HealthPartners case study shows emotional resilience coaching can
increase employee well-being, reduce costs

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A case study published in the current issue of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal shows that improved well-being persisted at least one year later among employees who participated in programs to teach emotional resilience.

In 2013, HealthPartners offered two emotional resilience coaching programs to employees as part of its BeWell employee health and well-being program. Each program consisted of three one-hour sessions. The programs teach skills to increase a person’s ability to positively adjust to change or difficulty while being able to continue functioning at home and work.

Resilience coaching associated with improved health

Results were measured using an online, self-reported health assessment. The health assessment is summarized by a 1000-point score called the Total Health Potential Score (THPS). It includes life-style factors such as diet and exercise as well as measures of quality of life such as how often someone has to miss work due to illness and factors that cannot be changed such as age or height.

Questions include:

• “During the past four weeks, to what extent have you accomplished less than you would like in your work or other daily activities as a result of emotional problems, such as feeling depressed or anxious?”
• “In general, how satisfied are you with your life?”

The average score for life-style factors that can be modified improved by 10 points among coaching participants which is statistically significant. In addition, life satisfaction and job satisfaction scores improved slightly.

More than four in ten employees struggling

A 2012 Gallup poll shows that at any given time, nearly six in ten employees are thriving, while more than 40 percent are struggling or suffering. In addition, nearly half of Americans reported they had a major stressor in the past year such as the death of a loved one or problems at work which could put someone who is thriving into the struggling category.

The researchers who conducted HealthPartners case study estimate that lost productivity and work days among employees who are struggling cost more than $6,000 per year.

“These results are encouraging because they show that group coaching can teach emotional resilience skills and that these skills can help employees not only at work but at home and in the community,” said Karen Lloyd, Ph.D. HealthPartners Senior Director of Behavioral Health and Resilience.

Online cognitive behavior therapy program

In 2015, HealthPartners became the first in our region to offer a web-based program to treat mild and moderate stress, tension, depression or anxiety. Beating the Blues is an eight week program based on cognitive behavioral therapy. Developed at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, it has 12 years of research that shows it can significantly improve depression and anxiety.

National trend

In an October 2015 Issue Brief , the National Business Group on Health, cited the role of resilience and emotional well-being as an important new aspect of employee health and productivity.