Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

• Make sure that your building’s stairwells are clean, attractive and safe, and post signs encouraging staff members to use the stairs.
• Organize a wellness newsletter or intranet.
• Promote the Activity Tracker and advocate staff members to track their physical exercise every week.
• Be creative, and make the most of the workspace you have. For example, mark off a safe walking path inside or around the building. You might also set up a training circuit, highlighting features of the worksite such as stairs.
• Provide physical activity opportunities at different times to accommodate night-, shift-, and part-time employees.
• For workers in remote or satellite offices, offer equal access to key drives via the intranet. Adapt challenges to suit their environment and take advantage of local facilities and resources.
• Make physical activity available to staff members with special needs. Adapt information and activities for any employee who are visually impaired or physically disabled as well as for people who speak English as a second language.
• Educate employees about physical activity using information from reputable sources such as the Alberta Centre for Active Living.
• Provide facilities that invite workplace physical activity. Possibilities include bike racks, physical activity room, change rooms with lockers and showers, and safe and attractive grounds for walking.
• Have walking meetings.
• Encourage employees to walk to co-workers’ offices rather than e-mailing or phoning.
• Set up a stretching room. This low-cost initiative requires only a room, stretching mats, stability balls and medicine balls. Put up posters that show stretches and exercises.
• Offer rewards and incentives such as shoe bags, ball caps, T-shirts or water bottles to reward employee participation.
• Hand out pedometers for three months, so that employees have the potential to learn how many steps they usually take and how much activity they need to add to get basic health benefits.
• Make space for workers to plant and maintain a flowerbed or garden at the workplace. Use any resulting produce for gatherings and potluck lunches or donate it to charity.
• Develop a workplace health & wellness fair.
• Hire a qualified fitness specialist to design and manage an onsite fitness facility.
• Supply employees with active wear that shows off the company logo.

• Create a launch event to foster excitement about upcoming activities and to set up a social climate that establishes being active as the norm.
• Organize and reward monthly or bi-monthly business activities that are fun and active, e.g., picnics with physical games, employee tournaments and dragon boat racing. Encourage families to join in by including all-ages activities such as relay races, soccer matches, bocce ball and baseball games.
• Launch a swim club at a local pool. Invite groups of workers to swim the distance of a nearby lake. Convert kilometres to lengths and reward workers who complete the swim. Set up a challenge between workers and managers to see who covers the greatest distance.
• Post a sign-up board where employee can join a group or find a buddy to participate in activities of interest.
• Create a employer badminton tournament that lasts several months, with each employee playing once a week. Display the results as the tournament progresses.
• Establish an office Olympics, World Cup, Wimbledon or Masters Games. Invite teams to compete in several activities over a month. Reward everyone who participates.
• Develop a point system in which one minute of activity equals one point. Set a target, and post a chart where all workers can track their points. Reward the first group to reach that target.
• Create a stair climb challenge. Display a chart at the top of the stairwell, and promote staff members to track the number of flights of stairs they climb each workday. Set up teams, and award a prize to the first team to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest.
• Display and reward a sign-up board for lunchtime walking groups.
• Establish a walk “across America” Choose a route, figure out how many steps it would take to walk that distance and challenge workers to do it. Give or loan pedometers to workers, and ask them to record the number of steps they take. Or, if you cannot afford pedometers, track the minutes walked. Set up a challenge between workers and managers to see who has the potential to walk across America first.
• Create a walk to work club. Acknowledge workers who either walk to work or walk to public transit.
• Have a volunteer group leader guide weekly lunchtime power walks.
• Design a million-step challenge. Form groups, challenge each group to walk a combined total of a million steps and reward the winner. Departments or sites could compete with each other and with senior staff.
• Challenge employees to walk 10,000 steps a day. Buy pedometers for all participating employees or, if you can’t afford that, make pedometers available at a reduced rate. Provide tips for increasing daily steps, and reward employees who succeed.

There is no single correct way to approach wellness programs but winning programs share common success factors. These include management support and commitment, employee involvement, adequate resources, and a health policy that goes hand in hand with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

Worksite Wellness Program: A Range of Approaches

Although the goal is to eventually have a long-term, inclusive wellness program, some employers prefer to begin with a single program at a basic level. For example, the first steps might be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthy eating; or they might launch a pilot project to learn how interested workers are to ensure workers needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious. This approach supports a chance to show the influence on workers and the workplace so senior staff will be more willing to consider a larger and more far-reaching plan.

