Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

In today’s company atmosphere, the health of workers is frequently related to the health of the company. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased productiveness are just some of the benefits of having healthy workers. Promoting health in your workplace does not have to be be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any company, large or little, can encourage healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some recommendations:

Healthier Eating

• For breakfast meetings, rather than serving donuts, big muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100% fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch gatherings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) staff members for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy meal choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in snack machines.
• Offer a means for individuals to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Create programs and group activities to encourage workers to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge programs, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial programs.
• Offer onsite health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in EAPs to help staff members work towards physical exercise objectives and goals.
• Provide a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices easy: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and gym facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that employees have more opportunities to participate in physical activity programs as part of their working day.
• Reimburse fitness center membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Offer corporate gym memberships to cut expenditures of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

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