Posts from — October 2010

Tying wellness activities into holiday themes is a strategy commonly used to develop interest and participation. However, be aware that offering holiday activities in the worksite can develop issues.

Your worksite might have policies and guidelines already in place about issues such as appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Make certain to check with executive management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Remember to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It is ordinarily safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that aren’t specific to one culture, as others might feel left out.

In fact, acknowledging diverse holidays, when done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

Several topical ideas for holiday themes include -

o  Wellness committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each worker for Valentine’s Day.

o  Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees 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 supermarket or donated).

o  Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up workplace introductory tai chi class offering.

o  Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/etc. holiday food potluck. Members of different cultural or ethnic groups bring in a dish reflective of their holiday traditions.

Each individuals can say a few words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food doesn’t have to be low fat or namely healthy, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain can be a big health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and helps employees monitor their weight during the holiday season.

o  Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident before Thanksgiving.  The weigh-ins may  be conducted on the honor system, but weight must be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You may invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

o  Staff Members set an individual goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

o  Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

o  Give weekly weight control hints. These ought to be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in brochure form.

o  Or, alternate the weekly hints with healthful recipe options.

o  Remind personnel of the necessity to continue exercise during the busy holiday season.

o  Weigh everyone the first work day following New Year’s Day. Record the weight on the tracking card.

o  Employees that have maintained their weight or that have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

o  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. A lot of of these well-developed observances have kits and materials which can either be downloaded for free or purchased inexpensively.

Monthly health themes, week Iong events, and nationally recognized days of the year are also good ways to have fun while participating in larger events. Health observances are tied to almost every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider -

o  National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and businesses to coordinate larger events and celebrations.

o  A wellness message is more likely to stick with individuals if the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on television.

o  National Employee Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to begin.

o  A word of advice – do not go overboard in attempting to tie a health promotion program into these national observances, as there are so many. Pick one to three events annually and stick with these.

Develop and promote events well ensuring that employees will come to expect and anticipate these wellness programs each year. It’s best to do a few wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.

A lot of staff members enjoy team related activities. These activities generally take place on an worker’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.

Even though the sports team isn’t part of an employee’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the business, the business may be held liable in the event of an employee injury.

When the activity brings with it a risk of injury, it’s necessary to address the possible risk and liability issues with the correct organization department. In addition talk with your organization’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

o  Organize summer softball or volleyball teams, a winter ski outing, fall and winter smoke free bowling teams, a spring golf tournament, summer walks, etc.

o  Provide handouts and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so staff can take benefit of community leagues, trips and offerings.

o  Invite an official from one of the above businesses to speak at a company brown bag event, or invite an area Parks and Recreation instructor to provide 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 -

o  Television Free Week (usually in April) – Create a chart for the kids to use to record their TV-free participation.

o  Provide a certificate to anyone who’s TV-free for a week.

o  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 Television, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

Many simple wellness activities and practices can help staff understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It’s necessary to help staff understand simple stress management strategies for reducing stress levels.

o  Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for worker use during a scheduled break time. Consider providing relaxation music or programs including player and headphones; mat or blanket to lie on; neck pillow; eye mask; and stress massage rollers.

o  Give a stress management brown bag event at which personnel can try different kinds stress management tools.

o  Make sure to encourage staff members to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.

o  Give a comfortable employee break area.

o  Designate a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, when possible.

o  Be sure to work with 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.

o  Contact the Staff Member Assistance Provider (EAP) for a variety of stress management information and self-assessments.

o  Make available stress management self-assessments to interested workers. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.

Mental Wellness

Emotions and mental health greatly affect overall health and wellness. Every wellness program should incorporate some services, programs, resources or activities to address mental health issues.

Mental health topics could be sensitive areas for personnel. Hence, it is crucial that you provide information in a variety of ways, worksite presentations being just one possibility.

For example, put domestic violence resource cards in the restrooms to provide useful information in a private establishing that does not embarrass anyone. Other considerations include -

o  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  instance, “Parenting in 2004″, “Positive Parenting”, or “Parent Univ.” is much more appealing than “Stress and Parenting”.

o  Be certain to allot enough time when hosting EAP/mental health workshops for a question and answer session so participants may ask specific questions.

Always remind participants that individual help is available through the employee assistance program (EAP) also through their health benefits. Give written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.

o  The Worker Assistance Program (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 issues.

