Employee health and wellness programs are gaining popularity with employers to help mitigate the stress of their employees. We live in an “always on” business climate where people have the ability to work wherever and whenever. This can affect not only their work, but their health as well. With easy access to email, social media, and any information we want, workers everywhere are failing to turn their brains off from work at the expense of their own health.

The Health of Employees

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “health” as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness. In the workplace, stress is a primary driver of poor health and wellness. According to a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association, stress costs businesses more than $300 billion per year from accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, and direct medical, legal, and insurance costs. But it’s not only the cost to employers, it’s the cost of quality and longevity of life. Newer generations of workers are starting to take notice, and businesses everywhere are starting to accommodate their needs.

Employee wellness programs are not new, but they are starting to gain more traction. They’re moving toward becoming an expected employee benefit.

So, what if you are trying to compete for those same workers at a time when unemployment rates are at historic lows? Can you give yourself a leg up by offering a wellness program? Do you have the resources to fund for such a program? Yes.

Why Offer a Wellness Program for Your Employees?

Reasons for offering a wellness program at your business are include:

• positive return on your investment
• healthier employees
• fewer sick days, and less absenteeism at work
• increased employee retention
• decreased healthcare costs
• happier, more productive employees

Additionally, there are benefits to including oral wellness in your program:

• Oral health and overall health are highly connected.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than $6 billion of productivity is lost each year because people miss work to treat dental issues.
• 1 in 5 American adults missed work in 2016 due to oral health concerns.

Delta Dental Can Help

Consider having your staff take an OHRA, or Oral Health Risk Assessment, like this one from our website. It can help pinpoint areas for health, nutrition, and wellness improvement in your workplace. After completing the 3-minute assessment, you’ll be given links to learn about gum disease, tooth decay, and oral cancer, how to reduce your risk for all three, and next steps to improve or maintain oral health.

Try taking actionable and tangible steps toward true wellness, health, and nutrition. Most people have no idea how much sugar is in their food and how that can impact their teeth, or how much stress they bring to work each day. To learn more about our dental plans for your business, click here. You can also reach out to our sales team to learn more about available tools and resources for your wellness program, such as our wellness toolkit including flyers, posters, intranet postings, and email messages for your company.