Wellness Programs
Workplace problems such as absenteeism and injuries on the job are often correlated with employee health and safety issues and lead to increased insurance costs. Because lifestyle choices such as smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, not wearing safety equipment, and not exercising are responsible for 50% to 80% of health care expenditures, it isn’t surprising that companies have devised a number of programs to keep employees healthy.
These programs, known as wellness programs, are typically categorized as lifestyle programs, such as memberships in fitness clubs, or disease management, including prevention and management of chronic illness. The disease management programs provide the most short-term return-on-investment (ROI) but the lifestyle management programs affect employee overall well-being and that is important in the long term.
Another criticism relates to concerns of discrimination and privacy when employees are required to participate in health assessments. Only legally permissible information should be shared with employers. An employer who uses information from a health screening in a way that labels a person as disabled and negatively impacts his job opportunities may be violating the ADA.