Posted by Health Handouts | Posted in Health Handouts, Health Tips | Posted on 01-08-2009
How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look happy? Is the place illuminated and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a gloom descend upon you, and count the hours until you are able to leave?
The influence of the workplace environment on the wellness and health of staff members is huge. First there is the physical look, feel, smell, and sounds of the place. Then you’re affected by the policies, like whether others are allowed to light up around you. After a while, more subtle factors start to affect you. Do your attempts to live a healthier lifestyle get recognized at work, or are they sabotaged? Are your managers inspiring you by being healthy role models? Do you get regular opportunities to discover healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, employees feel that the business they work for supplies them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles. And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Staff Members who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.
The following ideas will help you transform your workplace environment into one that actually supports the wellness of your workers and organization.
Worksite Wellness Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments
Wellness Friendly Facilities
When you enter a workplace, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? Is there sufficient light and clean air? Are there pleasant work areas, places to eat decent meals, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. How does it smell? Sound? Do the staff members have sufficient space?
• Vending machines with healthy meal choices like non-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks
• Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other physical activity opportunities onsite or nearby
• Cafeteria offers healthy foods including a salad bar with low-fat dressing
• Natural light is used whenever possible; all lighting is appropriate and adequate
• Heating and ventilation is adjustable, comfortable and healthful
• No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas workplace
• Noise levels are safe and conducive to concentration
• Work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety risks have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for employees who exercise before work or during breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it difficult to evaluate a workplace. People get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them. It might provce useful to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also assist.
Proactive Wellness Policies
One clear way to impact behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t permitted to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be fewer medication errors. If parents are allowed flextime to manage their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If workers are able to apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up instead of calling in sick to utilize them all.
Supportive corporate policies may include:
• Seatbelt use demanded in business vehicles
• Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow workers to exercise, go to children’s school conferences, etc.
• Nonsmoking policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift employees are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Medical Costs coverage rewards good health
• Rates of Absenteeism policy rewards employees who don’t use sick days
• EAP available to help workers with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
• Meaningful consequences are used for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior. Your employer may have a policy concerning alcohol use during work hours, but if everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch reeking of beer, the culture is one that permits drinking at lunchtime-and one in which written policies are able to be safely ignored. Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies become mere lip service instead of springboards to health.
Consistent Recognition And Rewards For Success
Attention, praise, and rewards are provided for wellness achievements.
You are able to show you value the Workplace Health Promotion Programs by celebrating your programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in employer newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at yearly banquets, gatherings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to show appreciation, too.
Wellness mentors are sought and applauded, too. Staff Members who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer modeling and mentoring classes have the potential to bolster those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.
Managers Model And Support Healthier Behavior
Nothing could say “We encourage you to exercise frequently” better than a manager going on a bike ride during the lunch hour–or your supervisor sitting next to you in a weight management class. Wellness activities encourage relaxed interaction between people from different departments and at different echelons in the chain of command. That promotes relaxed communication and a feeling of solidarity that is pure gold.
Managers are able to also provide support for workers who are working on bettering their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “great job” or “nice to see you at the health club” has the potential to put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers are able to also help by allowing workers the flexibility to catch wellness activities.
Ongoing Employee Health Promotion Programs
It’s important to give staff members the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and important part of the employer, not a employer fad. That can activate as soon as a new employee is hired.
New employees are oriented to the wellness program as one of the employee benefits. Information about the program must be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who encourages the new employee to take part.
The workers are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are visible in the organization. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are provided. There are subject matters of interest for everyone.