Other organizations plan a variety of pushes to meet the needs of the different sorts of people that make up their workforce. And some decide to develop a sound organization case, complete with a health strategy, before beginning any type of program. Corporations want to be sure that a new program is fully integrated with their overall organization vision and mission.

Employee Wellness Program: Success Factors

Whether your organization chooses to think big from the outset or to start with something smaller, always keep in mind the following key success factors:

• reinforcement and participation from senior staff;
• employee participation in planning;
• programs that meet employee needs;
• a realistic budget; and
• continuous review.

In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a group must follow to accomplish its goal of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Corporations also need game plans, even if they do not call them by that name.

Good planning will help to make sure that your wellness program happens the way you want it to, and that costs can be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning prevents small concerns from becoming bigger.

Steps in Beginning a Employee Health Promotion Program

Obtain senior staff support. You may need to foster a company case to convince managers that the wellness program is a company strategy-that employee health and job satisfaction affects their productiveness. employees need to see evidence that senior staff believes in and is committed to employee health.

Establish a planning committee. Participants are able to include representatives from employee groups as well as from human resources, health and safety, and communications.

Accumulate information. To prove that your Company Wellness Program is constructive, establish a benchmark before the program begins. You may wish to look at employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, prescription drug costs or WCB costs. Review what workplace facilities are available to support workers to make healthy choices such as showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bicycle. Review employee needs through a survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.

Establish the plan to reflect the information gathered. Include program objectives, activities and how you are intend to measure whether your objectives were met. Keep the plan flexible. You may have to change direction in response to employee feedback or changes in the company’s structure.

Get upper management approval. Support for employee time and a budget are necessitated.

Put activities in place. Offer a variety of activities that foster awareness, broaden knowledge, foster skills, and offer social interaction. (Activities might include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns such as Company Wellness Programs Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that offer information about area resources.) Workplaces are able to also make it easier for workers to make healthy choices by providing flextime to allow workers to fit exercise in when it is convenient or by subsidizing programs in cooperation with area or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for gatherings can be sure that healthy foods are provided.

Review the plan. Share your successes with others, learn from your mistakes and modify activities.

A wellness program doesn’t have to be complicated or a huge cost. Just do it. Get support from upper management, bring a few committed people together to generate some ideas and get started.

How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look content? Is the place well lit and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a gloom descend upon you, and count the hours until you can leave?
The impact of the worksite environment on the health & wellness of staff members is huge. First there is the physical look, feel, smell, and sounds of the place. Then you’re affected by the policies, like whether others are allowed to light up around you. As time passes, more subtle factors begin to affect you. Do your attempts to live a healthier lifestyle get recognized at work, or are they sabotaged? Are your managers inspiring you by being positive role models? Do you get regular opportunities to discover healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, employees feel that the company they work for supports them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles. And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Employees who feel cared are naturally more loyal and advantageous.
The following ideas will help you change your workplace environment into one that actually supports the wellness of your workers and employer.

Workplace Wellness Program Ideas for Fostering Supportive Environments

Wellness Friendly Facilities

When you arrive at a worksite, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? Is there enough light and clean air? Are there pleasant work areas, places to eat decent food, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. How does it smell? Sound? Do the workers have enough space?
• Vending machines with healthy food choices like non-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks
• Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other exercise opportunities workplace or nearby
• Cafeteria offers healthy foods that may include a salad bar with low-fat dressing
• Natural light is used whenever possible; all lighting is appropriate and adequate
• Heating and ventilation is adjustable, comfortable and healthful
• No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas onsite
• Noise levels are safe and conducive to concentration
• Work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety hazards have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for workers who exercise before work or during breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it tough to evaluate a worksite. People get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them. It may provce useful to ask people who are unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also assist.

Proactive Wellness Policies

One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t allowed to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be less medication errors. If parents are given flextime to address their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If employees can apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up rather than calling in sick to use them all.

