Are we there yet? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are just about to the end of the 2014-15 flu season!

We all know that this flu season was an interesting one. With the circulating strains a bit different from that in the virus, we saw a pretty active flu season. Check out the major takeaways from this past flu season.

In short, yes. Corporate wellness can be your competitive advantage.

Allow us to explain why. But first, it’s important to understand the goals of a corporate wellness program. Most programs have some combination of these goals: 

• Increase productivity and efficiency of work
• Improve employee morale and engagement
• Develop a more positive company culture
• Cut costs on insurance and employee healthcare packages
  

There are so many health conditions and diseases to worry about these days that the names can get lost in the shuffle. We want to point out one you may or may not have heard of. It’s called metabolic syndrome. This health condition is different than others because you absolutely have the power to rid yourself and your workplace of it.

So you might be asking, what exactly is metabolic syndrome?

The syndrome is basically a cluster of conditions that—when found together—greatly increase your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The conditions are increased blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.

The definition of health has evolved in the somewhat recent history. In order to understand what kind of health you’re striving for, it’s important to define what health means in your world.

Here at TotalWellness, we believe everyone is healthy. Yes, everyone. Each person has some healthy behavior in his or her life. We want to help your employees find that behavior and build more just like it.

To see how we’ve come to this conclusion, check out the evolution of health. From “an absence of disease” to a formal WHO definition, health has definitely developed into a more inclusive and more customizable goal. Click on the image below to view a larger version of this infographic:

A recent analysis from Employee Benefits News (EBN) suggests that the timing of your corporate wellness program doesn’t necessarily align with open enrollment. To truly maximize engagement, this is definitely something that needs to be considered.

You’ve heard the phrase timing is everything. In this case, that just might be true. If you put together an excellent wellness program with awesome promotion, but your workforce is simply focused on something else, you won’t make any progress.

Let’s be honest, we’re all a little fed up with being plugged in all the time. There is a constant need to be connected to email, social media, smart phones, laptops, tablets…the list goes on and on. We use technology in all aspects of life, but a major part of that is in the workplace.

The truth is, being constantly connected to technology doesn’t hold many health benefits. In fact, being plugged in all the time can have some negative health outcomes including:

So you’ve heard all the recent talk about cholesterol, but what does it really mean? Cholesterol can affect your health on a number of levels, but it’s important to learn what cholesterol is, how it affects your body, and what you can do about it. Cholesterol can help to predict the health of your employees, and is a signifier of a lot of potential health problems, so allow us to explain.

Dear Employees Everywhere,

Hi. We’re TotalWellness. And we want you to know that you are just fine.

A lot of the talk about health these days—especially in the workplace—has become scary and overwhelming.  You’re constantly bombarded with messages telling you that:

With the digital world slowly taking over our lives, it’s about time biometric screenings got on board. As with any event that deals with private health information, it’s important to make the necessary security measures, which puts us a little behind the times. But, watch out world—TotalWellness has tablets!

We’ve recently introduced the option of collecting data digitally at our onsite screening events. To ease any concern that might come with this new option, we’re here to lay out the details of tablet data collection at biometric screening events.

It’s no secret that employee wellness programs have become a controversial topic as of late. While over 90% of larger employers have wellness programs, there have been numerous reports that companies are not achieving success, which has sparked an ongoing debate over the effectiveness of wellness programs.

With all of this negativity circling the workplace wellness field, it may seem that wellness programs are doomed to fail. Well the truth is, there are successful programs out there. These programs focus on personal wellness goals of each team member, don’t use the “wellness or else” model and work everyday to build a healthy organizational culture.