Worksite Wellness ProgramsWorksite Wellness Programs

Prior to starting your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve gathered and plan your next steps. At this point, you have

• gained support from senior staff for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Worksite Wellness Program Committee
• assessed what is possible in your workplace
• found out what workers want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you’re now ready to develop your action plan to increase physical activity at your workplace. With the Worksite Wellness Program Committee, take the following steps.

• Combine the results of the employee survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to senior staff and workers.
• Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, company, community, policy) in the workplace listed in “Keys to Success”. For example, suppose a sizable group of workers show an interest in biking to work. Since these people may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you might give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks might also be important for making employees’ bikes secure during the workday.
• Consult the list of practical recommendations found this website.
• Establish a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s central mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Setting goals and objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint addressing what you have learned. Make program and activity recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek senior staff approval to move ahead.
• Once your program is in place, it’s important to reward it to workers. Organizing a launch is a good way to do this. A formal launch also demonstrates senior staff responsibility. If workers don’t know about the program, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Decide what you need to track to show that you have reached your goals and objectives. Measure these factors before you start. This way, when you evaluate later, you will know if there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical activity during the workday, you must find out what workers need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to influence, so it’s vital to understand their needs and gain their support.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask workers questions that allow you to evaluate such key characteristics as age, sex, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation. It’s important to know this information so that your physical activity program meets employees’ needs. Workers will not take part in something they’re not interested in. Ask workers what they want, and then enable changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. For example, workers may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work. Ask workers what the company might do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your organization, a single change might affect much people. For example, suppose a sizable group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be important as well. If you’re starting a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit. Involving workers is key to increasing physical activity participation rates. People are more willing to take part in and support physical activity initiatives when they are involved in decision making. The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:

• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).
• See that workers know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and tough to analyze, ask them to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and recommendations in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of potential programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although support from the top is vital to a efficacious program, support from other workers is also important.

Once you get the go-ahead from senior staff, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Worksite Wellness Program Committee to help determine the next steps. Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of employee time management is willing to contribute, this Worksite Wellness Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the program.

The Worksite Wellness Program Committee might include workers from human resources(HR), occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a good idea to involve employee from other areas who have an interest in promoting physical activity. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. For example, it’s important for the Worksite Wellness Program Committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following:

• Assessing your workplace environment
• Carrying out an employee interest survey.
• Implementing a mission statement and goals and objectives.
• Writing a physical activity or wellness policy declaring the organization’s responsibility to physical activity.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the program.
• Coordinating specific activities.
• Deciding how the program will be evaluated.
• Continually assessing what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before making plans to encourage physical activity during the workday, it’s important to find out what is “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s impossible due to funding or space limits. For example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness center if there’s no room for it. Be open, however, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Finding out What’s Possible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for maps of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails may be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some questions to help you evaluate your workplace:

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space have that make it easier to be physically active during the workday? For example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a fitness facility, factory walking lanes?
• What nearby facilities or opportunities might workers use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you near sidewalks, walking trails, community centres, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?
• What resources are available?
• Can the program access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?
• What is the structure of your company? For example, consider employee size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining senior staff support is vital to the success of a physical activity program.

Whether the changes you’d like to see involve the work environment, central policies or specific programs, successfully implementing your ideas depends on senior staff support.

Support from senior staff is vital for 3 reasons:

• You need their agreement to involve workers in a workplace program.
• When senior staff pays attention to and supports program, workers also see the program as worthwhile.
• Senior Management has the power to give work time and money to support the program.

It’s important to keep senior staff involved throughout a physical activity program, but at three points you’ll need support for:

• An central concept, including a go-ahead to evaluate what workers want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.
• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.
• Reviewing the program to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the program.

Approaching Senior Management

Before approaching senior staff to gain initial support for promoting physical activity during the workday, do your homework.

• Prepare a company case clearly outlining how the company will profit by promoting physical activity during the workday.
• List the individual, social and corporate benefits of physical activity and the benefits of being active during the workday.
• Present some cursory ideas about what the program could include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from senior staff:

• How will this help our company?
• How can we innervate workers to take part?
• How much will it cost to run this program or bring about this change?
• How are we going to know a year from now whether or not this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the types of activities they would support. Often managers have their own ideas they would like to see acted on to improve the workplace.

