MINNEAPOLIS-A new study has proven that high-quality employeewellness programs offered by small businesses improve employeehealth and well-being which, in turn, decreases absenteeism,healthcare costs and disability claims.

The study, which was published in the Journal ofOccupational and Environmental Medicine, showed that workplacewellness can be successful in smaller businesses, as well as theirlarger counterparts.

"These findings clearly indicate the dramatic consequencesthat small employer wellness programs can have on multiple domainsof well-being, such as physical health, emotional health andhealthy behaviors of employees," said James E. Pope M.D., coauthorof the article, in a press release about the study. Pope is chiefscience officer at Healthways.

"These comprehensive findings offer a broad understandingof the areas that can adversely impact the productivity and healthof a workforce," he added.

The study was conducted by Health Enhancement ResearchOrganization (HERO), and it evaluated the impact ofNebraska-based Lincoln Industries best practices program using theGallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® (WBI).

The WBI is a comprehensive survey of a population's well-beingbased on a set of indices that assess physical health, emotionalhealth, healthy behavior, and basic access to health-relatedconditions and services.

The WBI achieved an 87 percent response rate among Lincoln'semployees and individual values were assigned and aggregated toproduce a set of domain scores for the entire population.Underscoring the strong health and wellness culture at Lincoln,this participation rate was achieved without incentives.

Approximately 99 percent of employees complete regular healthscreenings, with a majority of the workforce participating inwellness activities throughout the year.

Previous analyses of Lincoln's program have documented thecompany's success in reducing tobacco use and workers compensationcosts, and the company's resulting health care costs trendsignificantly lower than health care spending nationwide.

"This study marks a critical first step in wellness researchspecifically designed to inform the practices of small businesses,"said David Anderson, PhD, coauthor and chair of the researchcommittee for the Health Enhancement Research Organization.

"By promoting high-quality research in a small-business setting,HERO is helping to put evidence-based wellness practices withinreach of all employers."