Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that have the potential to help meet any wellness program budget! The Corporate Wellness Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Administer an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Design a Employee Health Promotion Program Committee
• Select health insurance plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Display brochures on a variety of wellness topics for staff members to take
• Develop a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of topics of interest to staff members
• Identify workers who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other workers
• Plan and promote periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Establish monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Display a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Put up messages from national health observances during the month
• Provide healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Organize a benefits fair
• Organize business fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Develop company wellness and health fairs or other on-Site events

Nutrition Programs

• Offer free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Provide healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at company events
• Provide information to employees about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Develop a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or snack machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Start a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give brochures available on a variety of healthy eating issues
• Include diet articles in organization newsletters
• Have a healthy food tasting contest Free
• Have educational sessions at lunch-time on a variety of nutrition subject matters of interest
• Organize an employee healthy meal cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all workers

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Offer flexible work schedules so that staff members have the potential to take part in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration costs for weight-management programs
• Provide a support group to help staff members who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for workers who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight control
• Offer individual counseling for workers trying to lose weight
• Offer workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Have an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules to encourage physical activity
• Develop a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Create accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Urge workers to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Organize a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairwells more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Offer reduced health club membership fees to all employees
• Provide facilities for employees to secure bikes
• Have 5 – 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund fitness center membership for workers who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or company sports team
• Urge stairwell use and rewards and incentives
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Promote & support community walks or fitness events
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Offer periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Provide educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Establish a smoke-free grounds
• Organize a tobacco-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s free Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the expenditure of tobacco cessation sessions
• Provide pamphlets and information on health effects from tobacco use and smoking cessation
• Schedule awareness sessions to encourage staff members to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule onsite smoking cessation courses

Employee Health Screening

• Discount medical insurance premiums or lower co-payments for staff members who take part in screenings and who take part in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure monitoring equipment
• Provide flu shots for workers and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure (BP) screenings and follow-up
• Provide periodic screenings for blood lipids, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Provide flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Provide and promote an Employee Assistance Program(EAP)
• Give information on substance abuse prevention
• Give pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Give handouts and information on work life balance, such as financial planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, corporation stressors, etc.
• Assess organization policies and work schedules to identify organization stressors
• Review the EAP to ensure it is meeting the needs of the workers and business
• Provide educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have seminars on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance subject matters