Your business is likely focused on something other than health, so why should you implement disease management programs in your office? Well, for instance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that more than 29 million adults have type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the American Heart Association noted 1 in 3 adults suffers from high blood pressure. These are just two of many chronic diseases and conditions that benefit from careful management. Here’s how to improve your disease management offerings at work.
To keep reading, click here: Disease Management Programs in Your Office
The warning that forcing employees to participate in wellness programs may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act is much appreciated. However, there are other potential pitfalls, too. Providing large incentives for participating — the “carrot” rather than the “stick” — such as discounts on the employee portion of employer-furnished insurance programs, can be a violation, too, especially if individual health issues prevent some from participating. Also, care must be taken to ensure that participants’ privacy rights are protected, particularly the privacy of medical or genetic information. As always, any proposed program should be carefully vetted by a lawyer experience in labor and employment law. There is also a lot of helpful, relevant, information on the EEOC’s public website, eeoc.gov.
I meant to say “the employee portion of the premium for…” in my comment above. Sorry. 🙁
I probably should note that there are new wellness program guidelines as of like, last week. I wrote this several months ago.
such as discounts on the employee portion of employer-furnished insurance programs
I hate that so much. Every year, I waste medical resources by getting a physical I do not need and I suffer (I have a tendency to pass out) through giving a blood sample just to get a $180 a year reduction in my portion of the health insurance premium. It’s worth it to me because $180 is a lot of money, but man, what a stupid waste of time and money for the overall system.
There are subtler ways to annoy your employees with the best of intentions, too. My employer gave everyone in the office a FitBit. No pressure to do anything with it, thankfully, but they were utterly unaware of the history of security and privacy issued with that sort of device in general and that company in particular. I really don’t want some company that has no obligation to protect my privacy selling my medical data to advertisers who are more likely to be selling snake oil than medicine, without giving me a cut.
If you want to reduce stress and increase wellness, allow employees to take sick time and stop bullying by management.
Woah, Jeanne, it sounds like you are using logic! We don’t need any of that fancy thinking. We’re Human Resources.
🙂