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Health prevention in the workplace is a growing trend among multi-national employers, due to the fact that 2 percent of capital spent on the workforce is lost to disability, absenteeism and presenteeism because of chronic disease, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Health Research Institute’s report on chronic disease.

In "Working Toward Wellness: Accelerating the Prevention of Chronic Disease," PwC studied the challenges facing businesses as a consequence of the growing epidemic of chronic disease, and found that indirect costs, like absenteeism, are more than the additional direct medical claim costs that some employers incur. In contrast, corporate wellness programs have been shown to provide a 3-to-1 return on investment, found the PwC study.

Part of PwC’s research included a survey on wellness programs among multi-national employers representing more than 3 million employees worldwide. The survey, conducted in conjunction with the Washington, DC-based National Business Group on Health, found that:

• more than half of multinational corporations surveyed expect to introduce or expand corporate wellness programs over the next five years;

• one third (33 percent) are rolling out comprehensives wellness programs in multiple countries, while another 17 percent are rolling out a single wellness program in multiple countries; and

• the two leading reasons cited for promoting wellness were "reducing indirect costs associated with absenteeism, presenteeism, disability and workers’ compensation" and "improving work performance, such as productivity and quality."

PwC also found that of the 20 largest multi-national companies in the world, 75 percent published corporate responsibility reports online in 2006. Of those that published reports, 93 percent emphasized their commitment to improving the health of employees.

"Traditionally, it has been governments, not employers, that have been responsible for managing the major global health risks," said Jim Henry, global leader for healthcare, PwC LLP. "As we get older, fatter and less active, the weight of the world is falling on the bottom lines of the world’s largest companies in the form of reduced productivity, increased tax burdens and declining competitiveness."

Address: PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute, 300 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10036; (646) 471-3000, www.pwc.com.