BENEFITSAccording to Hareyah (2009), healthier employees will spend less time away from work; this can be the result of an effective wellness program. Sick employees who continue to report to work can have a negative effect on employee morale. A corporate wellness program can improve the overall health and well-being of your employees. This can help reduce presenteeism and effectively improve employee morale. A sick employee can also make other employees sick who would not otherwise have gotten sick. Employee well-being and productivity are closely linked. Hareyah (2009) also states that an effective employee wellness plan can “decrease stress, improve concentration, improve communication between departments and employees, and improve employee job satisfaction.” According to Loeppke (2011), many companies in the United States are threatened by the increasing costs associated with employee illness. Businesses have a significant opportunity to improve the well-being of their employees, and even their families. Reducing medical costs will follow the implementation of a health plan simply by changing their company culture to promote wellness. An effective wellness plan will include a thorough inspection of health-related benefits and the creation of rewards for participating in the plan. The figure to the right represents research by Recess Wellness (nd) regarding the true healthcare costs of a company's participation in a wellness plan. The following figure represents data collected by Gallup (2010) in a similar study. According to Baicker (2010), “medical costs decrease by approximately $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs. Ab...... middle of paper ......009, May). Benefits of employee wellness programs. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/38/31246/benefits-employee-wellness-programs.html.Incentive management. (nd). Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.purewellness.com.Loeppke (April 2011). Create a culture of health and well-being at work. Retrieved March 30, 2011 from http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533334667. The high cost of low employee well-being. (nd). Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.newleafhealthconsulting.com/index.php?p=1_20.Why Wellness Works. (nd). Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://recesswellness.com/wellness3-benefit-of-yoga-corporate-wellness.php. A workplace wellness plan saves money in the long run, new research suggests. (2010, August). Accessed March 30, 2011 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100818151824.htm.