Employee Wellness

Employee Wellness: Make safety a key concern when creating physical exercise in your worksite. An accident or injury will not “sell” the program and may end up costing the employer. This section will assist you in taking the necessary steps to avoid an accident or injury.

Points to Keep in Mind

Using Certified Professionals

Hire professionally certified instructors to lead fitness classes (whether on or offsite) or to run worksite lunch and learn sessions.  It’s also smart to ask the instructor for references.

When you hire instructors, be sure that your insurance protects both the instructor and your business.

Risk Management

Whether we like it or not, liability is a problem these days.

Risk management plans need not be complex or expensive. By way of example, part of the plan might require that employees complete fitness appraisals and sign statements accepting the possible risks involved in physical activity. It pays to be prepared. Safety and emergency policies and procedures lower the risk of loss both to individuals and to your corporation.

Ask staff members to sign a waiver when participating in both onsite and offsite activities. For liability reasons, staff members must know the risks involved in participating in the activity and be aware that they are waiving their right to sue.

The employee must not be asked to sign the waiver just before the exercise. The waiver may be invalid if staff members claim that they didn’t completely know the risks.

Other Safety Tips

Here’s a list of some other safety tips to keep in mind when creating physical activity.

Look at the environment where workers are active:

• Sidewalks must be clear of ice and snow, away from falling debris or snow, and have clearly marked curbs and safe crosswalks.
• Stairwells should be well-lit and in good condition and have handrails and safety features, so that staff members are not locked out of floors.
• Fitness facilities should have proper flooring, great ventilation, and access to water and an emergency phone.

Provide medical evaluation for employees participating in activities:

• PAR-Q
• PAR-MEDX for Pregnancy

Below are some other significant safety factors:

• First-aid kit and automated external defibrillator on site.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place and practised.
• Commercial grade fitness equipment (not donated, “hand me down” equipment).
• Documented equipment inspection and maintenance schedule.
• Orientation of equipment and programs done by certified professional with a physical activity background.

To make a difference in the lives of your fellow employees, you first need to understand that getting active is not simply a matter of choice. Some things are within our individual control, but others are molded by the people and circumstances in which we live and work.

It’s Easier to Be Active When…

• We know what to do and have the confidence, skills and opportunity to do it.
• It’s fun. “Working out” at the fitness center does not appeal to everyone. Activities need to reflect what individuals enjoy.
• Our friends, family or co-employees are active with us (or at least support us).
• We feel safe, thanks to well-lit streets or stairways.
• Sidewalks, walking/biking trails, parks and gyms are nearby.
• We have money to pay for equipment, instruction or memberships.
• We can walk, bike or take public transit to work.
• Active choices such as taking the stairs, having stretch breaks at meetings and heading outside at lunchtime are “normal” in the worksite.
• Managers support and recognize employee efforts. Better yet, they participate.
• We can juggle our work hours to fit in physical exercise.

Think about how you could create some of these conditions in your workplace. By taking these steps, you’ll increase the likelihood that staff members both want and are able to be active during the workday.

Workplace physical exercise pushes that focus only on individuals have limited success. Research shows that reaching people in multiple ways gives the best chance of long-term success.

A plan directed at multiple echelons is also called an “ecological approach.”

The type of assessment you choose is dependent upon when you do it and the kind of information you gather.

This section outlines when to use three types: formative, process and summative evaluations.

During the Design Stage

Use formative evaluations in the planning stages to ensure that your program is built on solid information. These evaluations also help you to advance effective and appropriate materials and procedures.

Examples of formative evaluations include:

• records of upper management commitments to the program
• employee interest surveys
• workplace environmental assessments
• pre-testing of program materials

During Your Initiative

A process evaluation is used when the initiative is underway. These evaluations help you:

• track what is going well and what isn’t (and how to revise your program)
• find out if you are reaching the employees you want to reach
• describe the program to others
• monitor who is participating in the program

During or Following Your Initiative

Summative evaluations happen when the program is already in place or completed. Use this type of assessment to measure what workers like about the program and what could be improved.

All three types of evaluations have their place. The assessment you choose is dependent upon the time and financial resources you have available.

What Do You Wish to Achieve?

Ponder why you’re evaluating and what your assessment is going to measure.

If you’re trying to find out whether plan has been efficacious, see if you stuck to your mission statement and met your goals/objectives.

If you do not have a mission statement or objectives and goals, agree with upper management and your employee Workplace Wellness Program Committee how your organization will track success.

By way of example, you can track success by changes in:

• Physical measures (e.g., strength, flexibility, waist circumference of staff members).
• Psychological measures (e.g., employee morale, satisfaction levels, stress levels).
• Productivity measures (e.g., decline in absenteeism rates, increased employee productiveness).

Thinking About staff members

If you’re thinking of making improvements to the plan, consider whether the plan is still relevant and fitting for employees. Find out if there are any barriers to participation in the program or to participation in physical activity during work.

As employees are the ones participating in the program, it’s valuable to give them a chance to support feedback on the physical activity initiative.

