An increasing amount of research confirms the link between employee health and corporate profits. Not only do healthier employees generate lower medical costs; they are also less likely to miss work and more likely to be productive on the job and deliver better service to customers.

However, employers today face mounting pressure to manage the cost of health care benefits. Many have responded by implementing a variety of programs and tactics designed to curtail costs, including increasing cost-sharing for employees, negotiating more aggressive vendor contracts, and offering new types of plans-such as consumer directed health plans. Increasingly, employers are turning their focus to wellness programs, based on the belief that improving employee health will lead to lower long-term health costs. Despite these efforts, health care costs continue to rise.

While some argue that such increases in health care costs are ''to be expected,'' corporate leaders increasingly question the sustainability of the current system, particularly given the current difficult economic times. Indeed, with major changes in the employer health insurance market set to take place in 2014 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), many wonder whether employers will continue offering health benefits. Some believe that prudent employers will simply drop health coverage and leave employees to purchase their own medical policies through the new state-sponsored exchanges.

This issue of Workforce Strategies sets forth a practical approach for employers to reorient their strategy toward building a healthy workforce, rather than simply tweaking components of their health plan, such as wellness offerings or plan design. It outlines the business case for a healthy workforce, drawing upon data which demonstrate the potential impact of implementing the right programs. It also summarizes common initiatives seen today in the employer community. The issue concludes with five key strategies for enhancing current initiatives.