Health and Wellness Value Creation for Human Resource Professionals

Healthcare costs in the United States have been increasing in recent years. The increase in healthcare costs and the lack of affordable health insurance affects many individuals and organizations. Human Resources (HR) has started to take strategic steps to lessen the affect of high healthcare costs to the organization. Creating a culture of wellness at work and implementing workplace wellness programs, allows HR to support individual efforts towards a healthy lifestyle. By proving why organizations should invest in their most valuable asset, their employees, HR strengthens their position as a strategic partner. This paper addresses the outcomes from successful workplace wellness programs. In order for HR to meet departmental and organizational goals from wellness programs, they must gain support from upper management, encourage employees to participate, mold the organization’s culture, and measure the outcomes of the wellness initiatives; doing so will prove wellness programs are not an expense, instead they are an investment in human capital and create a return on investment (ROI) and a return on value (ROV) for the organization. Investing in human capital can position the company above others in the marketplace and helps insure the long term stability and success of an organization.