Wellness In The Workplace

How does a wellness program affect the company?

Wellness programs undoubtedly benefit both the companys and staff members. Numerous studies have found a direct link, showing that healthful staff members make happy staff members, hence increasing productivity in the workplace.

Not only are staff members who exercise more apt to be productive, but they are more likely to stay with their corporation long term. This saves corporations a excellent deal of money in application and turnover costs.

Health Care costs in the United States doubled between 1990 and 2001. They’re expected to double again by 2012. During this time, studies have shown that adult obesity has risen as high as 80 percent in some states. This is a startling statistic. for every 1 percent in BMI, a person’s health care costs increase by $120.

Not only is this expensive for the company but it can also be deadly, greatly raising one’s chances of heart attack or stroke. Workers at risk for these two serious medical conditions cost companys thousands of dollars more annually than their healthful coworkers.

Knowing these troubling statistics allows corporations to take action. the first step is to come up with a plan on how to fight these statistics in your workplace. Most adults in this country spend the majority of their time at work.

That is why wellness programs are so essential. Having access to an fitness facility and other healthful lifestyle choices must be implemented in every business. There really is no reason not to.

One study showed that starting a wellness program in the workplace, decreased sick time by 28%, decreased the use of health care benefits by 26%, and decreased employee’s compensation claims by 30%.

Take a good look at some of these statistics. Your company can’t afford not to have a wellness program.

The backbone of wellness programming at the worksite is medical testing. It is the first major activity a company ought to do when first starting a wellness program.

Biometric screening is often used paired with the administration of a Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} .

The most effective way to screen is to utilize a health expert trained in wellness screening techniques and counseling to privately and individually assess participants.

This wellness professional takes a brief health history and measures blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol. With computerized cholesterol desktop analyzers, results are obtained in about four minutes.

Immediate feedback, consultation, and educational materials are provided. for those identified at-risk, follow-up appointments can be scheduled at this time. the whole process takes about twenty minutes per individual.

The screening also provides an immediate opportunity to register participants in various health improvement programs based on their interests and identified health risks.

Health testing could be done annually and used to monitoring health risks within the worksite.

A medical screening program needs to provide multiple opportunities for participation. the service ought to be provided for all the various shifts of a business. the screening program ought to be conducted in highly visible areas so the process can be observed.

Reluctant workers often like to be able to see what the program is about before they participate. When wellness screeners aren’t busy, they ought to perform outreach going to areas where workers gather and attempt to recruit workers.

When well-planned and promoted, health testing can attract participation rates of 60% to 100%. These high participation rates have a positive impact on management producing support for further programming.

How can our business increase participation in the corporate wellness program?

Having a corporate wellness program in place can improve morale, improve fitness and health and increase productivity in the workplace. Now that you’ve taken the steps necessary to start a corporate wellness program, how do you get your staff members interested and willing to participate?

By starting healthful consuming habits, exercise and offering incentives, your staff members won’t only sign up for the wellness program, but they will stick with it.

Does your company have an onsite fitness club that staff members have access to? If not, offering free or discounted fitness club memberships to a local fitness club can be an effective method for getting staff members to exercise. Whether the fitness club is on or off-site however, allowing staff members to use the facility during work hours, such as on their lunch break, will increase the likelihood that they will exercise.

Rewarding employees’ achievements is another way to keep them excited and living a healthy lifestyle. Establishing corporation goals such as collectively walking a certain number of miles, supports team building. Offering incentives such as gift cards, certificates of achievement, and even a day off work can be effective ways to keep participation levels up.

Since there will likely be less sick days being used due to illness, your business may  be able to afford to offer a day off pass as an incentive. These incentives don’t have to be expensive, just valuable to the employee.

Providing a healthy lunch once a week for workers participating in the corporate health plan, is a great way to promote healthy eating. Offering an incentive of healthy, delicious, free food is one way to reward workers for their efforts while supporting their new healthy lifestyle.

Having a corporate wellness program in place will provide long term benefits to both the business and the employees. This is one corporate plan that is definitely worth your time and money!

Objectives are broad-based statements about what the program is expected to do. the goal of the wellness program is to enhance the health of the individual and the organization. Objectives like mission statements provide direction in a program.   