Smoking Cessation

Use of tobacco cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness activity. Use of tobacco is often a difficult habit to overcome. Company health promotion activities to support “smoke-free” living include -

o  Use American Lung Association resource. These include the Freedom From Use of tobacco group and/or video-tutorial. There is also a follow-up video “A Lifetime of Freedom From Use of tobacco”.

o  Reward person that have successfully quit use of tobacco for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some type of incentive gift.

o  Make available “cold turkey” sandwiches to smokers who pledge to quit during the Excellent American Smokeout.

o  Start a “quitting or thinking about it” support group to assist and encourage person attempting to stop smoking.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

When a substance abuse policy isn’t in place in your worksite, advocate that one be developed. Request a knowledgeable Health Promotion Committee member be included in the policy development process.

When such a policy is already in place make certain Health Promotion Committee members are aware about the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind workers of wellness resources and programs available.

o  Invite AA, NA, AI-Anon, and other groups to meet in a corporation building and/or publicize community meetings.

o  Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and make certain food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.

o  Give easily accessible information about counseling, referral, and treatment programs available in the community. Put this information in an area where it could be viewed without embarrassment.

o  When conducting wellness programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight control, nutrition, physical fitness, smoking, and accident prevention.

o  Issues like co-dependence and the difficulty of helping 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.

o  The Worker Assistance Program provider is an great resource for substance abuse health promotion programming and or staff member assistance.

o  Other addictions, such as problem gambling, food addiction, shopping, Internet addiction, etc., may be problematic and can reach the point of affecting a person’s life and work. Provide information, video review, or employee assistance sessions addressing these topics.

o  A Wellness Committee member may gain personal information regarding an staff member problem. Don’t forget to keep all staff member information totally confidential.

Interest in increasing exercise ranks nearly as high as weight control in worker interest and need. Ideas for increasing worker awareness and participation in physical activities follow -

o  Fitness classes in the workplace – Onsite exercise can be much more convenient for workers. However, on-site classes require logistical planning and coordination with attention to details.

On-Site courses are usually more feasible for bigger businesss.  As part of the steps in planning and assessment, speak with other wellness programs offering workplace classes. Ask what their experience has been like.

Talk to potential vendors in the area as well. Find out what it’d take to offer an onsite fitness class. YMCA’s, gyms, and community recreation programs are excellent resources for this kind of discussion.

It is also feasible to offer a “mini” introductory worksite class series. A mini series might consist of an introduction to a new physical activity area. Staff Members are then expected to make the transition to home or community based wellness programs.

o  Nerf Olympics –  Nerf games are fun (and entertaining) activities that encourage movement, flexibility, stress reduction, and typically are a good laugh. When planning 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 Health Promotion Team will lay out the course.

Each participant 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).

Begin each participant at intervals authorizing 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 good activity to do with an audience, so encourage cheering peers.

o  Offer incentives to workforce who engage in aerobic activity like walking, running and bicycling on their own time (see goal establishing health promotion program, offer points toward prizes, etc.).

o  Distribute maps of walking/jogging trails located near the worksite. Mark distances in steps and miles. Be sure to encourage workers to walk during lunch and/or break times.

Post a steps collected map on a worksite wall where employees can log their steps or miles.

o  Be certain to encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoying other forms of exercise to form fitness groups to meet before work, at lunch, or after work.

o  Promote the use of stairs instead of elevators. Place bulletin boards, art contests, etc., in stairwells.

o  Sponsor “Bike-to-Work” or Walk-to-Be sure to work week.

o  Schedule five-minute desk stretching at the workplace. This can relieve repetitive motion problems in addition to eye and back strain.

o  Sponsor a personal challenge activity like “Climb a Mountain” or “Swim a Sea”. This is an honor system wellness program in which participating personnel are awarded minutes, steps, or miles credit for cardiovascular exercise (swimming, walking, running, skiing, bicycling, stair stepping, group fitness, etc.).

The object of this type of challenge is to accumulate the equivalent mileage it’d 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 workplace.

o  Collect a selection of exercise video or DVD tapes. Workers can either take a look at a tape for home use, or offer a group activity video class.

o  When it isn’t possible for staff to leave the building to exercise or workout at lunch, try establishing an in-house aerobic walking track for staff member use in an unused part of the workplace for lunch, break or after hours use.

An example of how this issue could  be solved is the use of stationary bicycles and other small exercise equipment provided for staff by some 911 call centers.

o  Sponsor a “Personal Best” Challenge”. Workers run, walk, bicycle, 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 workforce who maintain their personal best in the same way. Be certain to encourage non-participating workforce to get involved.

