As employers got a better handle on the future of health care in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court”™s decision on the Affordable Care Act, for a seventh consecutive year Pitney Bowes Inc. is a “Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyles,” according to the National Business Group on Health.
A $5.3 billion mail services and communication technology provider with 29,000 employees, Stamford-based Pitney Bowes was one of 66 employers to receive the award and one of five to receive it seven times.
Outside of New York City, other nearby winners included Armonk, N.Y.-based Visant, a marketing and publishing service; Hartford-based Aetna, a health care company; Groton-based General Dynamics Electric Boat; and Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD, a medical technology company.
“With health care benefit costs continuing to rise at unacceptable levels, more and more employers are focusing on health improvement programs at the workplace,” said Helen Darling, CEO of the National Business Group on Health, in a press release. “And with good reason: One of the keys to controlling costs is to keep employees and their families healthy.”
At Pitney Bowes, Johnna Torsone, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, said she was happy to see the company receive recognition for its work.
“We”™re a leader in this field and have been for years,” she said.
Among the many elements used to keep employees healthy, Pitney Bowes has on- and off-site clinics; external couching; on-site preventative screening for eyes, teeth and skin cancer; and educational outreach programs to teach employees about topics like buying healthy food on a budget and weight control.
The efforts keep health care costs “significantly lower” and keep employees productive, Torsone said.
But it”™s also the little things that set the company apart from the rest, said Andrew Gold, Pitney Bowes Total Rewards vice president. Workers at the company”™s call centers can take calls on treadmills and instead of placing the impulse-buy cookies at the cafeteria”™s register, they are farther out of the way, making employees walk to get them.
When employees are healthy, they can come to work and do their work, said Gold. “They”™re not in pain or worried. They”™re more focused on work than, ”˜Do I need to schedule a doctors visit.”™”
Speaking personally, Colette Cote, a public relations specialist at Pitney Bowes, said one morning she found a lump under her arm and when she got to work she went to the onsite clinic to have it looked at. Within an hour she had been examined, had an autopsy taken, made an appointment to be seen off site and was back to work with “peace of mind.”
“I was able to come back and focus, and move on with my day,” she said.
