Health HandoutsHealth handouts, wellness handouts, fitness handouts and more…

High rates of employee turnover and the expenditures of sick days are increasingly taking bites into company profits. The high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these issues in total cost the average company. Many corporations are finding the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of programs that yield a reduction in these expenditures.

It has become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness program / physical activity program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need. Upper Management’s objectives for a advantageous wellness program must be viewed through the perspective of increased employee work rate, lowered absenteeism due to health related causes, improved employee morale, lowered utilisation of corporation subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction. It is obvious that an improvement in any of these areas will have a positive influence on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an workers point of view can be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, diminished body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social associations at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and workplace.

To be most beneficial a wellness program needs to achieve both senior staff’s and employee’s goals/objectives, and this can be accomplished through a program that will offer the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and wellness, and the benefits of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that will allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that can be applied in the context of their life and work.

The Bottom Line – Workplace Health Promotion Programs

Lowered Absenteeism – Dupont reduced absenteeism by 47.5% over six years for the participants of their employer fitness program, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Reduced Health Care Expenditures – Steel case showed a reduction in healthcare claim costs of 55 percent for corporate physical activity program participants over non-participants over a six year period – an average of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Health Promotion, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Reduced Turnover – Turnover among physical activity program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Company was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Indiana saw that its company exercise program had a 250 percent return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Health Promotion, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 employers to consider making workforce health a CEO problem and adopt strategies to reward prevention and wellness. After several years of double-digit rate increases for health care insurance, employers are realizing that one of the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have employees take more responsibility for both costs and health choices. A majority of employers surveyed feel that the best way for lowering costs is financial incentives/rewards to encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Nearly 100% of employers surveyed say that health costs will be a vital or significant issue over the next five years, according to a survey by United Benefit Advisors. More employers are adopting higher deductible medical plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and expanded disease management programs in order to control ever-increasing medical costs.

Failure to deal with these concerns might be disastrous for a organization. Wayne Sensor, Chief Executive Officer of Alegent Health recently stated, “I think that we have built a medical care machinery we can’t afford. I think we are choking the economic engine of America.” In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the big economic problem in our nation”. Obesity costs California businesses billions of dollars each year. Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect medical care costs, worker’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced one of the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis.” What is frightening is that most people do not even realize that they are obese, which is defined as only 20 percent above normal weight. There is a great need for additional education on weight and resulting diseases, and the worksite is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can result in a important return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce results in a very short period of time.

Although many companies have attempted some form of wellness program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing. In many cases, the healthier employees participated for rewards and incentives, such as fitness center memberships, but those who required it most did not take advantage of the program in a meaningful way. Employers are looking at ways to promote more employees to buy into the wellness movement.

A new webinar hosted by Human Resource Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Marketing Group titled, “Healthier employees; Healthier Bottom Line: Engaging employees is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home. This session offered actionable advice on how companies are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on employee program engagement. It also highlighted how you can create an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your employer.

Employers can simply no longer disregard the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to reduce health expenditures, absenteeism and lost work rate. staff members also profit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives. The alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the business.

A listing of potential wellness issues and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal employee Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee.

Nutrition Category
• Low-fat campaign/food groups
• Team salad bars
• Vending machine changes
• Diet analysis by a dietician
• Produce on parade
• Eating disorder support group
• Restaurant education

Physical Activity/Exercise Category
• “Elevoiders” – stair climbing
• Poker walk
• Mall walking program
• Facilities – showers, bike lockers, exercise space, etc.
• Team treks
• Walk-a-block trails
• Recreational tournaments
• How-to-select equipment talks
• Running maps
• Biking maps
• Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)
• Fit-over-forty club
• Tennis shoe Tuesday
• Walk 100 miles in 100 days
• Walking “buddies”
• NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category
• House calls
• Meet your benefits providers
• Dental health
• Fire safety
• Ergonomic assessments
• Self-help learning
• CPR/first aid course
• Hearing test
• Hand washing campaign
• Cancer screenings
• Back class
• Passports to health
• Vision screenings

Stress Management Category
• Comedy hour
• Stress Pest
• Humor newsletter
• Money management sessions
• Time management courses
• Relaxation class
• Better sleep campaign
• Relaxation room