Assist these person in choosing  an activity that is comfortable and of interest for them, and one in which they are able to succeed and progress.

o  When you offer an introductory or other on-site exercise class or activity, make sure the instructor can relate to the audience, and the audience can relate to the instructor.

Have a Wellness Committee member attend a current class by the selected instructor class before the instructor conducting a class at worksite. Also, consider the employees who could  be potentially attending the class.

Sometimes larger and/or older exercise instructors are often better accepted by audiences who are similarly sized and aged.

o  Sponsor a themed “virtual” trek. Calculate the mileage for the proposed “trip” ahead of time. Be certain that the distance is appropriate for the number of expected participants and time for the event (six to eight weeks) works well.

For longer events, small teams can accumulate their mileage for the trip. Establish a reporting network. Post 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 -

o  Swim the Mississippi to the Mardi gras.

o  Take a tour to all Oregon counties.

o  Take a tour of Oregon from Enterprise to Brookings.

o  Run or walk around the world (25,000 miles).

o  Tour de France (take all summer)

o  Tour de France on a stationary bicycle (take all winter)

o  Indianapolis 500

o  Climb Mount Everest (stairs or stair climbers). Target Sir Edmund Hilary’s birthday or the anniversary of the first conquest as a completion date.

o  Climb Mount Washington or Mt. Hood. Target President’s Day as a completion date.

o  Climb any significant mountain and tie it to any remotely related event.

o  Use time in exercise as a measurement for the contest rather than distance. This authorizes you to treat all forms of aerobic activity more equitably.

Employees ordinarily enjoy sharing nutritional tips and trying new foods. Sponsor a “nutrition cook-off” and/or healthy potlucks.

o  Nutrition cook-off. Teams of personnel set a menu in advance and bring in prepared foods for an official competition. A nutritionist from the health department or local hospital or community serves as the judge.

Dishes and foods are analyzed based on both health considerations and taste. Following the event, a cookbook of the teams’ recipes may be created and distributed to the entire staff.

o  Cholesterol Control or “Down Under” Club. Individuals  with cholesterol over 200 mg.  Are invited to voluntarily participate.  The invitation needs to be extended to all employees as the Health Promotion Team will not have (nor should have) access to individual medical information.

Give a selection of services to assist in lowering cardiac risks. Gordian Health Solutions offers cholesterol management health programs for personnel qualifying by cholesterol score.

If an worker gets cholesterol numbers below 200 in six months, provide an incentive like a prize to continue progress. Continue to supply information and reminders for continued cholesterol control.

o  Label reading contest. Designate a particular food or food category. Employees must find the designated products with the lowest/highest fat content in the grocery store. Give coupons or other prizes for predetermined number of winners or participants.

Or, provide samples of healthier food choices based on label information. Show how these compare to less healthy choices. Display results of the contest in the worker break room or at an worker brown bag event.

Other Wellness Program Nutrition Suggestions -

o  Provide freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea.

o  Sponsor a healthful food “bake-off” once a year.

o  Give sugar and salt substitutes in the lunchroom.

o  At meetings, replace sweet rolls and donuts with bran muffins, wholewheat bagels, or fresh fruit. Consider offering other decaffeinated coffee and herbal teas plus no-sugar fruit juices.

o  Serve free popcorn in the break area.

o  Create a cookbook featuring healthy recipes contributed by personnel.

o  Fruit or veggie of the week (or month). Display an “exotic” fruit or vegetable in your lunchroom and see when peers know what it is. Staff Members can put their name and the name of the item on an index card.

These could be used to conduct a prize drawing after the week from the cards with the correct answer.  To add fun, encourage people  to put down funny answers when in doubt of the real name of the item.

Read some of those names during the prize drawing, and provide a prize for the most creative name. Divide the fruit or vegetable at the drawing and let those interested taste it. Make certain it could be eaten raw.

Unusual food items like star fruit are now readily available in grocery stores work well for this activity as many people have not tried these kinds of produce.

Weight management is a major area of both worker interest and need. BMI  is the clinical measure that indicates whether people  are in a healthful weight range or are overweight or obese.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of a person’s overall height to their overall weight. Height and weight are measured during the staff member biometric testing. A computer mathematical calculation provides the Body Mass Index (BMI) score.

Ideas for workplace based weight control programs include -

o  Have Weight Watchers, TOPS, or other reputable weight control groups meet in your workplace or nearby. Make available such groups before/after work or at lunch. Worker attendance is normally better if workers can attend either wholly or partially on work time.