Supportive corporate policies may include:

• Seat Belt use required in employer vehicles
• Alcohol and drug policies are appropriate to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow workers to exercise, catch children’s school conferences, etc.
• Nonsmoking policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift staff members are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Health Care Costs coverage rewards good health
• Rates of Absenteeism policy rewards employees who don’t use sick days
• EAP ready to help employees with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
• Meaningful consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior.  Your company may have a policy against alcohol use during work hours, but if everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch reeking of beer, the culture is one that permits drinking at lunch-and one in which written policies have the potential to be safely ignored. Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies remain mere lip service instead of springboards to health.

Consistent Recognition And Incentives For Success

Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.
You can show you value the Employee Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in business newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, meetings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to demonstrate appreciation, too.
Wellness mentors are sought and applauded, too. Workers who support others’ efforts to better their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer modeling and mentoring classes have the potential to bolster those who enjoy helping others to step forward into a new role.

Managers Model And Support Healthy Behavior

Nothing could say “We bolster you to exercise frequently” better than a manager going on a bike ride during the lunch hour–or your supervisor sitting next to you in a weight management class. Wellness activities promote relaxed interaction between people from different departments and at different echelons in the chain of command. That promotes relaxed communication and a feeling of solidarity that is pure gold.
Managers can also provide support for employees who are working on improving their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “great job” or “nice to see you at the fitness center” is able to put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers can also help by allowing staff members the flexibility to go to wellness activities.

Ongoing Corporate Health Promotion Programs

It’s significant to give employees the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and significant part of the corporation, not a corporation fad. That can start as soon as a new employee is hired.
New employees are oriented to the wellness program as one of the employee benefits. Information about the program should be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who invites the new employee to take part.
The employees are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are visible in the organization. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s simple to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are provided. There are topics of interest for everyone.

These are simple and fun activities that have the potential to be done within your business to excite healthy behaviors during a contest or during other times. The intention is to promote employee participation. Some examples:
• Develop a sub-committee of enthusiastic employees who will help encourage the physical activity program by offering ideas, recommendations and encouragement to fellow employees.
• Designate monthly mailbox flyers to encourage a contest or offer fitness-related education/encouragement information.
• Send a periodic voicemail on each participant’s telephone with encouraging wellness messages.
• Make available regular cumulative health progress reports.
• Offer reduced fat or heart-healthy lunch selections weekly in your cafeteria or have workers bring a healthy snack to share, with a recipe book compiled at the culmination of the contest or specified time period (such as a National Nutrition Month in March).
• Distribute employee gifts (pedometers or other novelty item related to some aspect of your contest theme) as registration begins.
• Allow staff members “Fitness 15-Minute Walk Breaks;” organization time to walk, physical activity, etc. If appropriate, you could use a space not currently used to set up a treadmill, elliptical, bicycle, some no cost weights and relaxation music.
• Have a T-shirt design contest.
• Designate posters to map contest (or fitness) progress and to serve as reminder of your objectives and goals:
   • Use push pins or other identifiers for each individual to put up in the office showing how they have progressed – staff members have the potential to get very creative with this and design pins that reflect their personalities.
   • Use a bar graph to compare progress.
   • Use a “thermometer” type graphic and illustrate progress – consider a different, health-related graphic all together and color it in as you progress.
• Provide aerobic dance or physical activity videos in your conference or break rooms.
• Compile a list of organized programs in the area that offer opportunities to get workers exercising by participating as a group (below are just a few):
   • Race For The Cure
   • March of Dimes Walk America event
   • Juvenile Diabetes Research
   • Foundation Walk to Cure
   • American Heart Association’s Heart Walk
   • American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life
   • American Lung Association’s Lung Run
   • Local marathons or special general area walks or runs
• Create or go to a health-and-fitness retreat.
• Hold a soup-and-salad luncheon followed by a hula-hoop contest!
• Use the mall as an alternate walking location during inclement weather.
• Designate “Move it Mondays” – allow workers to take an extra 10 minutes during lunch for physical activity.
• Designate “Tasty Tuesdays” – provide staff members with low-calorie treats/snacks.
• Designate “Walking Wednesdays”- allow employees to take an extra 10 minutes during lunch to walk, or “Wacky Wednesdays” that allow employees to explore new exercises.
• Establish “Thirsty Thursdays” – make healthy smoothies or juice drinks for workers.
• Create “Fresh Fruit Fridays” for employee – offer seasonal fruit treats.
• Send weekly physical activity tips to workers via the most effective communications vehicle in your workplace.
• Partner with another employer representative for local media events coordinated through your advertising or communication department.
• Encourage departmental teams to challenge each other (examples: Customer Service, Marketing, Medical Support).
• Create walking clubs with executive/supervisory leadership.
• Seek out local aerobic opportunities or classes through churches, community groups, college, YMCA, etc.
• Contact several local area fitness clubs and ask if they can or will offer group discounts for physical activity programs, waive enrollment fees, or set up a 12-week program as opposed to signing an extended contract.
• Have a Frozen Yogurt Social – “Reap the Benefits of Fitness.”
• Map out a walking track around the building including the number of laps required for one mile.

