National Employee Wellness Month is an annual initiative that helps business leaders learn how companies are successfully engaging employees in healthy lifestyles. It showcases how prevention, coupled with supportive social communities like the workplace, can improve employee health and productivity, lower healthcare costs, and create a healthy workplace culture.

Created in 2009 by Virgin HealthMiles in partnership with the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, National Employee Wellness Month is sponsored by these organizations and the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and WorldatWork. National Employee Wellness Month is held each June. 2013 marks its 5th year!

Employee health directly impacts healthcare costs — a board-level issue for every US organization. The good news? We can do something about them. 75% of these costs are driven by preventable and highly manageable chronic diseases, like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. National Employee Wellness Month brings attention to the workplace’s role in helping employees make healthy choices that make a sustainable impact on costly lifestyle-related disease.

More than 175 organizations and over 70,000 of their employees lent their support to the fifth annual National Employee Wellness Month. Healthy challenges are taking place across the county, and many organizations will participate in a 4-week step challenge. This fun, competitive component highlights the important relationship between increased physical activity and good health. What’s more, employers and their employees shared their opinions and insights into workplace wellness. Check out the 2013 survey findings.

In tandem with National Employee Wellness Month, Virgin HealthMiles presents its annual “Healthies“, which recognize individuals who advocate good health and serve as role models for others.