Wellness Programming to Reduce Employee Stress and Related Costs Jeff Lynn and Joyan Urda Health Appraisal Data for 2013 (for 603 employees) examining Lifestyle Risk revealed: 31.3% were not meeting stress management guidelines 56.8% did not use stress reduction techniques 12.7% reported that stress had affected their health or well-being 4.3% reported feeling stress due to a fear of job loss 25.2% were in the “preparation” or “action” stage of readiness to change The Health Insurer provided the potential financial impact related to stress: In terms of health care costs to SRU, “Stress” was identified as one of the top 3 Lifestyle Risk Factors “Stress” was projected to cost SRU $132,583 in 2013 In addition to online health coaching available through the insurer, the wellness committee provided the following weekly programs related to stress reduction. Employees earned points toward premium reduction for participating. Yoga for employees only (no students) Tai Chi class (beginners welcome) Meditation s were sent to employees providing suggestions for stress relief Daily Steps to Less Stress class (a 6 week class offered after work) Summary of ProgramProgram Impact Slippery Rock University (SRU) is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. There are approximately 950 full time employees including faculty, staff, and administrators. The University is in a rural town in western Pennsylvania with about 4,000 year-round residents. SRU has about 8,500 students. Of the 950 employees, about 700 are eligible to participate in online wellness programs provided by a health insurance company (Highmark). By completing an online health appraisal and fulfilling obligations such as annual physicals and other wellness care, employees can earn a discount on their health insurance premiums. Four years ago, A wellness committee was established comprised of employees representing the various dimensions of wellness. The health insurer compiles data each year from the online health appraisal and reports to the wellness committee. The wellness committee uses information from the aggregated health appraisal to perform needs analyses. Based partly on the needs analyses, the wellness committee develops and implements programming for the employees. During 2014, there was organizational restructuring that consolidated or eliminated many jobs Department of Exercise & Rehabilitative Sciences, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA Lifestyle Risk Factors Change Not meeting stress management guidelines31.3% 26.3%-4.9% Did not use stress reduction techniques56.8%53.3%-6.1% Stress affected health or well-being12.7%12.3%-3.9% Feeling stress due to a fear of job loss4.3%6.8%+57.7% Projected Cost Change Stress$132,583$111,313$21,270 Participants in stress reduction related wellness programs reported that they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their experience and felt stress reduction as a result of participation. As displayed in the graph above, there was an increase in the number (and percent) of employees either preparing to change their behaviors related to stress reduction or actively changing these behaviors. Importantly, the “preparation” stage includes people who are trying the new behavior, but might not be consistently engaging in it. The wellness programming at work provided the opportunity for these employees to begin the new behaviors was a year of job insecurity for many employees due to changes within the organization. This fact was manifest in the increased percentage of employees feeling stress due to a fear of job loss. Regardless, all of the stress reduction behaviors improved as noted in the table above. Based on the changes in lifestyle risks and behaviors related to stress, the health insurer projected an estimated cost avoidance of $21,270. Based on the present analyses, it is not possible to know whether the programming was the reason for the behavior changes and estimated cost avoidance, but the data reported here suggest that it likely had a positive impact. Organization: Slippery Rock University (SRU) has 950 employees, of whom, 700 are eligible to participate in online wellness programs provided by a health insurer. This program includes an annual wellness appraisal. There is also an SRU wellness committee comprised of employees that designs and offers wellness initiatives. Summary of the Primary Program: The annual health appraisal revealed that stress was a major problem at SRU, so the wellness committee focused on programming intended to reduce stress. Offerings included yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, “Daily Steps to Less Stress” class, online health coaching, and stress reduction education in the form of s and newsletters. Explanation of the Evaluation Plan: In addition to individual program satisfaction surveys, the online health appraisal responses related to stress were compared for the pre (2013) and post (2014) intervention periods. Summary of the Program Impact: 603 employees completed both the pre and post appraisals. The incidence of stress as a lifestyle risk factor was reduced from 31% of employees to 26%, and the reported use of stress reduction techniques increased by 6.1%. The associated estimated cost avoidance related to these changes was $21,270. The incidence of employees who were “at risk for emotional crisis” declined by 26.9%. Abstract Organization Evaluation Plan According to the health appraisal data from 2013 and 2014, the following were compared: Stage of change for stress related behaviors Lifestyle Risk Potential cost related to the Lifestyle Risk Factor (stress) Participation and satisfaction data were collected for each of the weekly programs offered. Readiness to Change Stress Related behaviors Summary of Impact