Break times may  be rolled into lunch break times to minimize worker time away from work duties (with executive management approval). Staff Members generally pay their own fees for class attendance and supporting materials.

o  When the health promotion program offers incentives based on participation, award a completion gift when staff member has attended a certain number of weight management sessions or activities.

o  Supply information regarding community weight management groups.

o  Incentives such as cash, tee shirts, plaques, certificates, hours/days off, names on bulletin boards can be given to person who write a losing weight contract and meet their goal.

o  Establish a worksite commitment to offer alternative healthful snacks at business-sponsored meetings. Healthy snacks like fruit, pretzels, plain popcorn, almonds, and veggies provide demonstration as to the business’s commitment to health and staff member well being.

Every worksite will have staff members who’ll not take part in offered company wellness activities. But these same staff members may  be following many healthy practices in their daily living.

A good health promotion program ought to give these people  credit and recognition for their good work.

Recognition of healthy goal setting and goal achievement is a good approach for reinforcing what individuals  are doing on their own outside of work, and for reaching those who don’t like group activities.

Suggested steps for individual goals and recognition include -

o  A form employees can fill out which includes the set goal(s) and a target date for completion.   

o  Information on setting realistic goals, as people  often overestimate what they can do and by when. It’s good to remind staff members “baby steps” count!   

o  Maintain a confidential file of the submitted staff member goal forms in a dated “tickler” system.   

o  Send a reminder to each staff member at the time of each participant’s goal date. This reminder could be a copy of their original goal form. Ask for worker’s feedback regarding their goal(s) –  completed the goal, need an extension, or have discontinued the goal.   

o  When the form is returned from an employee –    

   1) If an staff member has completed the goal, a certificate of completion is received along with a prize or incentive item linked to the goal (if possible).

   2) If the worker renegotiates the deadline or the goal, the form is re-filed for future follow-up. Continue to encourage the worker.

   3) If the goal is canceled, send a note acknowledging this “good try” and encourage the staff member to attempt again when the timing is right.

o  Allow those interested in this process to set objectives any time and as often as they want.   

Walking Club

Walking clubs or “trekking” can either be done in real time (by scheduling walking groups), or clubs could be set it up so people  do their walking on their own and keep a shared log at work.

After a certain number of miles or steps are logged, employees are eligible for membership into the walking “club” and receive something like a prize (a walking pin, similar to the ones that volkswalkers get, or a certificate of membership).

Ways to continue interest in walking groups include -

o  Periodic announcements about community walking events. Keep abreast of events in the community, Parks and Recreation wellness programs, available tracks, inside walking choices, volkswalking events, etc.

o  Periodic information specific to walkers; such as what to look for when buying a pair of walking shoes.

o  Consider a worksite team to participate in a local fundraiser walk, such as the March of Dimes walk.

o  A walking club can be the kind of “club” that never really meets, or it can be the kind that does provide the option for those who are interested in group walks and events.

Health Awareness Video Programming

A lot of good health related videos and DVDs are available through loan programs either at no or low costs. Select video programming based on staff member interests and needs.

o  Schedule periodic health video viewings at lunch brown bag sessions.

o  The videos can be related to health or other related wellness topics like financial planning, caring for aging parents, or even humor as a “break” from the work routine.

o  Be sure to preview videos before showing them to insure they’re appropriate, not too long, etc.

o  Have a Wellness Committee Host moderate the viewing, greet individuals , and lead a brief discussion after the video. Develop one or two questions for discussion after previewing the video and use these to lead the discussion. Many health videos come with group discussion questions.

o  Try to supply a pertinent educational pamphlet for participants to take with them for more information on the topic.

o  When possible, provide popcorn or fruit as a snack.

o  Provide a prize drawing (or points when you are doing that kind of incentive wellness program) for those attending the video program and discussion.

Health Promotion Mentors

Every worksite ordinarily has at least a couple of staff that have successfully made changes in their health. Often, other staff will relate to one of their peers. Colleague support can go a long ways in encouraging healthy changes.

o  Seek volunteers from the work force that have experienced a illness resulting from an unhealthy behavior, or survived or recovered from a illness that just happens like breast cancer, and that have successfully made positive changes.

o  Connect these success story staff with staff struggling with similar health issues.

o  Both workers participating in the mentoring process are doing so on a voluntary basis. Respect the privacy of this very special relationship.

o  A Wellness Committee person could be involved from a peripheral standpoint, and be available to share other resources that could  be valuable to both personnel.