Wellness: Arrival of the Fitness

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"I've had past jobs where you're lucky to get breaks," Caron says. "t's so much better here at USAA."

Employers nudging workers to be proactive about their health is a relatively recent phenomenon. While fitness centers have been a part of forward-thinking company campuses for more than a decade, it's only in the last few years that workplace wellness programs have left the corporate basements, sometimes literally.

Yet already, 30 percent of American employers offer a wellness program, according to a recent survey by research company Willis of Tennessee Inc.

USAA's Take Care of Your Health program began in 2003. The Sacramento office has won the 2005 and 2006 California Fit Business Award for companies with 300 to 999 employees. At a national level, the 23,000-strong firm won the 2006 C. Everett Koop National Health Award.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District started its Healthy Lifestyle program in 2005 in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. It won the 2006 state Fit Business Award in the 1,000-plus employee category.

These efforts have brought wellness programs out of the shadows, offering front-and-center fitness activities, soccer and softball teams, cycling and running clubs and free health-risk assessments. Discounts are provided to employees who regularly use fitness centers. USAA offers $350 annually to employees for fitness-related expenses.

Company representatives say that on-site wellness programs help the bottom line by lowering healthcare costs and increasing productivity due to fewer medical absences and more energy. A fit employee is a happy employee, the thinking goes, and a happy employee is a productive one.

"The focus of USAA is serving its members, and we do that by investing in our employees to keep them healthy and happy," says Dr. Peter Wald, USAA assistant vice president for wellness. "Don't smoke, be active, eat right and aid prevention through immunization and regular check-ups."

Data suggest that USAA wellness programs increase worker productivity and reduce absences due to sickness, notes Wald. Better productivity is gleaned from employees' answers to questions in the annual risk-appraisal form. And company records between 2002 and 2005 show a 23 percent drop in worker absences, which includes sick days and vacation time. Still, Wald admits it'll take one to three more years to chart Take Care's cost effectiveness.

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