South African innovation in addressing workplace wellness acknowledged at Davos

• Discovery and Vitality acknowledged as a global case study on wellness, and gold standard for incentivising healthy behaviours and outcomes by the Workplace Wellness Alliance - report released today by the World Economic Forum
  
• Sustainable health systems and role of workplace wellness programmes key themes at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland
  
• Vitality research shows the success of workplace wellness programmes in reducing healthcare costs over the long term
  

The Workplace Wellness Alliance, part of the World Economic Forum, today released a report at the Annual Meeting in Davos on the latest thinking on workplace wellness and metrics. The report is based on research and data from over two million employees from 25 companies across 125 countries. As one of the Leadership Members of the Alliance, Discovery is recognised in the report for its programme to incentivise healthy behaviours and outcomes and its global collaboration with international partners in China, the UK and the US.

Discovery CEO Adrian Gore facilitated a session on wellness in the workplace that included CEOs of major companies, health ministries, and representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and NGOs. The session aimed to connect workplace wellness to the broader discussion of human capital and competitiveness. Gore said: “Global health demands better prevention models. This is critical if we are to address the rapid rise in healthcare costs while at the same time maintain and increase health gains.” 

The theme of this year’s meeting is “resilient dynamism” – a concept that talks to how organisations can help rebuild global confidence and restore growth by showing strategic agility and risk resilience – and healthcare and wellness feature highly on the Davos agenda. Against the background of continuing economic uncertainty, the link between health and productivity is critical for global efforts to restore growth and build confidence.

Workplace wellness programmes are increasingly recognised as a means of reducing the impact of chronic diseases of lifestyle on individuals and organisations. Research reported in The Lancet last month indicates that a few risk factors – tobacco use, an unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, mental ill health and poor adherence to treatment – account for the majority of preventable chronic diseases. Recently published research by Vitality’s team showed that if physical inactivity, low fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and alcohol abuse, were lowered to their theoretical minimum, the average annual costs per working adult would be reduced by 18.4%. More information about the research is available here.

The benefit of workplace wellness programs has been shown to extend beyond risk factor reduction. Well designed programs also positively impact productivity, competitiveness and economic growth. This is relevant when one takes into account the staggering cost of healthcare for economies. In 2010, Americans spent $2.5 trillion on healthcare, equating to 19% of gross domestic product (GDP). In South Africa and the UK,  8% to 9% of GDP is spent on healthcare. An ageing population with higher health risks and associated higher healthcare costs is already placing pressure on economies around the world, including the US, where the debate currently centres around the budget deficit. Discovery believes that a stronger focus on prevention and health is one way of stemming the tide of chronic diseases and high healthcare costs.

“Workplace wellness programmes offer a long-term solution for organisations. Some organisations and programmes have made significant and measurable progress in improving the health of their workforce and their financial bottom line. What is critical now is collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. This requires a concerted effort and coordination by employers, governments and healthcare professionals to raise awareness and implement programmes to stem the rising tide of chronic diseases of lifestyle in the workplace,” Gore said.

Notes to the editor

Vitality provides continuous research support on various wellness and healthcare topics, ranging from the impact of wellness programmes on healthcare costs to the impact of a national discount programme for healthy food purchases and the role of workplace wellness programmes in improving public health.

More information about Vitality research is available on request.

About the Workplace Wellness Alliance

During the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2008, CEOs from 13 multinational corporations called on business leaders to strengthen action on workplace wellness. Since then, a core group of companies has continued to champion workplace wellness, spearheading a World Economic Forum community of thought leadership in this area. In 2010, the Workplace Wellness Alliance was launched and today, it counts over 100 members and focuses on both metrics and knowledge sharing.  At this year’s meeting, the Alliance published the report Making the Right Investment: Employee Health and the Power of Metrics. Drawing on data collected from 25 companies, 125 locations and two million employees, the report investigates the importance of workplace wellness as a key tenet of employee wellbeing, organisational resilience, sustainability and competitive advantage.

Find the report at http://www.weforum.org/reports/workplace-wellness-alliance-making-right-investment-employee-health-and-power-metrics