Objectives are specific and provide a means of measurement of the program to determine effectiveness. There are two kinds of objectives, process and outcome.    

Process goals state the activities that need to occur to achieve a desired outcome.

Examples of process objectives are -

• Number of participants screened

• Number of participants in and completing health improvement programs

• Satisfaction of program participants

• Number of participants who were medically referred and saw their physician

• Number of promotional activities

• Number of participants seen in follow-up

Example of outcome goals are -

• Number of participants who improved fitness level

• Number of participants who decreased cholesterol level

• Number of participants who lost weight, body fat

• Number of participants who quit smoking

• Number of participants with high blood pressure who reduced their blood pressure

• Number of participants whose initial level of alcohol consumption put them at-risk who are no longer at-risk

• Number of participants with risk factors who saw their physician and are being treated for high blood pressure (BP) or cholesterol years later

Why should our business host a corporate wellness fair?

Do you work in your corporation’s human resources department? Are you looking for events to plan for your company this year? If so, it would be a great idea to look into hosting a corporate health fair. Corporate health fairs are valuable to both the business and the employee because they promote overall health, awareness and prevention.

What type of providers are at a wellness fair?

There are many vendors to pick from when bringing a corporate health fair to your business. the most popular vendors include dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists and the American Red Cross. These few popular vendors are a part of a long list available to attend health fairs.

How do we select which vendors to include in the wellness fair?

While most providers are great for all workers, there are some providers available for businesses with a specific demographic. for example, when your company has a lot of pregnant women or women of child bearing age, it might be a good idea to have a provider specifically talking about prenatal care.

If there are a lot of smokers at your business, you could want to have the American Lung Association present. Try to pick providers that meet your employees’ needs. Do not forget that hosting a corporate health fair is meant to be advantageous to them.

When should we hold a wellness fair?

Anytime is a great time to host a health fair. Nonetheless, you may want to consider not scheduling around holidays or busy seasons so that you can maximize participation. Another great choice is having the corporate health fair on a weekend and making it family friendly. Corporate health fairs help keep everybody healthful, thus increasing work productivity.

Not only does hosting a corporate wellness fair promote health, it also builds friendship between coworkers, improving team building and communication in the office. It is a win-win for both the company and the employee!

Wellness committees are important in that they create a sense of ownership in the program, and facilitate various tasks involved in wellness programming at the workplace.

The committee ought to be composed of a cross-section of employees representing various occupations, levels, and subgroups with the organization.

A common mistake is filling the committee with the most health/fitness-conscious people  in the corporation. Don’t rely solely on volunteers to fill a committee. Make sure that your committee members have enough power in the corporation to run an effective wellness program.

The wellness committee is made up of workers from the workplace. It oversees the wellness program and assists carry it out.

The committee ought to meet about once a month to review the previous month’s activities and plan future ones. When the program is just starting, the committee may meet on a weekly basis until things get going.

Committee members don’t carry out medical procedures, counsel customers, or handle confidential medical information. Wellness specialists perform these tasks.

In general, the committee’s duties fall into three areas -  planning, promoting, and helping to run programs.

Planning the programs can include -

• Locating space for activities

• Planning and organizing worksite-wide events such as contests

• Evaluating reports prepared by the program staff and making recommendations

Promoting the program can include -

• Recruiting workers to participate in screening and health improvement programs

• Encouraging employees to participate in follow-up counseling

• Organizing promotional strategies using newsletters, signs, bulletin boards, computers, and other media available within the workplace

Assisting to run the program can include -

• Establishing up equipment for various activities

• Assisting to conduct worksite-wide activities

• Monitoring all activities and analyzing  the performance of the expert staff

• Acting as wellness mentors to fellow workers

The size of the wellness committee will be dependent on the size of the organization. Select members by asking day management to nominate or appoint workers.

Make an announcement through flyers, memos, and meetings to recruit potential members. Explain the purpose of the committee, duties and responsibilities, and the time commitment.

Recognize your wellness committee volunteers. Allow them to participate in programs at a reduced cost. Hold appreciation breakfasts/lunches/dinners.

Print names of committee members on business communications about the wellness program.

