keyboard_backspace Introduction to Wellness Program

Introduction to Wellness Program

Introduction to Wellness Program

For most Americans, working full time consumes a large chunk of the day. According to CNN, the average full time employee works 47 hours per week or 9.4 hours a day.


This leaves very little time for other activities like taking care of children, household activities, leisure activities, and sleep. The average American is getting 6.8 hours of sleep per night, which is 1.2 hours under the recommended amount of sleep you should be getting. Sleep has a direct correlation with health as occupational stress has shown to lead to the following:

  • Heart disease
  • Ulcers
  • Some cancers
  • Allergies
  • Migrain
  • Back Problems
  • Depression
  • Increased Frequency of Colds and Flu

WhyFit makes it effortless to find, put in place and manage wellness initiatives


Moral of the story is that overall health depends on the combination of proper sleep, nutrition, and physical activity; it is hard for full-time employees to find the time to monitor and to implement these things in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, implementation of workplace health can significantly help improve quality of life and lower the risk of chronic disease of both U.S. employees and employers. Lack of sleep, physical activity, and improper nutrition directly contribute to increased rates of obesity and chronic illnesses. This, in turn, can result in loss of productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, rise in healthcare costs, and overall poor health.


Productivity, absenteeism, and presenteeism: vital elements which need to be closely monitored in the workplace. All three have different meanings while working together in a chain reaction with one promoting another and each outcome affecting the next. According to the CDC,


“The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 was $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in decreased productivity. Decreased productivity includes costs associated with people being absent from work, being less productive while at work, or not being able to work at all because of diabetes”

Don’t forget, this fact is based on the outcome of only diabetes, which is one of many chronic illnesses stemming from lack of physical activity, sleep, and poor nutrition. Including diabetes:

  • Stroke
  • Cancer
  • Heart disease
  • Obesity
  • Arthritis

are all the the most costly, common, and avoidable health complications. They are also the conditions that are most susceptible to the rise in health care costs. Implementation of a corporate health program will help educate both you and your employees on the many aspects of wellness in hopes to increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and presenteeism, while improving overall health and lowering costs of medical claims simultaneously.

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