9 Reasons School Wellness Programs Are Smart Choice

School wellness programs are a great way to help school children grow into healthy adults. Not only do they provide an environment that encourages healthier living, but school wellness programs can also be used as a tool for students and teachers alike. We have listed 9 reasons school wellness programs will benefit your school and its students.

Why is School Wellness Program Beneficial? 

There are 3.7 million people who work in schools. Schools are the largest employer in the United States. The federal government only has 2.7 million employees. Schools are like other workplaces and they need wellness programs for many reasons.

But schools have some special challenges that make them good to offer school wellness programs. Just like any other place, schools need help in lowering healthcare costs of employee and keeping employees healthy.

School employees come from different backgrounds. Some people are of a different race and some live in a different place. A teacher or school staff can be found in every corner and county of the United States. Some school districts are small and they only have 50 employees. Other schools have over 1 million students and they serve them. The New York City School District has over 1 million students.

School employees need to go to the doctor just like other people. Schools have to control how much money they spend on health care for their employees. For the most part, school employees use about the same amount of healthcare as other employees. They also have average health risks. This chart tells us that people who work in the education system are about as likely to be obese as everyone else.

Educators have lower obesity than public administrators and even healthcare workers.

School workers have average health risks and healthcare costs. They should offer school wellness programs because of this fact. Schools are the best places to have wellness programs. Schools have lots of people.

A list of reasons why wellness programs at schools are good business ideas has been made. There are 9 important reasons.

1. Absenteeism Costs Schools More 

Surveys show that one of every four teachers misses 10 or more days of school per year. Schools have some of the highest rates of absenteeism in any workplace. This is a direct cost to every employer.

People in the United States spend 2.7% of their salary on workers who are not at work. The cost to governments and universities is over 3% of salaries. Very large companies have even higher rates.

Recent surveys show the various reasons why employees are absent from work.

When do you look at all these reasons for absenteeism? You can think about which of these reasons could be changed by a wellness program. It’s sad that some people might not come to work because they are sick. But sickness is sometimes caused by diseases or conditions that can be stopped by healthy living habits. The same is true for diseases and conditions of family members. If people go to school, they will be healthy and their mood will improve.

Studies have found that when employers make wellness programs available, absenteeism goes down. There are over 50 studies. This happens for many different reasons – like people feeling better because of the wellness program or the employer’s knowledge about how to look after employees’ health improvement over time.

• People who take care of their health don’t get sick often and they don’t miss work.
• Employees who control their stress are less likely to be absent from work.
• For every 10 employees with healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels, there are 2.4 fewer sick days than for those with unhealthy levels.
• Employees who are not overweight or obese have lower absenteeism rates.

2. Need to Watch Their Finances 

Most schools get their money from taxes. Only about 10% of schools are private and even some of those schools get tax dollars. All public schools cost money to run, not make money.

Schools are special places. They do not sell things to make money but instead educate people. This is why they rely on the public for funding so they can have enough money to function.

Schools are careful with their accounting and budgeting. They don’t do projects that haven’t been tested or they’re not sure about. Unlike workplaces, schools rarely go bankrupt. There are only two school districts that have gone bankrupt in the past 65 years.

The public needs to vote to issue school bonds or the state legislature will continue funding schools. Schools get money from the government. They want to make sure they spend their money in a smart way and not waste it.

Schools need to be careful about spending too much money. They also need to keep the things they buy to make sure the schools are working. Schools want a good return on their investments so that it is worth spending money on them. This also encourages them to only buy things from people who offer a performance guarantee.

This is why wellness programs in schools are a good idea. Good school-based wellness programs can have a direct impact on the following: lower absenteeism, better health and productivity, and lower medical costs.

3. School Employees Are Like Family

Even though there are more than 90,000 schools in the United States, they each have a small number of people. In school, we work together and know each other. And we have good wellness programs. They are better than the ones in bigger businesses.

Because schools are like small businesses, they are good places for wellness programs. There is one problem, though – most schools only have two types of employees: the faculty and the staff members. Sometimes different people take part in wellness programs.

Staff usually work in other jobs. They might do things like being secretaries or assistants or serve food. There are differences in what they do and how much money they make. This is especially true at colleges and universities.

Staff is more likely to take part in a wellness program. They often include their spouses or partners. It is more likely to improve their health risks and healthcare costs.

In some universities, it is difficult to get faculty to take part in wellness programs. Some professors might think they already know enough and that their lifestyle is healthy even though it is not.

Faculty and staff wellness programs work well because you see them every day. It is like a family.