Buy special T-shirts, caps, and buttons for them. Write letters to supervisors saying that you appreciate the member’s service. Create awards certificates for members.

The following could be used as a guide for committee size -    

• Less than 300 employees   2 to 4

• 300 to 1,000 employees   4 to 6

• 1,000 employees or more   6 to 12

Wellness programs have been proven to reduce absenteeism, staff member turnover rates, and healthcare costs. It’s a key piece of a corporation’s success. the results of these programs lead to higher productivity, which in the end leads to a more profitable corporation.

In order for these programs to run properly and produce results they must’ve a clear operating plan with an attainable and measurable goal. the programs must also encourage all workers to lead a healthful lifestyle while at work and at home.

Wellness programs have been introduced to companies all over the U.S. to make workers healthier and in turn happier. Businesses which implement these programs do so to varying degrees. Some simply offer literature about how to live a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress while at work.

Some businesses offer biometric screenings and health risk (assessment|appraisal}s for free during the year to help staff members understand what’s going on with their health and what they are able to do to improve it.

At the top of the list, there are the businesses which offer free, on-site fitness clubs and aerobics programs to be used at lunch breaks or after work. No matter what’s offered it’d be a waste not to take advantage of these wellness programs.

It requires careful planning and thought to start wellness programs. Once a program is put into place it’s very important to reassess and analyze it a few times for reach the main goal -  healthier staff members.

All the programs that are put in place ought to be assessed after a determined time frame to help the company understand what needs to be changed or kept in place to maintain corporate wellness.

Effective wellness programs recognize the importance of building a supportive cultural environment. the workplace culture includes shared values/heartfelt beliefs about what is important. It includes social standards of expected and accepted behavior called “cultural norms.”

It includes coworker support from family, friends, and coworkers. This support can help one adopt healthful lifestyles. Tools are available to audit a business.

The long-term success of any wellness program is dependent on the corporate culture.

Some healthy culture signs in a business are -

• Employees communicate openly

• Leaders support diversity and opinion

• Employees have fun

• Policies support wellness

• Staff Members are encouraged to grow

• Workers work together as a team

• Employees’ skills and talents are matched to their jobs.

• Flexible work schedules are available

• Corporations consider employees as their most asset

Everyone knows today that working in corporate America can be a stressful situation. It seems that employees are expected to work longer hours and spend more time away from home. Long commutes and large amounts of work are taking its toll on American office staff members. Something must be done; company wellness is a good way to begin to help all those stressed out staff members.

Beginning corporation wellness programs can help create a healthful culture. There must be an incentive program set up to drive interest to wanting to be more health conscious. Making good decisions that affect health now and in the future must be rewarded as individual’s goals are met.

There are a number of wellness ideas that a business wellness program can help plan for. Some ideas include giving out maps of walking or jogging trails located near the workplace. It’s a good idea to post a steps accumulated map on the workplace wall where all workers can log their steps or miles.

Be certain to help encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoy other forms of exercise to form fitness groups to meet before work, during lunch, or after work.

In a business environment, relationship development is also an area where aligning cultural touch points are necessary. Be certain to work culture affects health practices.

Workers will either form personal relationships in a bad way, like smoking in the break room, or they’ll form relationships doing something more physical like going for a round of golf for relaxation and developing friendships with fellow employees. Make sure to work ought to be done to create healthy venues to create professional friendships and relationships.

There are so many good benefits for a corporation choosing  to make corporation wellness a priority. Staff Members who participate in wellness programs are more likely to be the best staff members.

Coworker relationships in the workplace are important to creating a healthy lifestyle culture that lasts. as an added bonus, overall job satisfaction is better when employees are feeling well and healthy while doing their work.

Effective wellness programs attempt to develop healthy workplace climates. A healthy workplace climate is one which encourages teamwork, cooperation, and empowerment of the individual.

People  have a sense of community, a shared vision, and a positive outlook. Policies promote and support wellness efforts within the workplace.

• Effective programs identify ways that company policies and organizational traditions encourage wellness.

• Effective programs work at the group and organizational level to build support for healthy lifestyle choices.

• Effective programs set clear target objectives and objectives for the health improvement of the worksite.