Other departments within a business will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other human resource, employee motivation, and safety programs. Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe on the job practices are three areas which may be coordinated together.
• Soft Tissue Sprains & Strains: This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. Many health insurance dollars are also invested on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Wellness and safety efforts can focus on:
• Warm up stretches before starting work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they may start a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.
• The Company Health Promotion Program Committee might consider contracting a fitness professional to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for employee groups throughout the year.
• Offer body mechanics training on an yearly basis or more frequently if possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.
• Partner with your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help  in offering body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventative services which can help workers work safer, smarter, and avert injury.
• Implement a safety problems suggestion box. Encourage workers to report safety and/or injury problems. Help upper management to establish policy to recognize and reward workers who offer safety ideas, provide tips, and solution ideas.
• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.
• Partner with senior staff and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are thriving with safety and injury prevention.
• The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is valuable and applicable to every group.
• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested staff members volunteers. These people can then assist  other staff members to evaluate their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.
• It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate staff members for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it is for people to evaluate themselves.
• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.
• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to corroborate how small adjustment changes can often make sizable comfort changes.
• Partner with the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help advance ergonomic policies and practices and to offer employee training.

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a plan generally used to foster interest and participation. However, be aware that offering holiday activities in the workplace can foster concerns. Your workplace may have policies and ground rules already in place about concerns such as appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be sure to check with upper management regarding all ground rules and policies.

Remember to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is generally safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others might feel left out. In fact, acknowledging diverse holidays, if done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

A few topical ideas for holiday themes include:
• Company Wellness Program Committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each employee for Valentine’s Day.
• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Workers who exercise three times a week for at least one-half hour between November 1 and 15 are entered into a drawing for a free turkey (can be purchased at the local grocery store or donated).
• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up workplace introductory tai chi class offering.
• Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions. Each person can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food does not have to be be low fat or particularly healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a sizable health challenge. This wellness program exercise is fun, low-key, and helps employees monitor their weight during the holiday season.
• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident prior to Thanksgiving. The weigh-ins may be conducted on the honor system, but weight must be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You might invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.
• workers set a personal objective of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.
• Give weekly weight control hints. These ought to be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in brochure form.
• Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthy recipe options.
• Remind staff members of the necessity to continue physical exercise during the full holiday season.
• Weigh everyone the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.
• workers who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.
• staff members who gained weight receive a certificate of completion and an invitation to continue participation in a related health weight wellness activity.

National health observance campaigns can lighten workload and effort. Many of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which can either be downloaded for no cost or purchased inexpensively. Monthly health themes, week long events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also great ways to have fun while participating in larger events. Health observances are tied to almost every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider:

• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and businesses to offer larger events and celebrations.
• A wellness message is more likely to stick with people if the information is presented at work, in local grocery stores, and on television.
• National Employee Fitness Day/Week (April) is a wonderful place to start.
• A word of advice: do not go overboard in attempting to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Pick one to three programs per year and stick with these. Design and encourage programs well ensuring that employees will come to expect and anticipate these programs each year. It is best to do a few Employee Wellness Programs very well than countless promotions poorly.

Many workers enjoy team related activities. These activities usually take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is completely voluntary in nature. Although the sports team is not part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the team or exercise is associated with the business, the business could be held liable in the event of an employee injury. If the exercise brings with it a risk of injury, it is essential to address the possible risk and liability problems with the correct business department. Also consult with your organization’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.
• Establish summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter tobacco-free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.
• Give brochures and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park corporations so employee can take advantage of neighborhood leagues, trips and offerings.
• Invite an official from one of the above businesses to speak at a corporation brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to offer a demonstration of a new class offering.

Family Friendly Activities

Periodically offer activities which can be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include:
• TV Free Week (usually in April): Develop a chart for the kids to use to record their TV-free participation.
• Offer a certificate to anyone who is TV-free for a week.
• If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, such as less than 5 hours of TV, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

Many simple wellness activities and practices can help workers be aware of the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productiveness. It is crucial to help workers be aware of simple stress management strategies for decreasing stress levels.
• Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for employee use during a scheduled break time. Consider offering relaxation music or programs including player and headphones; mat or blanket to lie on; neck pillow; eye mask; and stress massage rollers.
• Offer a stress management brown bag event at which employees can try different types stress management tools.
• Encourage employees to take ten-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Display reminders.
• Provide a comfortable employee break area.
• Establish a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, if possible.
• Work with Senior Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the workplace. Supervisors are often the first step in helping workers find different ways of managing work related stressors.
• Contact the Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) for a variety of stress management information and self-assessments.
• Provide stress management self-assessments to interested staff members. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.