These are short informational “Health Tips” in an e-mail format on many different health-related topics. You are able to appoint someone within your employer to find specific topics on the Internet from sites that are in the public domain or topics can be purchased from employers. Some qualified sources include:
• Hope Health
• Sound Ideas, Inc.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institutes of Health

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

If the majority of your staff members do not have e-mail, consider providing the information to them through:
• Bulletin boards
• Check stuffers
• Mailbox stuffers
• Newsletters

SAMPLE #1 Job Site Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Worksite Health Promotion 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 perspiration. 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 required, over the sweatsuit, you are able 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 percent of your body’s heat is lost through your head. Wear a hat and cover your ears.
Lips — Don’t forget lip balm containing sunscreen … even in winter!

SAMPLE #2 Worksite Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Workplace 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 is able to make a tremendous difference in your energy level the following day.
• Eat less more frequently. 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 sufficient amounts of water. Dehydration leads to to fatigue, which you have the potential to offset by drinking water throughout the day.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Both are able to contribute to dehydration and fatigue. They also tend to disrupt sleep patterns.

Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs are informational sessions planned and organized by you to meet specific goals/objectives. Come up with a topic and select a speaker. Choose a site for the “Lunch and Learn” session, usually a lunchroom or break room. Depending on your budget and objectives, workers are able to brown bag the lunch or you could support the meal. Meetings are able 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
• Heart disease – cardiovascular health (individual counseling sessions with a dietician)
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Flu and pneumonia
• Breast cancer – breast health or breast self-exam sessions have the potential to be taught by a trained instructor

Education on medical insurance benefits:
• Diabetes – what are the covered benefits, where to purchase diabetic supplies, support groups for employees with diabetes.
• Employee 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 issues.
• Pharmaceutical Organizations – numerous employers have standard presentations developed for employers that are offered free of charge to use at your own direction. Some examples are:
   • Know Your Numbers (elevated blood lipids) – Pfizer
   • Respiratory Wellness (flu and pneumonia) – Pfizer
   • Men’s and Women’s Health – Pfizer
• Local gyms/personal trainers/YMCA – are able to discuss walking safety, benefits of walking, swimming and aerobics.
• Yoga and/or Pilates instructors
• Running, cycling club representatives
• Local dieticians
• Stamp Out Smoking – Tobacco Coalition representatives

Topics for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs

• Cycling – benefits and opportunities for cycling
• Nutrition and health (Heart Healthy lunch for all attendees)
• Cardiovascular 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 issues
• Initiating an physical activity program – include the significance of seeing the doctor before beginning of any new physical activity program
• Self-defense
• Domestic abuse
• 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 staff members about the significance of beginning and sustaining an exercise program. It is a concentrated effort in which to engage them in physical exercise for a specific time period that, hopefully, will help them begin a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.
Still, it is important to participate in wellness year-round. This section provides a comprehensive list of Worksite Health Promotion Program ideas that have been implemented within wellness programs.
All ideas presented in this section have been thriving for one or both of the entities. Each activity/idea is able to be used as a stand-alone event, even if you don’t conduct a fitness contest, or is able 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 staff members or think of others and start your initiative to establish a better state of health.

Research studies have repeatedly determined that accross the board Worksite Wellness Programs, or Worksite Wellness Programs, have the potential to decrease health care and insurance costs, cut down on absenteeism, and better effectiveness and productiveness. Other advantages determined in studies include improved ability to attract and retain key personnel, greater employee allegiance, and improved public conception of the corporation.

