Health and Productivity Management Center

Roundtable Discussion–Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Focus on Productivity

To address the issue of the health of human capital and its impact on business, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), with a grant from Pfizer Inc, convened a Roundtable on Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Focus on Productivity in Washington, DC on March 24-25, 2003. A small group of leaders from key sectors of business and health -- including corporations, academia, government, labor organizations, health insurers, pharmaceutical industry and health benefits groups attended. The specific aims of the Roundtable were to:

• Discuss and identify consensus statements on the value and impact of health enhancement activities on employee productivity, and

• Develop an agenda to further research and collaborative studies on health and wellness in the workplace and their impact on business, health care providers and insurers.

The participants addressed three important questions: (1) What specific elements should be used to describe the total economic impact of health that demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) and compelling business case for employers to invest in health-related productivity initiatives?, (2) What are the tools and resources that can be mobilized to implement health related productivity innovations?, (3) What specific actions could be taken to most effectively advance the field of wellness and health-related productivity in the workplace?

It was intended for the Roundtable to further the field of knowledge and demonstrate to businesses and employees the benefits of improving the health of employees through workplace health prevention and safety programs. Better understanding of the linkage between health andproductivity has the potential to affect a number of employer and health insurer decisions relevant to the health and wellness of employees, such as:

• The design of health care systems to improve health status, prevention practices and optimal management of diseases within the workplace, and

• The impact of preventive care benefit additions and enhanced disease management strategies on worker health and productivity.

Deliberations from the Roundtable will result in:

• Development of consensus statements on health and wellness in the workplace and the impact on productivity in the United States and the relationship of health and productivity to national economic issues.

• Development of an agenda for further research and collaborative study in the field.

• Compilation of the proceedings into a summary document for broad distribution including, but not limited to, business, labor organizations, health insurers, health care professionals in occupational and environmental health and preventive medicine (available for distribution on August 15, 2003).

• Presentations of the meeting and consensus statements at major meetings focusing on occupational and environmental health and health and productivity (i.e. SOTAC or AOHC).

For the full report on the Roundtable, click here.