Mental Health and Wellness

Emotions and mental health greatly affect overall health and wellness. Every Company Health Promotion Program ought to incorporate some services, programs, resources or activities to address mental health concerns.

Mental health topics can be sensitive areas for staff members. Therefore, it is valuable to offer information in a variety of ways, workplace presentations being just one possibility. By way of example, put domestic violence resource cards in the restrooms to offer useful information in a private setting that does not embarrass anyone. Other considerations include:
• When planning to offer an oratory event or presentation a neutral class title will ensure potential participants won’t be put off by the name. For example, “Parenting in 2004″, “Positive Parenting”, or “Parent University” is much more appealing than “Stress and Parenting”.
• Be sure to allot sufficient time when hosting EAP/mental health sessions for a question and answer session so participants may ask specific questions. Always remind participants that individual help is available through the EAP and also through their health benefits. Offer written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.
• The EAP is an great partner and resource for wellness programming in these areas. The EAP can help find ways to address mental health, stress, coping, and other related problems.

Tobacco Cessation

Smoking cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness exercise. Smoking is frequently a difficult habit to overcome. Workplace wellness activities to support “tobacco-free” living include:
• Use American Lung Association resource. These include the Freedom From Smoking group and/or video-tutorial. There is also a follow-up video “A Lifetime of Freedom From Smoking”.
• Reward people who have successfully quit smoking for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some sort of incentive gift.
• Provide “cold turkey” sandwiches to smokers who pledge to quit during the Great American Smokeout.
• Start a “quitting or thinking about it” backing group to support  and advocate people trying to stop smoking.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

If a substance abuse policy is not in place in your workplace, advocate that one be developed. Request a knowledgeable Employee Health Promotion Program Committee member be included in the policy development process. If such a policy is already in place make sure Employee Health Promotion Program Committee participants are knowledgeable about the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind employees of wellness resources and programs available.
• Invite AA, NA, AI-Anon, and other groups to meet in a corporation building and/or publicize area gatherings.
• Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and make sure food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.
• Provide easily accessible information about counseling, referral, and treatment programs available in the area. Put this information in an area where it can be viewed without embarrassment.
• When delivering wellness programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight management, diet, physical fitness, smoking, and accident prevention.
• Issues such as co-dependence and the difficulty of assisting a substance abuser can also be addressed. Provide this information as part of the wellness program by providing informational materials, brown bag sessions, EAP information, etc.
• The Employee Assistance Program provider is an great resource for substance abuse wellness programming and or employee assistance.
• Other addictions, such as problem gambling, food addiction, shopping, Internet addiction, etc., can be an issue and can reach the point of affecting a person’s life and work. Offer information, video review, or employee assistance sessions addressing these subject matters.
• A Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee member may gain personal information regarding a worker issue. Remember to keep all employee information completely confidential.

Interest in increasing physical exercise ranks nearly as high as weight management in employee interest and need. Ideas for expanding employee awareness and participation in physical activities follow:

