Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

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.