A Review of Employee Health and Wellness Programs at Aetna Inc. and Its Effect on Productivity

A Review of Employee Health and Wellness Programs at Aetna Inc. and its

Effect on Productivity

Introduction

        One of the biggest concerns for businesses today is reducing costs to maintain a competitive advantage.  With the rising cost of health care and a rapidly aging workforce, its no surprise that many businesses are beginning to focus on the health and well being of their employees.  What may have begun as simply a way to cut back long-term health care costs has recently been proven to also have the benefit of increasing employee productivity and performance.  Employee health and wellness programs can range from preventative health care and early diagnosis to promoting financial wellness and stress management, and the impact these programs have had on organizational performance has been positive.  Employees with health risks such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol levels and poor stress management skills have a higher rate of absenteeism and presenteeism (Cummings & Worley, 2015, p. 513).  Likewise, employees who experience financial stress are often less effective at their jobs and exhibit low morale (Gilfedder, 2014).  The bottom line is healthy employees cost less and perform better.  No business understands this concept better than Aetna Healthcare Inc.  Aetna, as one of the largest healthcare providers in the United States, is in a position to be keenly aware of rising health care costs and has been a pioneer in implementing a series of employee health and wellness programs designed to reduce these costs and maximize performance.  Aetna supports the health and productivity of its employees through a variety of programs and incentives such as the online self-directed health risk assessment Simple Steps to a Healthier Life, Health Savings Account (HSA) $500 incentive program, health and fitness reimbursement program, the stress management program Mindfulness at Work and Viniyoga Stress Reduction, and Financial Wellness coaching.

Simple Steps Program

        Aetna currently employs more than 32,000 people, 76% female and 24% male, with the majority (82%) receiving health benefits through Aetna’s own health care plans (Integrated Benefits Institute, 2011).  All employees are offered access to Simple Steps to a Healthier Life, a self-directed online program that begins with a health risk assessment.  Once the assessment is made, the employee will be given a plan of action that covers a variety of health issues such as stress, fitness, weight management, nutrition, depression, tobacco cessation and sleep management (IBI, 2011).  Employees can log in from anywhere and set up a personal dashboard of relevant health initiatives that will promote healthier nutrition choices, healthier lifestyle shifts, and assist with setting attainable short-term goals.  In addition, the Simple Steps program offers the resources needed for educating its employees about living with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and hypertension.  The main objective is to keep low-risk employees healthy and improve the health of high-risk employees for maximum health cost savings and employee performance (IBI, 2011).  Aetna believes in empowering their employees through self-reporting measurements so that employees can make a connection between their health and productivity levels.  Absenteeism, the act of missing work due to illness, and presenteeism, an employee’s impaired work performance due to an illness, both contributes to a loss of productivity (Chen et al., 2014).  Aetna relies on the self-reports of its employees to collect data on both absenteeism and presenteeism as a measurement for the effectiveness of its health and wellness programs (IBI, 2011).  This provides participants with the awareness of how their health impacts their performance at work.  It also allows employees to feel validated and engaged by taking an active role in both their health and work contributions.