4. Schools Have Great Fitness and Healthy Eating Facilities

Traditional well-being programs help employees adopt and maintain healthy behaviors. They can prevent chronic diseases. Usually, these programs include physical activity, a healthy diet, and tobacco avoidance. These three behaviors should be the core of most wellness programs.

More than 70% of all strokes, heart attacks, cancers, and type II diabetes are related to what we eat. If you don’t exercise or smoke cigarettes, you are more likely to get one of these diseases.

Schools have a lot of tools that can help us to keep doing things that are good for our bodies. Every high school and junior high has a gymnasium, sports courts, outdoor and indoor tracks, exercise equipment, and weight training equipment. Most schools have libraries. You can use them if you are a student, school employee, or the public.

Unlike most places, schools have things you can use to make your body healthy. They are good for exercise and making your weight go down.

Most schools have a cafeteria and vending machines. Schools can make healthy food. It takes work, but it can be done. School employees often eat food from their school.

Once the food service people are on board with your wellness program they will offer more healthy food options. School wellness programs are a good place to create a health-promoting environment. If you work at a school that has an employee wellness program, you should be able to do physical activity and eat healthy foods.

5. Schools Do Great Wellness Training and Communication

Schools are run by professionals who teach you concepts, ideas, and life skills. One way to learn is to watch teachers teach. By watching them, you can learn.

Every school has a lot of training. There is in-service training, meetings at the school and district level, summer training, and strong education programs for teachers. Compared to other worksites, schools spend a lot of time and money teaching and training their employees. They do this because education is important.

Schools have programs that tell kids about their bodies and how to take care of them. They teach the basics.

Schools with effective wellness programs offer wellness-related training as a part of their mandatory meetings. This does take a commitment from district leadership, but if they are serious about helping employees, there are meetings scheduled for this.

Some schools will have a section that talks about wellness and different challenges. These can be competitions between different schools and they are fun to read.

6. School-based Wellness Programs Have Great Leadership

For a school wellness program to be successful, it is important for the superintendent’s office to support the program. All workplaces have HR professionals, benefits committees, and ministers.

But schools have more support for wellness. They have teachers who are good at physical education, nutrition teachers, nurses, health educators, and food service workers.

Today’s physical activity instructors are not just playing with balls in the playground. They have training on healthy habits. Universities and colleges that train PE teachers have changed their curriculum to include healthy habits and how to live well.

Physical education in schools is most effective when students form lifelong habits of fitness. Every worksite wellness committee should have the same physical education instructors. They are champions. When you combine them with other teachers, they make a support staff that is very strong.

Schools need to have people in their wellness committee with great ideas and experience. People who know how to make a wellness program fun and effective. These people can do this because they already know about schools and what they do.

7. Wellness Takes on a Life of Its Own in Schools

Generally, after a few months of taking part in a workplace wellbeing program at school, employees often start doing wellness activities. A good well-being program can make people feel like they are part of a team.

Indeed, when schools have access to fitness facilities and kitchens, it is natural for students to start doing wellness activities.

Similarly, employees will participate in wellness campaigns and challenges. But they often want to do more than what they are asked to do. Employees at schools will organize healthy lunches, exercise classes before work, and walking clubs.

Some schools have fitness classes like Zumba or Yoga. Other employees often do things like hiking in the summer when school is out. Schools are special because you can do things that help you stay healthy, like eating healthier or exercising. You have good teachers who know how to do these things. And your classmates are like family.

8. Beneficial for Employees, Students, and Communities

School employees who are in wellness programs talk about it. It is good for their health. They tell students and others who they see in the community.

Many teachers are now including information about living a healthy lifestyle in their classes. This is to help children learn how to live a healthier life. Some schools have even started programs for students that teach them about being fit and eating better so they can be healthy.

Similarly, instead of just including employees, some schools include other people too. Some schools support and promote local fun runs or races that everyone can do: students and members of the community. Some schools also have school-based farmers’ markets where students and community members can go.

The school district was trying to help their employees become healthier, which would also reduce the amount of money they would pay for healthcare. The goal became to make the students healthier because the health of students affects their families too.

9. Research Proves 

Researchers have published a lot of articles on the impact of a school wellness program. Researchers have studied Boise’s school wellness program more than any other wellness program. When done right, these programs can improve health behaviors, reduce elevated health risks, boost employee morale, control health care costs, and improve productivity.

A Word from Mantra Care

School employees can be healthy if they have a school wellness program. The people who work there might be healthier, their health care costs will be lower, and they’ll feel better about their jobs.

Do you want to keep your employees happy, healthy, and productive? Join our employee assistance program and get a healthier workplace.