Remember to include middle managers when gaining support for your program. They can be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical activity challenges.

These are concise informational “Health Tips” in an e-mail format on many different health-related subject matters. You have the potential to appoint someone within your company to find specific subject matters on the Internet from sites that are in the public domain or subject matters can be purchased from businesses. Some qualified sources include:

• Hope Health
• Sound Ideas, Inc.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institutes of Health

These e-mails have the potential to be sent daily, weekly or monthly. Our experience indicates weekly is the best frequency.

If the majority of your workers do not have e-mail, consider offering the information to them through:

• Bulletin boards
• Check stuffers
• Mailbox stuffers
• Newsletters

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SAMPLE #1 Worksite Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Worksite Wellness Program
To: Wellness Team
Subject: Layering for Exercise

One way to help ensure enjoyment of a winter walk (or run) is to make sure you’re dressed properly for the weather. And the secret to that, for a winter workout, is to dress in layers.
Layer 1 — Avoid 100% cotton in the first layer, next to your skin. Cotton holds moisture. Wear underwear made from manmade fabrics to wick perspiration away from skin.
Layer 2 — A zippered sweatshirt and sweatpants will keep you warm. Just open the zipper if you get too warm.
Layer 3 — If needed, over the sweatsuit, you have the potential to add a waterproof and windproof jacket. If it’s very cold, you may want to wear a jacket made with goose down.
Hands — Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves.
Feet — Wear socks made from wool or manmade fabrics that keep your feet dry and warm. Avoid 100% cotton socks. Don’t wear sneakers or boots that fit too tightly … this will restrict blood flow and your feet will end up feeling colder.
Head — About 40% of your body’s heat is lost through your head. Wear a hat and cover your ears.
Lips — Don’t forget lip balm with sunscreen … even in winter!

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SAMPLE #2 Worksite Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Worksite Wellness Program
To: Wellness Team
Subject: Energy Boosts

Need a boost of energy? Here are some ideas for tapping into your own energy sources — and most require little effort.

• Get an extra hour of sleep. No surprise here — it has the potential to make a big difference in your energy level the next day.
• Eat less more often. Have little, balanced meals or snacks throughout your day for a steady supply of fuel and energy. Make note of which foods seem to boost your energy level.
• Drink enough water. Dehydration contributes to fatigue, which you have the potential to offset by drinking water throughout the day.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Both have the potential to contribute to dehydration and fatigue. They also tend to disrupt sleep patterns.

These are fun and simple events that have the potential to be done within your company to encourage healthy behaviors during a contest or during other times. The objective is to encourage employee participation. Some examples:

• Develop a sub-committee of enthusiastic workers who will help reward the physical activity program by offering ideas, recommendations and encouragement to fellow workers.
• Establish monthly mailbox brochures to reward a contest or support fitness-related education/encouragement information.
• Send a weekly voicemail on each participant’s telephone with encouraging wellness messages.
• Provide flex time so that workers have more opportunities to take part in fitness programs as part of their working day.
• Reimburse workers gym membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Offer corporate fitness center memberships to lower costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Develop lunch ’n learn sessions to support information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to support cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Display a list of local restaurants that offer healthy food choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate workers on portion sizes.
• Include physical activity and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Develop activities that reward healthy eating and physical activity. For example, start a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs are informational sessions planned and organized by you to meet specific goals and objectives. Decide on a topic and select a speaker. Choose a site for the “Lunch and Learn” session, usually a lunchroom or break room. Depending upon your budget and objectives, workers have the potential to brown bag the lunch or you might support the meal. Meetings have the potential to be mandatory or elective, your choice.
Experience tells us the most success will be experienced if these Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs are elective and if the company supports lunch.
Goals for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs

Education on a specific health issue. You may want to choose one of your group’s top diagnoses. Examples are:

• Diabetes — diabetes prevention and care by a certified diabetic educator
• Cardiovascular disease — cardiovascular health (individual counseling sessions with a nutritionist)
• Hypertension
• Hypercholesterolemia
• Flu and pneumonia
• Breast cancer — breast health or breast self-exam sessions have the potential to be taught by a trained instructor

Education on health insurance benefits:

• Diabetes — what are the covered benefits, where to purchase diabetic supplies, support groups for workers with diabetes.
• Worksite Wellness Program Benefits
• Well baby/child care.