Choosing an Evaluation Method

Decide on your assessment method. Both measurable results (e.g., absenteeism rates or questionnaire responses) and descriptive results (e.g., one-on-one interviews or focus groups) can be used to evaluate. The method you choose will hinge upon the time and funding available and what you want to measure.

Deciding How to Do the Assessment

Decide when and where you will do your evaluation (and who will be evaluated). For more information, read the “Types of Evaluations” section on this website.
You may want to pilot test your evaluation (e.g., with participants of the Worksite Wellness Program Committee) before sending it out to staff members. The employee Worksite Wellness Program Committee may also want to evaluate the initiative’s planning process.

Doing the Evaluation

• Compare your results to baseline information (i.e., evaluation results from before the launch of your plan). If you do not have this information, save your evaluation results to compare with later results. You can also look at other information you may have, such as employee satisfaction survey results.
• Analyze and disseminate meaningful and simple-to-understand results with upper management and staff members.
• Evaluation results can be used to improve the current physical exercise program and/or to develop new pushes in future.

Prior to initiating your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve collected and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

• gained backing from senior staff for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Employee Health Promotion Program Committee
• assessed what is possible in your workplace
• found out what employees want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you’re now ready to develop your action plan to boost physical activity at your workplace.

With the Worksite Wellness Program Committee, take the following steps.

• Combine the outcome of the employee survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to upper management and staff members.
• Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, company, community, policy) in the workplace listed in “Keys to Success”. By way of example, suppose a large group of employees show an interest in biking to work. Since these people may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you could give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks could also be valuable for making employees’ bikes secure during the workday.
• Consult the list of practical ideas found this website.
• Establish a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s overall mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Setting goals and objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint approaching what you have learned. Make program and activity recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek upper management approval to move ahead.
• Once your plan is in place, it’s significant to encourage it to employees. Organizing a launch is a good way to do this. A formal launch additionally demonstrates upper management responsibility. If employees don’t know about the plan, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Establish what you need to track to show that you have reached your goals. Measure these factors before you begin. This way, when you evaluate later, you will know if there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical activity during the workday, you must discover what employees need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to influence, so it’s critical to be aware of their needs and gain their backing.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask staff members questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical exercise participation.

It’s valuable to know this information so that your physical activity plan meets employees’ needs. Workers will not take part in something they’re not interested in.

Ask staff members what they want, and then enable changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. By way of example, staff members may not wish to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask workers what the business could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common behavior throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of individuals.

By way of example, suppose a sizable group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be significant as well.

If you’re launching a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter arrives, participation is already a habit.

Involving workers is key to building physical activity participation rates. People are more willing to participate in and support physical activity initiatives when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:

• Keep it short (no longer than ten minutes to complete).
• Let workers know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and tough to analyze, ask people to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and ideas in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of possible programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although backing from the top is critical to a thriving initiative, backing from other staff members is also important.

Once you get the go-ahead from senior staff, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee to help determine the next steps. Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of employee time management is willing to contribute, this Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the plan.

The Workplace Wellness Program Committee might include staff members from human resources, occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a good idea to involve employee from other areas who have an interest in promoting physical activity. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. By way of example, it’s important for the Workplace Wellness Program Committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following:

• Assessing your workplace environment
• Carrying out an employee interest survey.
• Developing a mission statement and objectives.
• Writing a physical exercise or wellness policy declaring the organization’s responsibility to physical exercise.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the initiative.
• Coordinating specific activities.
• Deciding how the program will be evaluated.
• Continually assessing what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Prior to making plans to bolster physical exercise during the workday, it’s valuable to find out what is “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s not feasible due to funding or space limits. By way of example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness facility if there’s no room for it. Be open, however, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Finding out What’s Feasible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for maps of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails may be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some questions to help you assess your workplace:

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space provide that make it easier to be physically active during the workday? By way of example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a fitness facility, factory walking lanes?
• What nearby facilities or opportunities might employees use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you near sidewalks, walking trails, community centres, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?
• What resources are available?
• Can the plan access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?
• What is the structure of your organization? For example, consider employee size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining management reinforcement is critical to the success of a physical activity plan.

Whether the changes you’d like to make involve the work environment, overriding policies or specific programs, successfully launching your ideas is dependent upon senior staff reinforcement.

Support from senior staff is critical for 3 reasons:

• You need their support to involve staff members in a workplace initiative.
• When senior staff pays attention to and supports initiative, staff members also view the initiative as worthwhile.
• Senior Management has the authority to give work time and money to support the initiative.

It’s valuable to keep management involved throughout a physical exercise plan, but at three points you’ll need support for:

• An overriding concept, including a go-ahead to assess what workers want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.
• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.
• Evaluating the initiative to better it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the initiative.

Approaching Upper Management

Prior to going to senior staff to gain initial reinforcement for promoting physical activity during work, do your homework.

