Johnson & Johnson's Health and Wellness Program
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THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMSince its
inception, J&J had laid special emphasis on providing proper care to its
employees (Refer Exhibit III). The company had mentioned its
responsibilities towards employees in its credo (Refer Exhibit IV). J&J
hired medical professionals who provided health services to employees, their
spouses and children.
The company established medical clinics at their
plants and offices, where experts performed medical evaluations and
offered vaccination facilities. They also offered advice on subjects
like nutrition, family planning, dysentery prevention and smoking
cessation. J&J's medical staff also maintained a cafeteria at some of
the company's plants to ensure safe and nutritious meals for its
employees.
As a part of its HWP, J&J conducted a health-risk assessment of its
employees. The assessment carried out by J&J revealed that its employees
were prone to risks in three areas, namely, high cholesterol,
hypertension and other problems related to a sedentary work life. As a
first step in its HWP, the company started offering regular counseling
and exercise programs for its employees. |
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This helped the employees to keep their cholesterol
levels and hypertension under check and also control their weight. The final
data obtained from the health-risk assessment enabled the health care group
to tailor the HWP according to the needs of its employees. In the first year of its introduction, only 26% of J&J's employees opted for
health-risk assessment.
Explaining the reason for the poor response, Patricia Flynn (Flynn),
Vice-President, J&J's Health Care System, said[23] , “People think they are fit
and might not want to bother with an assessment.” To encourage more
employees to opt for health appraisal, J&J offered $500 discount on their
medical insurance costs. This plan worked well and by 1999, employee
participation increased to 93%.
Elaborating on it, Jennifer Bruno (Bruno), Director, Health and Wellness
Business Planning, J&J said [24], “A large part of how we've been able to
achieve this success is by giving incentives to employees on the completion
of a health risk profile. We offer employees a $500 discount on their
medical insurance costs if they are willing to take the health profile, and
it's worked very well.
We saw participation rates for completion of the health profile jump from
less than 26% without incentive, to over 93% with it. We are confident that
once employees know what their risks are, then we can make a positive impact
on their health.” Later, the health-risk assessment was conducted in a
secretive manner by a third-party administrator to maintain the employees'privacy, as it was considered to be one of the main reasons for the
non-participation of employees.
Employees also expressed fears that the assessment results might be used by
the top management while making retrenchment decisions. Flynn explained[25] ,
“The information gathered is only shown in aggregate to management, while
the employees get individual reports on their risk status. Employees can
also check an optional box on the assessment to be contacted with
information regarding any disease they are at risk for.
So many of them checked the box the first year that tells me their privacy
fears were alleviated.” J&J's HWP included the employee assistance program,
disability management program, the ergonomics injury prevention program and
the Safe Fleet Program.
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (EAP)
ERGONOMICS INJURY PREVENTION PROGRAM
THE BENEFITS REAPED
TABLE III - J&J HEALTHY PEOPLE 2005 TARGETS
EXHIBIT I - CHAA'S CRITERIA AND POINT WEIGHTING OVERVIEW
EXHIBIT II - BENEFITS OF HWP REAPED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
EXHIBIT V - THE 16-POINT SAFE FLEET PROGRAM
ADDITIONAL READINGS AND REFERENCES
[23]
In an article titled “Risk assessment pays off at Johnson & Johnson,” in
Workforce Magazine dated December 2002.
[24]
In an article titled “Understanding the value of health promotion for health
plans,” posted on www.bcbs.com.
[25]
In an article titled “Risk assessment pays off at Johnson & Johnson,” in
Workforce Magazine dated December 2002.
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