Posts from — May 2009

To make a difference in the lives of your fellow staff members, you first need to grasp that getting active is not simply a matter of choice. Some things are within our individual control, but others are shaped 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-staff members are active with us (or at least support us).
• We feel safe, thanks to well-lit streets or stairwells.
• 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 going 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 might set up some of these conditions in your worksite. By taking these steps, you’ll make it more likely that workers both want and are able to be active during working hours.

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

A strategy directed at multiple levels is also called an “ecological approach.”

The sort of evaluation you choose depends on when you do it and the kind of information you gather.

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

During the Design Stage

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

Examples of formative evaluations include:

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

During Your Initiative

A process assessment is used when the program is underway. These evaluations help you:

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

During or After Your Initiative

Summative evaluations happen when the initiative is already in place or completed. Use this sort of assessment to measure what staff members like about the initiative and what could be improved.

All three types of evaluations are useful. The evaluation you choose depends on the time and financial resources you have available.

What Do You Seek to Achieve?

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

If you’re trying to discover whether program has been efficacious, see if you stuck to your mission statement and met your goals and objectives.

If you don’t have a mission statement or goals/objectives, agree with upper management and your employee Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee how your organization will measure success.

For example, you can track success by changes in:

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

Thinking About employees

If you’re considering making improvements to the plan, think about whether the plan is still relevant and appropriate for employees. Find out if there are any obstacles to participation in the program or to participation in physical exercise during the workday.

As employees are the ones participating in the program, it’s important to give them a chance to offer feedback on the physical exercise plan.

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

Plan when and where you will do your assessment (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 members of the Company Health Promotion Program Committee) before sending it out to employees. The employee Company Health Promotion Program Committee may also wish to evaluate the initiative’s planning process.

Doing the Evaluation

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

Before initiating your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve gathered and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

• gained backing from management for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Company Wellness 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 cultivate your action plan to improve physical exercise at your workplace.

With the Employee 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 big group of staff members show an interest in biking to work. Since these individuals 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 suggestions 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 objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint addressing what you have learned. Make program and exercise recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek management approval to move ahead.
• Once your initiative is in place, it’s significant to promote it to workers. Organizing a launch is a great way to do this. A formal kick-off additionally demonstrates senior staff responsibility. If workers do not know about the initiative, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Decide what you need to track to show that you have reached your goals/objectives. 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 workers need and want. They are the people whose actions you are trying to impact, so it’s important to understand their needs and gain their support.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask employees questions that let you assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.

It’s valuable to know this information so that your physical exercise plan meets employees’ needs. Staff Members aren’t going to take part in something they’re not interested in.

Ask employees what they want, and then enable changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. For example, employees may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask workers what the corporation might 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 might affect much individuals.

For example, suppose a large 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 starting a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter arrives, participation is already a habit.

Involving staff members is key to increasing physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to participate in and support physical exercise pushes 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 10 minutes to complete).
• Make sure employees know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and difficult to analyze, ask them to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and suggestions 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, see that your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although backing from the top is essential to a thriving initiative, backing from other employees is also significant.

Once you get the go-ahead from senior staff, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Employee Wellness 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 Employee Wellness Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the plan.

The Corporate Wellness Program Committee could include employees 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 exercise. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. By way of example, it’s important for the Corporate 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.
• Creating a mission statement and objectives and goals.
• Writing a physical activity or wellness policy declaring the organization’s responsibility to physical activity.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the program.
• 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 promote physical activity during work, it’s important to learn what is “doable” in your workplace.

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

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

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for diagrams 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 evaluate your workplace:

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

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

Whether the changes you’d like to see involve the work environment, overriding policies or specific programs, successfully implementing your ideas is dependent upon management backing.

Support from upper management is vital for 3 reasons:

• You need their support to involve workers in a workplace initiative.
• When senior staff pays attention to and supports program, employees also see the program as worthwhile.
• Senior Leadership has the authority to give work time and money to support the initiative.

It’s significant to keep upper management involved throughout a physical activity initiative, but at three points you’ll need support for:

• An overriding concept, including a go-ahead to evaluate what employees 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.
• Reviewing the program to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the program.

Approaching Senior Management

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

• Prepare a organization case clearly outlining how the organization will benefit by promoting physical exercise during the workday.
• List the individual, social and corporate benefits of physical exercise and the benefits of being active during work.
• Present some general 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 management:

• How will this help our employer?
• How can we arouse employees 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 meaningful use of time and resources?

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

Remember to include middle managers when gaining reinforcement for your program. They can be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical activity challenges.

In today’s employer environment, the health of workers is frequently related to the health of the employer. 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 employer, big or small, can promote healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some suggestions:

Healthy Eating

• For breakfast gatherings, instead of serving donuts, sizable muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100% fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch meetings, avert serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100 % fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) staff members for items purchased to better 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% fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.
• Provide a means for people to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Plan events and group activities to encourage workers to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge programs, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial programs.
• Offer on-Site health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in EAPs to help workers work towards physical exercise objectives and goals.
• Give 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 health club facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that workers have more opportunities to take part in exercise program as part of their working day.
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) health club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Give corporate health club memberships to decrease costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

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

Can a small business support workplace wellness? You bet! In fact, in some ways it is easier to create a healthy workplace in a small business than in a large business.

