Healthcare costs in the United States have been increasing in recent years. The increase in healthcare costs and the lack of affordable health insurance affects many individuals and organizations. The Human Resource (HR) department has started to take strategic steps to lessen the affect of high healthcare costs on the organization. Creating a culture of wellness at work and implementing workplace wellness programs, allows HR to support individual efforts towards a healthy lifestyle. By proving why organizations should invest in their most valuable asset—their employees—HR strengthens their position as a strategic partner. This article addresses the outcomes from successful workplace wellness programs. Investing in human capital can position the company above others in the marketplace and help ensure long-term stability and success of an organization.

Over the past 30 years, HR has increasingly become a valuable asset to organizations by aligning its goals with overall strategic business goals. The HR department is no longer just a ‘personnel department’ that deals with the paper work of hiring people and payroll. HR is now transforming into a strategic function that contributes to the organization’s bottom line (Phillips & Phillips, 2009). As organizations begin to understand that human capital is their most important asset, HR has the opportunity to prove they are a strategic business partner through the effective management of the organization’s human capital. Human capital is an important and essential asset which contributes to development and growth of individuals and their organizations, in similar ways as to physical assets such as machines and money. It is well-documented that the collective attitudes, skills and abilities of people contribute to organizational performance and productivity which are critical for survival in today’s competitive economy. Any expenditure in training, development, health, and support should be seen an investment, not just an expense (Brocaglia, 2011).

Human capital, physically and spiritually, can create a competitive advantage for organizations and also both short and longterm return on their investment (Marschke and Mujtaba, 2007). Strategic efforts related to the effective management of human capital over the past decade by HR have included, but are not limited to, effective recruiting, retention efforts, training programs, employee leadership development initiatives, and coaching and mentoring programs. HR is now implementing and managing health and wellness programs in the workplace as yet another strategic effort to contribute to the financial success and long-term sustainability of an organization.

In 2005, the US spent $2 tn on healthcare, at $6,683 per person (Anonymous, 2007). As US healthcare costs began to rise, rising costs to employers and employees was inevitable. According to an annual Health Care Cost Survey completed by Towers Perrin’s, the average corporate health benefit per employee in 2004 was $7,284 and rose to $9,660 per employee in 2009, this was an increase of 75% over five years. Then in a recent survey completed by Towers Watson, the report said, “employer healthcare costs for active employees are projected to rise 8.2% in 2011, to an average annual cost of $10,730 per employee” (Employee Benefit News, 2010, para 1).

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