Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

Ideally, you will foster an central plan for a Worksite Health Promotion Program before beginning to plan specific wellness programs. By way of example, you are able to start by getting the following components in place:

• support from senior staff
• a Corporate Wellness Program Committee or group
• information about the wellness needs and interests of employees
• a budget
• program objectives
• an evaluation plan

Even if you have few monetary 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 establishing Worksite Wellness Programs. Even the smallest steps have the potential to have an influence.

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

Ask yourself these questions:

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

We recommend the following when planning your initiative:

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

The Elements of a Worksite Health Promotion Program

Plans to encourage 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 clinics, brochures on heart disease, “lunch and learn” sessions on eating habits and short-term physical activity programs.

These activities are significant, but workplace wellness should also be part of corporation’s business plan and go beyond traditional programming.

Taking a broader approach, the National Quality Institute recently detailed 3 key components 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 workers join local recreation centres.
• Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities such as yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.
• Safe and pleasant stairwells that invite staff members 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. Corporations should consider the following:

• respectful workplace policies that support safe worksites
• policies on flex time
• policies on working from home
• employee satisfaction surveys
• leadership coaching
• resiliency training
• EAPs

To develop a positive 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. Seeing to it that people enjoy being at work is not an easy task, but making the right changes can have a huge effect.

Health Practices

Offer programs and set policies that help staff members 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.
• Stop smoking clinics or subsidies to help employees quit.
• Health risk appraisals, including fitness assessments.
• Programs to address the problems raised in the health risk appraisals.
• Healthy snacks offered at meetings and conferences.

Personal Employee Wellness Program Tips

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

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Be active at work. There are a myriad of 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. Keep 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 meetings.
• Maintain work-life balance. Work efficiently so you can leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and be sure not to take it home. Minimize social chit-chat. Set up your office to enhance your work. Avoid clutter. Establish and prioritize to ensure that the most valuable things get done first.

There’s no limit to the number or variety of Workplace Health Promotion Programs. A key to success is planning well and ensuring that you can evaluate the results 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.