Health Wellness ProgramHealth and Wellness Programs and Wellness Program Consulting

Ideally, you will develop an overall plan for a health promotion program before starting to plan specific health promotion programs. for  instance, you can begin by getting the following elements in place –

• support from senior level management

• A wellness committee or team

• information about the wellness needs and interests of employees

• A budget

• wellness program objectives

• An investigation plan

Even when you have few financial and/or human resources, you can still take a “micro” approach. for example, you could focus on only one specific issue or problem. Creativity, enthusiasm and planning can help you overcome limitations.

This article will give you some ideas for establishing up wellness programs. Even the smallest steps can have an impact.

Whether you choose to begin with a single wellness program or develop something larger, planning is essential. First think about the large picture and then look after the details.

Ask yourself these questions –

• Identify an action. What health-related wellness program will fit the bill and best suit the workforce and organization?

• Promote. Precisely how can you most effectively get the word out to employees? What are the opportunities for promotion? Consider everything, because personnel have access to and pay attention to different kinds of messages.

In a typical workplace, staff members get information from e-mail, newsletters, bulletins, brochures, meeting announcements and fellow staff members.

• Deliver. Who’s the best person or group to put the wellness program into action? Ask other organizations about approaches they have used. Decide on your budget before making a decision.

• Evaluate. What should you evaluate to determine success? Do you need hard data and/or testimonials from individual participants?

We recommend the following when planning your health promotion program –

• creating and communicating clear wellness program objectives

• Targeting your audience

• deciding on the kind of health promotion program or campaign

The Elements of Wellness Programming

Programs to promote wellness in the workplace do not need to be restricted to a single area. You might think corporate health promotion only involves promoting positive personal health, e.g., blood pressure (BP) clinics, brochures on heart illness, “lunch and learn” seminars on eating habits and short-term exercise programs.

These activities are important, but company wellness should also be part of a organization’s organization strategy and go beyond traditional wellness programming.

Taking a expanded approach, the National Quality Institute recently identified three key elements 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 providing the following –

• Safe bicycle storage and shower and/or change facilities for cyclists and other commuters.

• Fridges for staff members to keep snacks and meals fresh and/or healthful snacks in vending machines and cafeterias.

• Ergonomic assessments.

• Subsidies to help personnel join local recreation centers.

• Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities such as yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.

• Safe and pleasant stairwells that invite staff to use them.

• Evaluating 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, in addition to ways of doing organization, can affect an employee’s mental and physical health. Organizations ought to consider the following –

• respectful worksite policies that provide safe worksites

• policies on flex time

• policies on working from home

• employee satisfaction surveys

• leadership coaching

• resiliency training

• staff member assistance programs

To foster 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 worker needs. Ensuring that individuals  enjoy being at work isn’t an easy task, but making the right changes can have a gigantic impact.

Health Practices

Provide health promotion programs and set policies that help staff remain healthy or improve their health while at work. Consider offering the following –

• “Lunch and learn sessions” on healthful habits like sleeping better, consuming on the run, healthful 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 workers quit.

• Health risk assessments, including fitness assessments.

• Programs to address the issues raised in the health risk assessments.

• Healthy snacks served at meetings and conferences.

Personal Employee Wellness Tips

When there’s no wellness program at your workplace, 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 think about –

• be active at work. There are many ways to bring activity into your workday. Walk to work, even if it is just one way. Hold walking meetings. Bicycle to work. Use the stairs. Walk to a workmate’s office instead of sending an e-mail.

• Eat well at work. Pack a healthy snack and meal. Place 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 colleagues’ snacks. Order healthy snacks for meetings.

• Maintain work-life balance. Be certain to work efficiently so you can leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and do not take it home.

Minimize social chit-chat. Be certain to set up your office to enhance your work. Avoid clutter. Plan and prioritize to ensure that the most essential things get done first.

There’s no limit to the number or variety of 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 to other wellness practitioners to determine what works well for them. Listen to your coworkers to determine their needs and interests.  And do not forget to promote, promote, promote.