Page 264 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

Employee Well-Being C251

The company president, an avid runner and tennis player, took
quickly to Kim’s proposal for an employer-supported wellness initia-
tive. Kim told her that the program did require some investment and
commitment from senior leadership, but it would pay many dividends,
including a reduction in claims for incidences that could be prevented
or lessened with changes in lifestyle.
The early results are beyond Kim’s expectations: more employees
participating in the wellness programs than hoped for, including a
very successful on-site health fair. The company now has plans to
expand its diabetes and cardio well-care programs, has partnered with
a local fitness consultant to provide some on-site classes, and has dra-
matically changed the cafeteria menu—more salads and, yes, fewer
chili dogs. It’s too early to see if claim activity will be significantly
impacted, but the initial results are promising.

: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF BENEFITS IN THE
ENGAGEMENT EQUATION

Ten or fifteen years ago, many who studied and wrote about em-
ployee engagement focused very little attention on the role of em-
ployee benefits (health insurance, pensions, and the like) as an
engagement driver. Most placed far more emphasis on the ongoing
daily feeling that an employee has about her or his work experience
or quality of supervision. The conventional wisdom seemed to be
that employee benefits were not necessary and essential for employee
engagement in the same way as quality of leadership or good team-
work was.
The prevailing opinion seemed to be that employee benefits were
really important at two times in the life of an employee: when the em-
ployee changed jobs (“How do my benefits at my new employer compare
with those of my old company?”) and when there was a need to use the
benefits (“My son just broke his four front teeth; what are my dental
benefits?” or “I’m retiring soon; what’s the state of my pension?”). In