Prevention Matters

Zac Bissonnette over at bloggingstocks.com says investors may find a path to profits by looking for companies that have wellness programs for their workers. He cites the 2009/2010 North American Staying@Work Report: The Health and Productivity Advantage from Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

"The study of more than 350 publicly traded U.S. and Canadian companies found that those with strong wellness and motivational programs had a total return to shareholders of 15% between 2004 and 2008," Bisonnette writes. "Shares of companies with the weakest programs lost an average of 10% over that time span. Revenue per employee was also higher at companies with strong wellness programs. Watson Wyatt notes that wellness programs lead to higher productivity and reduced sick days.

More employers are willing to pay their employees for staying healthy. The percentage of companies paying people to ditch bad habits (especially eating junk food and not exercising enough) has gone from 53% in 2008 to 61% this year, according to a new study from human-resources consultant Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) now offer wellness programs, up from fewer than half (43%) in 2007.