Education on the effect of enrolling in your health plan or local health department’s health education programs or disease management programs. Example programs:

• Diabetes
• Respiratory
• Low-Back Pain
• Cardiovascular
• Tobacco use

Community Resource Speakers for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs

• Local health plan office
• Local heart association
• Local cancer society
• Pharmacies — many pharmacists are available to speak on pharmacy-related concerns.
• Pharmaceutical Corporations — many businesses have standard presentations developed for employers that are provided free of charge to use at your own direction. Some examples are:
• Know Your Numbers (elevated cholesterol) — Pfizer
• Respiratory Wellness (flu and pneumonia) — Pfizer
• Men’s and Women’s Health — Pfizer
• Local gyms/personal trainers/YMCA — have the potential to discuss walking safety, benefits of walking, swimming and aerobics.
• Yoga and/or Pilates instructors
• Running, cycling club representatives
• Local hospital nutritionists
• Stamp Out Smoking — Tobacco Coalition representatives

Topics for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs

• Bicycling — benefits and opportunities for cycling
• Nutrition and health (Heart Healthy lunch for all attendees)
• Heart health
• Women’s health concerns
• How to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke
• National Employee Fitness Day within the office setting — Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness representatives can reward event
• Exercise tolerance and healthy heart concerns
• Initiating an physical activity program — include the effect of seeing the doctor before beginning of any new physical activity program
• Self-defense
• Domestic violence
• Safety in general
• Exercise safety
• Walking/running benefits and safety tips Tobacco dangers and avoidance

Conducting an Employee Fitness Challenge at your workplace is a fun and exciting way to raise awareness among workers about the effect of beginning and sustaining an physical activity program. It is a concentrated effort in which to engage them in physical activity for a specific time period that, hopefully, will help them start a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.
Nevertheless, it is important to practice wellness all year. This section supports a comprehensive list of Worksite Wellness Program ideas that have been implemented within wellness programs.
All ideas presented in this section have been efficacious for one or both of the entities. Each activity/idea has the potential to be used as a stand-alone event, even if you don’t conduct a fitness contest, or has the potential to be held in conjunction with your Employee Fitness Contest.
You may want to choose some of the ideas you think will work for your workers or come up with others and start your program to create a better state of health.

Studies have repeatedly shown that comprehensive Worksite Wellness , or Worksite Wellness , have the potential to lower medical care and insurance costs, cut down on absenteeism, and improve performance and productivity. Other benefits shown in research studies include improved ability to attract and retain key personnel, greater employee allegiance, and improved public image of the company.

Medical Care and Insurance expenses

A number of research studies support evidence of reduced medical and insurance costs for participants in Worksite Wellness , particularly wellness programs involving physical activity.

For $30 per person, the Bank of America healthcare claims with an physical activity program alone, saving $500 per employee per year for the workers (60%) who joined their HealthWorks physical activity program. Prudential Insurance Corporation reports that the company’s major medical costs dropped from $574 to $312 for each colleague in its wellness program.

Decreased Absenteeism

Absenteeism has been shown to be impacted by wellness programs. The evidence indicates a significant reduction in absenteeism and resultant dollars saved as a result of employee fitness programs.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks program lowered absent days .8 percent to save $2 million in one year. FitWorks members also spent 3.3 days less on short-term disability for an additional savings of $4.7 million.

Focusing Worksite Wellness Program efforts on elevated-risk workers has the potential to lead to better results. A national manufacturing company reports a decline of 12.2% in illness days for these workers.

A 2-year study by The DuPont Corporation of the effect of its comprehensive Worksite Wellness Program on absences among workers reports that blue-collar workers at intervention sites had a 14% decline in disability days vs. 5.8% decline for controls. There were a total of 11,726 fewer net disability days.

