The Costs and Benefits of Promoting Workplace Wellness

Reduced Absenteeism, Improved Productivity and Turnover Rates

1. Pazmac Enterprizes Ltd in Langley, B.C has 70% of its staff of 30 participating weekly with personal trainers. Their average sick days is 0.1 and turnover is almost nil (Canadian Labour and Business Centre, November 2002).
2. A 1987 Fitness Canada Publication notes that if a fitness program prevents just one heart attack of a key staff member, that alone will pay for the cost of the program for the whole year (Sharratt, 1988).
3. Effective asthma management reduces days hospitalized by 77%. This affects workplace productivity whether an employer's health costs are publicly or privately insured (Pratt, 2001).
4. MDS Nordion's comprehensive workplace program helped to reduce absenteeism from 5.5 to four days annually and cut turnover to half the industry average (Lowe, 2002).
5. The Canadian Wheat Board has an annual sick rate of 3.8 days/year at a time when Statistics Canada was reporting the average to be 6.2 days as a result of their wellness program which is now over 20 years old (Davie, 2000).
6. Dofasco's comprehensive program has helped them to see lost time injury rates fall by 66% between 1991 and 2001(Canadian Labour and Business Centre, November 2002).
7. Workplace health initiatives helped American Express Canada see turnover rates drop to 23% between 1998 and 2000. The industry average is 40% (Canadian Labour and Business Centre, November 2002).
8. WCB premiums at Rideau Construction have fallen from $6.12/$1,000 of payroll to $5.00 since focusing on human resource management. Plus no employee has ever filed a claim with the board (DiGiacomo, 2002).

Promoting wellness in the workplace can help reduce benefits costs.

Facts and Stats to Make the Case for Workplace Health