Consider the Facts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that companies will pay $1 for every $1.49-$4.91 they will get back for investing in employee wellness.

Employees who go to work sick not only risk infecting co-workers, but could be costing employers as much as $10 billion in productivity.
- T+D Magazine, April 2006.

 
Unscheduled absenteeism or "sick days" cost employers an average of $610 per employee every year.
- 2004 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, published in The Futurist, November/December 2005 .

A recent study of 10 health plans and 25 disease-management programs found that enrollees in such programs had fewer hospital admissions and emergency room visits and lower health-care costs overall.
- American Association of Health & Health Insurance Association of America.


In 2002, MEDSTAT of Ann Arbor, Mich., conducted a study sponsored by Johnson & Johnson on that company's employee health and wellness program. The study, which included 18,331 U.S.-based employees, showed an average savings of $225 per employee per year in medical costs and that Johnson & Johnson averaged a savings of $8.5 million annually four years after the program began.
- Occupational Health & Safety, April 2005.

Of 40.2 million working days lost by illness and injury, 13.4 million are from stress, anxiety and depression.
- World Congress, reported in The America 's Intelligence Wire, September 2005.

In California, physical inactivity, obesity and overweight employees cost the economy about $21.7 billion in 2000: lost productivity, $11.2 billion; medical care, $10.2 billion; and workers' compensation, $338 million.
- Chenoweth & Associates, Inc., reported in the San Diego Business Journal, April 10, 2006.

According to Gordian Health Solutions, and published the San Diego Business Journal (April 2005), a company with 9,500 could pay more than $55,000 per month in medical costs related to obesity.

According to a study released in 2005, more than half of Californians older than age 25 are overweight.
- San Diego Business Journal, April 10, 2006.

A study by Chenoweth & Associates, Inc. reports that obese and inactive employees, on average, lose about three weeks per year of productivity. This is 50 percent more time than the average U.S. worker's 14.2-day annual vacation leave.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 64.5% of Americans over the age of 25 are overweight and 30.9% are considered obese.

75% of employees believe that workers today have more on-the-job stress than workers from a generation ago.
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

40% of workers reported that their jobs are very stressful and 80% of workers feel on-the-job stress.
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

More than 25% of adults admit to not exercising.  Of adults who do exercise, 7 of 10 don't actually get enough.
- Health Fitness Corporation.

Between 1998 and 2003, the cost of health care per employee increased from 6.1% to 10.1%, or $3,817 to $6,215.
-R. Shurtz, Benefits Law Journal , 2005 .

Stress-related illness and dispirited employees cost organizations almost $200 billion dollars per year.
- Princeton Survey Research Association.