Employer Wellness

Ideally, you will foster an overall plan for a Worksite Wellness Program before beginning to plan specific wellness programs. For example, you are able to begin by getting the following elements in place:

• reinforcement from senior staff
• a Workplace Wellness Program Committee or team
• information about the wellness needs and interests of workers
• a budget
• program objectives
• an assessment plan

Even if you have few financial and/or human resources(HR), you have the potential to still take a “micro” approach. For example, you could focus on only one specific issue. Creativity, enthusiasm and planning have the potential to help you overcome limitations.

This article will provide you with some ideas for setting up Company Wellness Programs. Even the smallest steps are able to have an effect.

Whether you choose to begin with a single program or cultivate something larger, planning is important. First think about the big picture and then look after the details.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Ascertain an action. What health-related program will fit the bill and best suit the workers and company?
• Promote. How can you most effectively spread the word to workers? What opportunities exist for promotion? Consider everything, since workers have access to and pay attention to different types of messages. In a typical workplace, workers receive information from e-mail, newsletters, bulletins, brochures, meeting announcements and fellow workers.
• Deliver. Who is the best person or group to put the program into action? Ask other organizations about approaches they have used. Decide on your budget before making a decision.
• Evaluate. What ought to you evaluate to determine success? Do you need hard data and/or testimonials from individual participants?

We recommend the following when organizing your plan:

• planning and communicating clear objectives
• targeting your audience
• deciding on the sort of program or campaign

The Elements of a Worksite Wellness Program

Programs to promote wellness in the workplace do not need to be restricted to one area. You might think workplace wellness only involves promoting beneficial personal health, e.g., Blood Pressure (BP) clinics, pamphlets on heart disease, “lunch and learn” courses on eating habits and short-term physical activity programs.

These activities are valuable, but workplace wellness ought to also be part of business’s business strategy and go beyond traditional programming.

Taking a broader approach, the National Quality Institute recently detailed three key elements of a healthy workplace:

• physical environment
• social environment and personal resources
• health practices

Specific Program Ideas

Physical Environment

Look after workers’ health and safety and establish regulations to support their health and safety. Consider offering the following:

• Safe bike storage and shower and/or change facilities for cyclists and other commuters.
• Fridges for staff members to keep snacks and meals fresh and/or healthy snacks in vending machines and cafeterias.
• Ergonomic assessments.
• Subsidies to assist staff members join local recreation centres.
• Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities such as yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.
• Safe and pleasant stairways that invite employees to use them.
• Assessing the potential for violence at work with plans to deal with such risks.
• Good lighting and sound and air quality.

Social Environment

Human relationships and communication, as well as ways of doing business, can affect an employee’s mental and physical health. Businesses must consider the following:

• respectful workplace policies that offer safe worksites
• policies on flex time
• policies on working from home
• employee satisfaction surveys
• leadership coaching
• resiliency training
• Employee Assistance Program(EAP)s

To develop a beneficial social culture or climate, consider employees’ needs, which include:

• being respected
• a sense of belonging, purpose and mission
• freedom of expression
• protection from harassment and discrimination

What you’ve “always done” may not address current employee needs. Making sure that people enjoy being at work is not an easy task, but making the right changes is able to have a huge influence.

Health Practices

Offer programs and set policies that help employees remain healthy or improve their health while at work. Consider offering the following:

• “Lunch and learn sessions” on healthy habits such as sleeping better, eating on the run, healthy snacks, using a pedometer, pole walking, work-life balance, time management, stress management, resiliency, parenting and reading nutrition labels.
• Tobacco cessation clinics or subsidies to help employees quit.
• Health risk appraisals, including fitness assessments.
• Programs to address the issues raised in the health risk appraisals.
• Healthier snacks served at meetings and conferences.

Personal Employee Wellness Program Tips

If there is no wellness program at your workplace, do not let that stop you from keeping healthy. Perhaps your example will spark a movement toward a healthier workplace.

Here are a few ideas to think about:

• Be active at work. There are many ways to bring activity into your workday. Walk to work, even if it’s just one way. Hold walking meetings. Bike to work. Use the stairs. Walk to a workmate’s office instead of sending an e-mail.
• Eat smart at work. Pack a healthy meal. Have a bottle of water at your desk or workstation. Eat breakfast and eat regularly during the day. Take turns bringing a basket of fruit for co-workers’ snacks. Order healthy snacks for gatherings.
• Maintain work-life balance. Work efficiently so you have the potential to leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and do not take it home. Minimize social chit-chat. Set up your office to enhance your work. Avoid clutter. Plan and prioritize to ensure that the most important things get done first.

There is no limit to the number or variety of Employee Health Promotion Programs. A key to success is planning well and ensuring that you can evaluate the outcome so that you can sustain momentum.

Speak with other wellness practitioners to find out what works well for them. Listen to your co-employees to determine their needs and interests. And do not forget to promote, promote, promote.