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Do workplace wellness programs increase safety? According to new research out of Colorado, the answer appears to be yes.

Business and Legal Resources (BLR) reports on an “article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine described a large study conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health.”

According to the study, the goal was “to assess small business adoption and need for a worksite wellness program in a longitudinal study of health risks, productivity, workers' compensation rates, and claims costs.”

BLR states: “The 260 small businesses that participated in the program represented 6,507 employees. Nearly half of those eligible took the health risk assessment. Results showed that a third of participants were overweight, and a quarter was obese. A fifth reported depression, and about the same number were dealing with chronic fatigue.”

And the results, as documented in the study, are heartening:

• “This is the first field-based study that examines a broad-scale implementation of a worksite wellness program in a large number of small businesses. We have demonstrated that Colorado small businesses are prepared to adopt worksite wellness programs, if the program is provided free of charge and are given company-specific advice in program design and execution. The cohort's self-reported health risks and disease rates suggest that there are opportunities to address important modifiable health risks in the small business workforce.”
• “We found that small businesses with fewer than 500 employees were willing and able to adopt a worksite wellness program. Despite the many potential barriers to adoption of health promotion programs that have been reported in the literature for small businesses, even the smallest companies and their employees—across many industrial sectors—demonstrated the ability and willingness to participate, when provided with guidance and access to resources.”
• “Our data strongly support the need for effective interventions to address modifiable health risks among people who work in small businesses.”
• “In conclusion, we have demonstrated that small businesses can overcome barriers to adoption of worksite wellness programs. When such programs are offered to their employees, small business workers are willing to complete online HRAs at rates that are within the range seen in larger corporations. Importantly, the modifiable health risks detected in the small business workforce are substantial and warrant public health consideration.”