The Healthiest Company Index

Abstract

The Healthiest Company Index provided useful baseline data to support employers' efforts to develop and implement effective and impactful health promotion programs.

Implementation of a National Workplace Wellness Program for Health Workers in Botswana

“…Data from 2009 indicate that workplace wellness programs were offered by 92% of companies in the United States that had 200 or more employees. 16 Although there is a large body of literature on health promotion activities in high-income countries, workplace health promotion programs in Africa have been reported less freqeuentlly, 13 , 19 , 20 particularly in health care settings. 21 Much of what is known about employee wellness programs in less developed counties is provided by the Healthy Company Index, which was developed by a large health insurer in South Africa to promote healthy lifestyles among insurees 19 , 22 – 24 The healthy company index, which was started in 1990, provides data on 151 companies in South Africa.…”

Corporate Health and Wellness and the Financial Bottom Line

“…Discovery's HCI is an initiative to encourage South African companies to adopt workplace health and wellness programmes. 5 The campaign aims to measure and promote workforce wellness in South Africa, by gaining a better understanding of the following aspects: the burden of disease and risk factors, including the impact of diet, smoking, and sedentary lifestyles; the link between employee motivation and health; how effective health and wellness programs are in getting employees engaged in their health and wellness; how the performance of companies compare that have workforce health and wellness programs through benchmarking; and whether there is financial justification for companies to implement health and wellness programs. …”

“…Patel et al 5 provide a detailed account of the campaign, including the methods used, the employer and employee survey, the list of participants, and a summary of the responses. The survey questionnaire is available on the HCI home page.…”

“…Patel et al 5 states that the scope of employee wellness programs in South Africa has often been limited to training in occupational safety, employee assistance and awareness, and management of HIV/AIDS and hence are not as wide reaching as they could be in terms of coverage and prevalence in the workplace. There is limited empirical research available on South African companies with employee wellness programs, 20 – 22 and more research is required in order to justify and promote employee wellness programs.…”

“…South African companies included in this research project are selected from the Healthy Company Index (HCI), based on the research completed by Patel et al 5 Discovery invites companies to participate in the survey on a voluntary basis. Companies are then classified according to whether they are eligible for awards.…”