• Prepare a organization case clearly outlining how the organization will advance by promoting physical activity during work.
• List the individual, social and corporate advantages of physical activity and the advantages of being active during the workday.
• Present some cursory ideas about what the program might include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from senior staff:

• How will this help our business?
• How can we innervate staff members to participate?
• How much will it cost to operate this program or bring about this change?
• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the types of activities they would support. Often managers have their own ideas they would like to see acted on to improve the workplace.

Remember to include middle managers when gaining support for your initiative. They may prove to be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical exercise challenges.

In today’s organization atmosphere, the health of workers is frequently related to the health of the organization. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased productivity are just some of the benefits of having healthy workers. Promoting health in your workplace does not have to be be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any organization, large or little, can reward healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some ideas:

Healthier Eating

• For breakfast gatherings, rather than serving donuts, big muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch meetings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) staff members for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy food choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.
• Offer a means for individuals to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Develop programs and group activities to promote employees to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge activities, stretch breaks, group sports or participation in local or provincial activities.
• Provide onsite health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in Employee Assistance Program(EAP)s to help staff members work towards physical exercise objectives and goals.
• Offer a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices easy: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairways, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and fitness center facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that staff members have more opportunities to take part in physical activity programs as part of their working day.
• Reimburse gym membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Give corporate fitness center memberships to reduce expenditures of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Create lunch ‘n learn sessions to support information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to support cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Display a list of local restaurants that offer healthy food choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate employees on portion sizes.
• Include physical activity and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Create activities that promote healthy eating and physical exercise. By way of example, begin a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Can a small company support workplace wellness? You bet! In fact, in some ways it is easier to establish a healthy workplace in a small company than in a big company.

Limited resources, especially in small businesses, can prevent a business from setting up a Corporate Wellness Program. Reasons can include:

• lack of fiscal resources;
• lack of employee;
• lack of senior-level backing;
• sparse knowledge of the wellness concept and;
• concern about making wellness available to all staff members.

According to the Wellness Councils of America, some small corporation owners may have the wrong idea of what is involved in running a Corporate Wellness Program. Some employers aren’t sure a program would truly work and others feel that trying to change personal lifestyle behaviours is intruding and “none of their business”.  Maybe they don’t know that it need not be costly and that they don’t need special employee. They may not realize that some employee would like to see some healthy changes and would help make things happen in their workplace.

It Can Be Done

Many small companies have found ways to have a Workplace Health Promotion Program that works for them. They keep the expense and effort to a minimum and still have results that are positive for everyone. In 2006, Graham Lowe wrote a report on the best places to work in Calgary. He said that healthy workplaces often have a “positive workplace culture”.  In a workplace with a positive culture, individuals feel appreciated, valued, and trusted.

Dr. Lowe says it is easier for a small workplace to have a beneficial workplace culture than for a sizable workplace. Many staff members prefer to work for a small employer, he says, because it supplies more opportunities to work closely with others and foster a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most thriving companies with fewer than 100 workers have:

• excellent employee benefits;
• policies that reward a balance between work and personal life;
• flexible schedules;
• competitive salaries;
• great leadership with an emphasis on teamwork;
• environmentally responsible organization policies;
• procedures for seeking employee input; and
• a focus on placing employees’ personal wellness ahead of the personal gain of Senior Leadership.

All or most of these elements are also pieces of a good Corporate Wellness Program.

Tips and Ideas

There are many ways to include health and wellness in a small company. You do not necessarily need a wellness consultant or a fancy gym. What you do need is reinforcement from management and a Workplace Wellness Program Committee of a few committed people. Below are some ideas that your workplace can consider.

Communications and Promotion

• Send out a regular “wellness” newsletter on paper or online. Or send out a brief message such as the weekly Healthy U Hot Tip.
• Use promotions that are already designed, such as Healthy Workplace Week.

Active Living and Healthy Eating

• Urge employee to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing contest.
• Get pedometers for staff members and count their steps.
• Rent a nearby school or area gym and offer physical activity classes.
• Bring in a local fitness instructor to teach classes or lead stretch breaks. Costs can be shared with workers.
• Install secure bike parking.
• Offer healthy alternatives at employer gatherings and lunches.

Policy and Organization Programs

• Enlist an ergonomics specialist to evaluate workstations.
• Create policies to support work-life balance (for example, mandatory vacations, flextime, limits to work and e-mail on personal time).
• Give a wellness subsidy for a variety of health and leadership activities and courses.
• Give monetary rewards and incentives to be healthy.
• Offer wellness incentives and rewards as rewards and recognition for a job well done.
• Conduct an corporation health audit.
• Become a partner with the area (for example, daycare, gyms, festivals, parks, restaurants).
• Distribute the workload. Establish a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee.

Small organizations may not have much time, money, or human resources(HR) available for a Worksite Health Promotion Program. But they often have a big advantage over big companies-a positive workplace culture. That is a good foundation for a Worksite Health Promotion Program. When workers are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they are more advantageous, and tend to be healthier.  With a bit of creativity and passion, small organizations can foster efficacious Worksite Health Promotion Programs. Obtain support from upper management, form a Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!