Employers can tip the scales with wellness programs
Photos public domain.com
By Jay Schukman
This is the time of year when people’s thoughts turn toward New Year’s resolutions. Year in and year out, the top resolution for most Americans is to lose weight.
As employers, we should do everything we can to support this goal. Not only is it the right thing to encourage healthy habits, but it makes sense for our own bottom line.
Schukman is the chief medical director for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia.
December 30, 2012 - 7:30 AM
I think it’s a great idea that people get healthier. I really do! So I feel bad about tearing into such a middle of the road piece.
One of the things that bothers me about this piece is it doesn’t emphasize why these types of programs are being pushed by employers. It’s being done to save the employers money which allows more profits. Healthy employees are simply a benefit.
The other thing that interests me is if the employers were truly interested in the health of their employees, are they paying those employees a living wage? If they’re not, the employees may not have time to exercise, cook decent meals, etc. because they’ll be rushing off to their second or third job. Are they paying the people enough so they can afford a gym membership or entry fees to marathons? Can their employees afford a decent bike? Do they have enough leisure time to go to the park?
Personally, I suspect (and freely admit I could be wrong) part of the reason we now have this obesity problem is because people can’t afford to take care of themselves due to decreased wages and increased work hours, etc.
That’s right, the evil employers are at fault for pushing for good things and for trying to reduce costs. After all, we all know that saving money is bad, making money is even worse, and that fact that people are obese has nothing to do with their own bad choices. It’s their bosses fault, the boss and McDonald’s that is.