Employment experts say that a happy workplace is a healthy workplace, filledwith the productive individuals and efficient teams that contributeto a robust bottom line and positive corporate culture.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. An unhealthy workplace is a less-productiveworkplace burdened with medical costs and less-satisfiedworkers.

Just looking at recent data related to diabetes, one of the mostprevalent chronic conditions afflicting U.S. adults, confirms this:Employers spend an average of $9,975 annually for individualsdiagnosed with diabetes (more than 30 percent of such costs areassociated with absenteeism and disability, according to onestudy). Diabetes is responsible for 15 million absent work days,120 million work days with reduced productivity, and 107 millionwork days lost due to condition-related unemployment,nationally.

Another example of a preventable chronic condition that affectsemployers is obesity. The estimated annual medical cost ofobesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 (and has continued torise). And the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429higher than those of normal weight.

Employee-benefits managers are familiar with statistics likethese, and understand the link between health and higher worksatisfaction, loyalty, productivity and innovation. They’re alsoaware of the enormous demand for employers to provide health andbenefits beyond a menu of insurance plans.

However, employers face numerous challenges in their efforts toeffect positive change. Employer health care costs are continuallyescalating, so the idea of investing in health-related initiativeswithout a clear ROI is fraught with anxiety.

In addition, getting employees “engaged” in their health is anelusive goal: Health promotion, disease prevention and effectiveself-management largely occurs outside the doctor’s office.Likewise, chronic disease and obesity cannot be “fixed” by engagingin one or two activities, such as a company-wide fun run or anon-site yoga class.

Employers, therefore, are at a crossroads: If they don’t try tohelp their employees improve their health now, they’ll see agreater impact on their bottom line in the future. Moreover, thetraditional medical model has failed to address such risks. Unlessemployers are able to identify a new preventive care paradigm,whatever they do try now is destined to fail.

The mobile health coaching approach

Achieving real health benefits such as lower blood pressure,improved control of blood sugar or cholesterol and long-term weightloss requires a holistic, all-encompassing approach to healthmanagement.

Employers need to offer care that helps workers manage andimprove their health between doctor’s visits, by allowing them totrack their behaviors, analyze data, and receive real-time supportand empathy. Mobile health platforms, or programs, can potentiallyhelp employers do this.

A Gallup 2014 survey reveals that that about two-thirds (65percent) of American adults have a smartphone; about half of thesesmartphone users have downloaded at least one app that is meant tosupport healthy living, and 19 percent of all adults havedownloaded and routinely used at least one such app.

Among full-time employees, this percentage climbs to 23 percent,which suggests that full-time employees possess more willingnessthan the average smartphone user to make changes to their healthand lifestyle.

But a mobile platform is only the beginning. In order toeffectively engage employees and catalyze change, a more robustsolution is needed — and that’s where mobile health coaching programs can help.

Mobile health coaching programs transcend typical health apps oron-site wellness programs by addressing each of the challenges ofchange in a manner that is personalized and, therefore, bothmeaningful and engaging.

For users of these programs, it’s like having a personaltrainer, healthcare provider, nutritionist and community oflikeminded, goal-oriented colleagues right in your pocket.

As a self-contained system of care, a mobile health coachingprogram’s key features include personalized health-managementcurricula (so employees with multiple health conditions cansimultaneously manage all of their needs); nutrition tracking;biometric integration (so users’ information can be transmittedseamlessly); and a data-analytics interface (so a user and his/hercoach can track trends and benchmarks).

But the primary factor that truly sets them apart from othersolutions is the coaching element: A mobile health coaching programutilizes live, human coaches trained in cognitive and motivationaltechniques to encourage users to make healthier lifestyle choices,while empathizing with their challenges.

Since a coach is always available to a user to reinforcepositive behavior change and intervene in real-time across entireat-risk populations, individuals can reduce the likelihood ofdeveloping diabetes and other problems, leading to healthieroutcomes, lower costs and improved productivity.

Empowering corporate culture through mobile health

By offering a full suite of health-tracking and coachingservices, the mobile health coaching platform enables a digitalcare continuum that provides whatever is needed, whenever it isneeded and wherever it is needed, to support healthier habits andpromote healthier and more productive employees.

Mobile health coaching has a positive impact on otherorganizational pain points. Healthier employees tend to feel more“engaged,” or involved, with their work, seeing themselves asessential stakeholders in their organization.

And the more engaged they are, the more employers save onemployee-retention costs, in addition to healthcare-deliverycosts.

The “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2016: 10thAnniversary Edition” report published in the November/December 2015issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal reveals worksitehealth-promotion programs designed to improve the health andwell-being of employees accounts for one of the biggest emerginghealth trends for 2016.

This is not surprising, considering that obesity rates andchronic diseases such as diabetes continue to rise.

Implementing a mobile health coaching platform is one waybusinesses can address ongoing employee needs, and help employeessucceed not just in work, but in life.

And as successful organizations know, a healthy workplace is ahappy one — one which is more productive, creative, and loyal.