GlaxoSmithKline named a top employer for promoting healthy lifestyles
 
The National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a national non-profit organization of large employers, today named GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a leader in providing a healthy workplace and promoting a healthy lifestyle for employees and their families.
 
GSK was among 52 employers to receive the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the Leadership Summit sponsored by the National Business Group on Health’s Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity.  GSK received a Platinum Award—the highest honor—for its commitment to fostering a culture that supports healthy high performance.  
 
“GSK's mission is to help people do more, feel better, and live longer,” said Ann Kuhnen, Vice President, Employee Health Management US. “To accomplish this with our employees and their families, our goal is to design programs and communication plans that support them in adopting healthy lifestyle practices and making informed healthcare decisions.” 
 
Putting Employee Health in a National Context
The United States faces an enormous challenge in reforming its healthcare system. But systemic solutions cannot be implemented without addressing the underlying cause of the current healthcare crisis: the epidemic of chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease and their complications.   
 
These diseases are increasingly preventable, and largely treatable, yet they account for the vast majority of healthcare spending.  In fact, $3 of every $4 spent on healthcare in the US goes to treating the 45% of Americans with at least one chronic disease.  That astonishing statistic only includes treatment; the economic impact of chronic diseases, including treatment and lost productivity,
was $1.3 trillion in 2003. 
 
“The United States runs the risk of losing its competitive edge to the epidemic of chronic diseases,” said GSK’s Christopher Viehbacher, President, US Pharmaceuticals.  “Employers can play a major role in developing a healthier, more competitive workforce by designing health benefits that encourage the prevention and better management of chronic diseases and their costly complications. This is one of the guiding principles of GSK’s US health initiatives.”
 
Energy, Resilience, and Healthy High Performance
GSK is committed to helping employees and their families live healthier, more productive lives. This award recognizes the range of tools and programs to support nutrition, physical activity, and other healthy choices offered through GSK’s TotalReward benefits or on-site through Employee Health Management, and highlights GSK’s commitment to offer healthy food choices through food service providers.  
 
GSK submitted a case study on long-term behavior change from the recently launched “Energy for Performance” initiative which was piloted in US Pharmaceuticals. Employee Health Management, in partnership with Corporate Leadership and Organizational Development, launched this innovative program that links energy and resilience with GSK’s leadership development framework so that employees are healthy, energetic, and fully engaged both at work and at home for sustainable, healthy high performance.  

“We are very pleased to honor GlaxoSmithKline for their innovation and commitment to providing lifestyle improvement programs designed to encourage healthier lifestyles for their employees,” said Helen Darling, President of the NBGH.  “GSK and its management team should be proud of both their initiatives and ongoing support of helping employees to choose a healthier way of life.”
 
Now in its fourth year, the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards acknowledge and reward those employers that recognize the urgent need to improve their workers’ health, productivity, and quality of life.  The underlying goal of the program is to serve as a catalyst to encourage all employers to take action.  
 
Winners of the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards were honored in one of three categories: Platinum, for established programs with measurable outcomes; Gold, for creating cultural and environmental changes that support employees who have made a commitment to long-term behavior changes; and Silver, for those employers who have launched significant programs or services to promote living a healthier lifestyle.