Private companies bear health care costs for workers and their families in the US. “We have always cared about the well-being of our employees,” says John O’Rourke, vice president of human resources for SCA Americas. “But the rising cost of health care in recent years has been setting off alarm bells in companies across the US, including ours.”Eddie Haaz, a Pennsylvania psychologist, who specializes in workplace behaviour, is part of a team that is helping willing SCA workers in the US put an end to bad lifestyle habits. The initiative is the latest step in an innovative wellness program, aimed at improving both the health of SCA employees and the company’s bottom line. “Companies like to say that people are their biggest asset, but many manufacturers take better care of their equipment,” Haaz says.The first step featured a questionnaire about lifestyle and a ?nger-prick blood test to measure cholesterol. It also included what O’Rourke calls “positive, fun things” such as weight loss contests, emailed ?tness and eating tips – even free pedometers.Roughly 1,300 SCA employees have signed on to the program –55 percent of all employees.