Health Care and Insurance expenditures

A number of studies support evidence of reduced medical and insurance expenditures for participants in Worksite Health Promotion Programs, especially wellness programs involving exercise.

For $30 per person, the Bank of America implemented a Workplace Health Promotion Program for retirees using a risk assessment questionnaire, self-care books and other mailed materials. Insurance claims were reduced an average of $164 per year in this group while they increased $15 for the control group. Since they were able to document significant changes in risk behavior, they anticipate greater savings in future years.

Pacific Bell’s FitWorks participants claim $300 less per case for a 1-year savings of $700,000. Savings for conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle are $722 per case.

Coca Cola published a reduction in health care|medical|medical care|healthcare} claims with an physical activity program alone, saving $500 per employee per year for the employees (60%) who joined their HealthWorks fitness program. Prudential Insurance Corporation reports that the organization’s major medical expenditures dropped from $574 to $312 for each attendant in its wellness program.

Decreased Rates of Absenteeism

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

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

Focusing Corporate Wellness Program efforts on high-risk staff members can lead a better outcome. A national manufacturing organization reports a decline of 12.2 percent in illness days for these staff members.

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

Enhanced Performance, Productivity and Morale

A number of employers with Workplace Health Promotion Programs report documented improvement in job attitude, work effectiveness, energy level, and/or overall morale among program participants–all vital factors in enhancing productivity.

A Johnson & Johnson study found that employee attitude changes were greater at Corporate Health Promotion Program intervention sites with significant positive attitude changes noted in the categories of business responsibility, supervision, on the job conditions, job competence/security, and pay/benefits.

In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Business experimental group realized a 4 percent growth in productivity after starting a company fitness program, compared to the control group. Further, 47 percent of program participants reported that they felt more alert, had better rapport with their co-staff members, and generally enjoyed their work more.

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

The Bottom Line

The following sample of Workplace Health Promotion Programs wellness program results have been published by individual employers:

Employer: 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 growing evidence that a large portion of the billions of dollars currently spent by employers on health-related costs is avoidable by means of Employee Wellness Programs. Well-planned, inclusive Employee Wellness Programs (Employee Wellness Programs and Employee Wellness Programs) have been determined to be cost-effective, particularly when the Employee Wellness Programs is matched to the health concerns of the specific employee.

Free Employee Wellness Programs and Low Cost Health Management Alternatives

Establish a no cost Company Health Promotion Program or run a thriving health management program in the office for little or no cost to your business. The advantages 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 thriving health management program at work.

Ideas for Starting a Free or Low Cost Employee Wellness Program

Prior to starting a low cost or free wellness program for your corporation, learn more about what employees want. Survey employees to learn more about their wellness problems. Keep the survey confidential to safeguard employees’ identities. Typically the most popular workplace wellness topics are smoking cessation, weight loss problems and heart and cholesterol health.

Look for Corporate Wellness Program Freebies

Find out who will come in for no cost 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 employer and ask if someone can come in and talk to workers. Look for agencies that are willing to come in and talk about issues related to wellness at no expenditure to workers, in exchange for something from you.

Find Worksite Health Promotion Program Partnerships

Working with a weight loss business to set up a speaking engagement for workers is an excellent opportunity to explore a potential wellness partnership. The weight loss business may say that if 10 workers join the program, they will have regular meetings at business headquarters for the people who joined. The weight loss group also might offer business workers a discount if several people join the program.

Nonprofits an Untapped Health Leadership Resource

There are also plenty of nonprofit agencies who would be thrilled to visit a organization to discuss health management. But it’s up to you to offer them something in return. By way of example, if the MS Society came in and talked about the signs of MS, the organization could offer to organize an MS walk (in keeping with organization health management goals/objectives, right?), or an auction with employee and organization-donated items where the proceeds go to MS. The people at the nonprofit agencies would be glad to open a dialog with your organization and to talk about what they would want in return for a speaking engagement. In a myriad of cases, they won’t need anything at all for a first meeting.

Gathering Data and Evaluating Corporate Health Promotion Program Results

Collecting data and analyzing results of a Workplace Health Promotion Program is able to be tricky because of HIPPA laws. Nevertheless, if at least 10 employees 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 is able to speak strongly to upper management. And, company successes will potentially give upper management more incentive to support money for additional health management and Workplace Health Promotion Programs in the future.