• Fitness classes in the workplace: Onsite exercise can be much more convenient for employees. Nevertheless, worksite classes require logistical planning and coordination with attention to details. Onsite classes are generally more feasible for larger businesses. As part of the steps in planning and assessment, talk with other Workplace Wellness Programs offering workplace classes. Ask what their experience has been like. Speak to potential vendors in the area as well. Find out what it would take to offer an on-Site fitness class. YMCA’s, health clubs, and area recreation programs are good resources for this kind of discussion. It is also feasible to offer a “mini” introductory workplace class series. A mini series might consist of an introduction to a new physical activity area. Workers are then expected to make the transition to home or area based programs.
• Nerf Olympics: Nerf games are fun (and entertaining) activities that bolster movement, flexibility, stress reduction, and usually are a good laugh. When creating such an activity consider setting up a “challenge” stations with various activities. Ideas for activities include hula hoop contests, Nerf basketball free throws, Nerf football tosses, Frisbee “golf”, jump rope, etc. The Wellness Team will lay out the course. Each colleague goes through the stations and gets a “gold” medal (you can buy these at party stores and toy stores inexpensively) for completing all of the stations (no matter how badly they perform). Start each colleague at intervals allowing for smooth running, but expect high difficulty stations to be backed up. This delay can add to the fun and creates a ‘keystone cops’ scenario. Nerf Olympics is a great activity to do with an audience, so bolster cheering coworkers.
• Provide incentives/rewards to staff members who engage in aerobic exercise such as walking, running and bicycling on their own time (see objective setting program, offer points toward prizes, etc.).
• Give out maps of walking/jogging trails located near the workplace. Mark distances in steps and miles. Urge employees to walk during lunch and/or break times. Post a steps accumulated map on a workplace wall where employees can log their steps or miles.
• Encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoying other forms of exercise to form fitness groups to meet before work, during lunch, or after work.
• Promote the use of stairs instead of elevators. Place bulletin boards, art contests, etc., in stairways.
• Organize “Bike-to-Work” or Walk-to-Work week.
• Schedule five-minute desk stretching at the workplace. This can relieve repetitive motion problems as well as eye and back strain.
• Organize a personal challenge exercise such as “Climb a Mountain” or “Swim a Sea”. This is an honor system program in which participating workers are awarded minutes, steps, or miles credit for cardiovascular exercise (swimming, walking, running, skiing, biking, stair stepping, aerobics, etc.). The object of this type of challenge is to accumulate the equivalent mileage it would take to reach the top of a famous mountain, span a body of water (swim the Columbia River), or reach a distant city/county. Try personalizing the challenge as much as possible to individual interests and/or area geographical matches close to the worksite.
• Accumulate a variety of exercise video or DVD tapes. Employees can either check out a tape for home use, or offer a group exercise video class.
• If it is not possible for employee to leave the building to work out during lunch, try starting an in-house aerobic walking track for employee use in an unused part of the workplace for lunch, break or after hours use. An example of how this concern might be solved is the use of stationary bikes and other small exercise equipment given for employee by some 911 call centers.
• Develop a “Personal Best” Challenge”. Employees run, walk, bike, etc. their own personal best time. Repeat the personal best challenge each quarter to six months. Each time an employee improves, offer recognition and an appropriate award. Also, recognize those employees who maintain their personal best in the same way. Urge non-participating employees to get involved. Assist these people in choosing an exercise that is comfortable and of interest for them, and one in which they can succeed and progress.
• When you offer an introductory or other workplace exercise class or activity, make sure the instructor can relate to the audience, and the audience can relate to the instructor. Have a Corporate Wellness Program Committee member attend a current class by the selected instructor class prior to the instructor conducting a class at workplace. Also, consider the employees who may be potentially attending the class. Sometimes larger and/or older exercise instructors are often better accepted by audiences who are similarly sized and aged.
• Offer a themed “virtual” trek. Calculate the mileage for the proposed “trip” ahead of time. Be sure that the distance is appropriate for the number of expected participants and time for the event (six to eight weeks) works well. For longer activities, small teams can accumulate their mileage for the trip. Establish a reporting network. Display a map to track the trip. Chart the progress with stick pins, a magic marker, or a highlighter. Give a brief humorous fictional narrative of the trip, posting a new one each week. Include as many participants’ names as possible. Alternate posting humorous texts with health tips along the way. Give an incentive at the end of the trip.

Ideas For Physical Activity Themes:

• Swim the Mississippi to the Mardi gras.
• Take a tour to all Oregon counties.
• Take a tour of Oregon from Enterprise to Brookings.
• Run or walk around the world (25,000 miles).
• Tour de France (take all summer)
• Tour de France on a stationary bike (take all winter)
• Indianapolis 500
• Climb Mount Everest (stairs or stair climbers). Target Sir Edmund Hilary’s birthday or the anniversary of the first conquest as a completion date.
• Climb Mount Washington or Mt. Hood. Target President’s Day as a completion date.
• Climb any significant mountain and tie it to any remotely related event.
• Use time in exercise as a measurement for the contest rather than distance. This allows you to treat all forms of aerobic exercise more equitably.