BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina

State of Preventive Health 2008

For the 2008 State of Preventive Health Summit we wanted to know how employees from across the state – working for companies big and small – view wellness in the workplace. Through our original research we asked employees what it takes to get them motivated to participate, what incentives work, how programs impact loyalty to their employer and in general, what is most effective to help make behavior and lifestyle changes.

Healthy on the Job

As a follow-up to last year’s research with employers, this year we went straight to the source. So we surveyed employees about their attitudes and actions regarding workplace wellness programs. We found that many of the things that employees want are easy to do and don’t cost a lot of money. Check out the Key Findings here.

Download the full report here.

Pillars of workplace wellness

Representatives from three North Carolina employers – Durham County, Progress Energy and Inmar – presented about the experiences they’ve had with starting and managing their current workplace wellness programs. Below you can download some of their best practices and lessons learned.

• Durham County creates a culture of wellness for its employees by providing various services including an on-site clinic, a financial incentive for completing a health risk assessment, on-site health and disease management classes and an extra half-hour at lunch to exercise. Learn more about Durham County.

• Inmar uses incentives and rewards to encourage its employees to practice workplace wellness. They educate employees on insurance claims and how they drive insurance costs, as well as how their health (or lack of good health) and medical care buying decisions contribute to their medical care costs. Learn more about Inmar.

• Progress Energy enlists support from its senior leadership team for workplace wellness initiatives. The senior leadership team receives updates throughout the year on key workplace wellness milestones, and some are identified as champions to develop creative ways to engage employees in workplace wellness activities. Learn more about Progress Energy.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina offers several wellness initiatives to improve the collective health of its employees. We focus our wellness programs on taking action, the environment in which our employees work and each employee’s awareness of their health. We offer everything from healthy vending machine options to financial incentives that encourage behavior change. Learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Click here for more workplace wellness tips.

Nicholas Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Christakis' current work is principally focused on health and social networks. This work takes seriously the contention that because people are inter-connected, their health is inter-connected. Want to hear more from our keynote speaker? Check out his Web site to find his latest published work on the spread of obesity and the collective dynamics of smoking.