Limited resources, especially in small employers, can prevent a organization from setting up a Corporate Health Promotion Program. Reasons can include:

• lack of fiscal resources;
• lack of employee;
• lack of senior-level reinforcement;
• little knowledge of the wellness concept and;
• concern about making wellness available to all workers.

According to the Wellness Councils of America, some small corporation owners may have the wrong idea of what is involved in running a Worksite Wellness Program. Some employers aren’t convinced that a program would truly work and others feel that trying to change personal lifestyle behaviours is intruding and “none of their business”.  Maybe they do not know that it need not be costly and that they do not need special employee. They may not know 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 businesses have found ways to have a Corporate Wellness Program that works for them. They keep the expenditure 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 frequently 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 positive workplace culture than for a big workplace. Many employees prefer to work for a small organization, he says, because it provides more opportunities to work closely with others and develop a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most thriving employers with fewer than 100 staff members have:

• great 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 employer policies;
• procedures for seeking employee input; and
• a focus on placing employees’ personal well-being ahead of the personal gain of Senior Management.

All or most of these elements are also elements of a strong Employee Health Promotion Program.

Tips and Ideas

There are various ways to include wellness and health in a small business. You may not necessarily need a wellness professional or a fancy fitness center. What you do need is support from upper management and a Company Health Promotion 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 internet based. Or send out a brief message such as the weekly Healthy U Hot Tip.
• Use promotions that are ready-designed, such as Healthy Workplace Week.

Active Living and Healthy Eating

• Urge employee to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing contest.
• Provide pedometers for staff members and count their steps.
• Rent a nearby school or area gym and offer physical activity classes.
• Hire a local fitness instructor to give classes or lead stretch breaks. Expenses can be shared with staff members.
• Install secure bicycle parking.
• Serve healthy alternatives at organization gatherings and lunches.

Policy and Business Plans

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

Small organizations may not have an abundance of time, money, or human resources(HR) available for a Company Wellness Program. But they often have a big advantage over big companies-a positive workplace culture. That is a good foundation for a Company Wellness Program. When employees are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they are more advantageous, and tend to be healthier.  With a little creativity and passion, small organizations can cultivate successful Company Wellness Programs. Obtain backing from senior staff, form a Company Wellness Program Committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!

Workplace wellness is in the process of evolving.

Early efforts to create healthy workplaces focused on safety at the workplace and injury prevention for staff members.

More recently, programs are designed to help  staff members to choose healthier behaviors like being more physically active or quitting smoking. Campaigns to increase awareness, educational sessions to expand knowledge, opportunities to learn new skills, and changes to policies to make it easier for staff members to make healthy choices are often included. This approach is taken because the workplace is a great way to reach individuals, since most adult Canadians invest a big part of their day at work.

While safety and lifestyle programs are two aspects that contribute to the health of workers, workplace wellness is more effective when a third factor is brought into the equation-the environment at work.

How the workplace affects health.

Increasingly, it is agreed upon that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people’s health. When individuals are satisfied with their job, they are more constructive and tend to be healthier. When employees feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed. Stress has a sizable impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity.

Consultant Graham Lowe has identified five components of workplace culture that directly affect employees’ health and the health of the business overall-credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. The underlying idea is that corporations must truly care about the wellness of their workers.

Businesses today who want to attract and retain great employees have leaders who understand the importance between employee satisfaction and employee health and believe that workplace wellness is a employer strategy.  Their management practices include making reasonable demands on time and energy, involving employees in decision making, rewarding work well done, openly communicating, and offering support to balance life at work and home.

Employers know that staff members are looking for jobs that compensate well, have great benefits, are interesting, and include great health and safety programs. So in today’s competitive hiring market, it’s become more important than ever for corporations to enhance job satisfaction and make sure that staff members enjoy being on the job. Workplace wellness benefits both employers and staff members.

How does workplace wellness benefit the business?

A workplace wellness program can help a organization to:

• attract and keep staff members;
• lower the costs of disability, prescriptions, and absenteeism;
• reduce the effects of a stressful workplace;
• decrease health expenditures or keep them contained; and
• better morale by organizing a happy, supportive environment.

How Do Workplace Wellness Programs Profit workers?

workers of businesses that have a Company Health Promotion Program are likely to have:

• increased awareness and knowledge of ways to improve their health;
• a better (less stressful) workplace;
• increased protection from injury;
• improved health and well-being;
• higher morale and greater job satisfaction;
• increased work rate and performance at work;
• reduced personal healthcare expenditures; and
• a more relaxed/flexible approach to health concerns.

Both employers and staff members have a responsibility for organizing a healthy workplace. Employees are expected to arrive at work in great health, and the employer is expected to offer an environment that allows staff members to maintain great health, enjoy their work, and contribute to the company’s success.

Workplace wellness is much more than a “lunch and learn” program. It’s about creating a “people first” approach to doing business. It’s about taking care of workers, starting a beneficial work environment, and paying attention to the factors that keep workers healthy and happy at work. A good Company Health Promotion Program has an influence on employees’ mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness.