Health Wellness ProgramHealth and Wellness Programs and Wellness Program Consulting

Group support and encouragement may be very advantageous in assisting employees make healthy changes. Create situations, coworker groups, or information avenues where the professionalise and experiences of coworkers may be shared with others. Some ideas for providing on-site support for healthy changes include –

• Workers can be asked to voluntarily submit suggestions, advice, and strategies related to particular healthful practices they have successfully implemented in their lives.

For example, ex-smokers could be asked to submit suggestions about what worked for them when they quit; then those ideas could be shared in newsletters, flyers, classes, etc.

• Topics like weight control, stress management, managing change, increasing exercise, etc. lend themselves to this development of collective wisdom sharing.

• Behavior change support groups, developed based on worker interest in making healthy change, can meet on a regular basis to share ideas, resources, support, etc. Health promotion programs can offer some help and facilitation in getting a group started.

The group then its self takes charge of keeping the group going. Periodically the health promotion program can offer to bring in a speaker or presenter on a topic relevant to the group.

Be sure to help the group establish ground rules that everyone agrees to before the group is left on its own.