Enhanced Performance, Productivity and Morale

A number of employers with Worksite Wellness report documented improvement in job attitude, work performance, energy level, and/or overall morale among program participants–all vital factors in enhancing productivity.

A Johnson & Johnson study observed that employee attitude changes were greater at Worksite Wellness Program intervention sites with significant positive attitude changes noted in the categories of company commitment, supervision, on the job conditions, job competence/security, and pay/benefits.

In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Corporation experimental group realized a 4% increase in productivity after starting a company physical activity program, compared to the control group. Further, 47% of program participants stated that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their co-workers, and generally enjoyed their work more.

Swedish investigators saw that mental performance was significantly better in physically fit workers than in non-fit workers. Fit workers committed 27% fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the performance of deconditioned workers.

The Bottom Line

The following sample of Worksite Wellness wellness program results have been stated by individual employers:

Corporation: Dollars Saved/Dollars Spent

• Bank of America (Fries): $5.96/$1
• PacBell: $3.10/$1
• Wisconsin School District Insurance Group: $4.47/$1
• Prudential Insurance: $2.90/$1
• Bank of America (Leigh): $4.73/$1
• General Mills: $3.50/$1

Summary

There is compelling evidence that a sizable portion of the billions of dollars currently spent by employers on health-related costs is avoidable by means of Worksite Wellness . Well-planned, comprehensive Worksite Wellness (Worksite Wellness and Worksite Wellness ) have been shown to be cost-effective, particularly when the Worksite Wellness is matched to the health concerns of the specific employee.

Free Worksite Wellness and Low Cost Health Management Alternatives

Develop a free Worksite Wellness Program or run a efficacious health management program in the workplace for little or no cost to your

company. The benefits of workplace wellness and learning how to enable a health management program at work are numerous. The

articles on health management have generated a variety of questions, mostly from wellness providers but also from businesses trying to

enable their own wellness workplace programs. There are a number of things to do to enable a efficacious health management program

at work.

Recommendations for Starting a Free or Low Cost Worksite Wellness Program

Prior to starting an inexpensive or free wellness program for your company, learn more about what workers desire. Survey workers to

learn more about their wellness concerns. Keep the survey confidential to safeguard employees’ identities. Typically the most popular

workplace wellness subject matters are tobacco cessation, weight loss concerns and heart and cholesterol health.

Look for Worksite Wellness Program Freebies

Look for who will come in for free to talk to workers and look into partnerships with outside agents related to workplace wellness. For

example, contact a local branch of a well-known weight loss company and ask if someone has the potential to come in and talk to

workers. Look for agencies that are willing to come in and talk about subject matters related to wellness at no expenditure to workers,

in exchange for something from you.

Find Worksite Wellness Program Partnerships

Working with a weight loss company to set up a speaking engagement for workers is the perfect opportunity to explore a potential

wellness partnership. The weight loss company may say that if 10 workers join the program, they will hold regular meetings at

company headquarters for the people who joined. The weight loss group also might offer company workers a discount if multiple people

join the program.

Nonprofits an Untapped Health Leadership Resource

There are also plenty of nonprofit agencies who would be thrilled to visit a company to discuss health management. But it’s up to you to

offer them something in return. For example, if the MS Society came in and talked about the signs of MS, the company might offer to

organize an MS walk (in keeping with company health management goals and objectives, right?), or an auction with employee and

company-donated items where the proceeds go to MS. The people at the nonprofit agencies would be glad to open a dialog with your

company and to talk about what they would want in return for a speaking engagement. In many cases, they won’t need anything at all

for a first meeting.

Collecting Data and Reviewing Worksite Wellness Program Results

Collecting data and analyzing results of a Worksite Wellness Program has the potential to be tricky because of HIPPA laws.

Nevertheless, if at least 10 workers joined the weight loss program, or 20 people take part daily in the all-new “Let’s Walk a Mile at

Lunch” program, that sort of progress has the potential to speak strongly to senior staff. And, company successes will potentially give

senior staff more incentive to support money for additional health management and Worksite Wellness in the future.