol and/or drugs ultimately reduce their companies' profits. Employee substance abuse leads to reduced productivity as well as to increased absenteeism, health care and health insurance costs, and liability claims against employers of…

Cited as the largest single cause of lost work time and on-the-job fatalities for U.S. workers, motor vehicle crashes cause major nonrecoverable losses for U.S. businesses. Workplace programs to encourage employees to wear safety belts can thus help employers reduce traffic accident-related losses of work time and can substantially reduce the…

Four areas--health benefits, occupational safety and health, prevention and wellness, and human resource development--have contributed significantly to enhancing worker health. The "healthy corporation" is both a goal and a comprehensive attitude about organizational life and about the factors the affect organizational health and, ultimately,…

The use of incentives by businesses is a well-accepted pattern of management-employee collaboration. Increasingly, U.S. businesses are using incentives to encourage employees to stay healthy. Research in the field of behavior modification indicates that positive reinforcement, negative consequences and restrictions, and feedback have great…

As is the case with other worksite wellness programs, company-sponsored nutrition programs have been expanding both in numbers and in depth. Besides offering a convenient health-enhancing benefit to employees, worksite nutrition programs benefit business by preventing several costly nutrition-related health problems, enhancing employees' overall…