Health and Wellness Leads : Worksite Wellness Program Ideas

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that have the potential to help meet any wellness program budget! The Worksite Wellness Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Design a Company Health Promotion Program Committee
• Choose health insurance plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Waive co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Put up pamphlets on a variety of wellness topics for staff members to take
• Design a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of issues of interest to workers
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Plan and encourage periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Create monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Post a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Display messages from national health observances during the month
• Provide healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Organize a benefits fair
• Develop corporation fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Offer business health fairs or other onsite activities

Nutrition Programs

• Provide free, healthy snacks for workers (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at employer activities
• Give information to staff members about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Establish a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Create a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Provide brochures available on a variety of healthy eating subject matters
• Include nutrition articles in corporation newsletters
• Have a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Schedule educational sessions at lunchtime-time on a variety of nutrition topics of interest
• Organize an employee healthy meal cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Provide flexible work schedules so that employees can take part in weight-loss programs
• Partially fund registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Form a support group to help employees who are trying to lose weight
• Arrange for registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for employees who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Offer individual counseling for workers trying to lose weight
• Provide workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Offer flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Create a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Organize accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage employees to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Develop a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairways more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced gym membership fees to all employees
• Provide facilities for employees to secure bikes
• Schedule 5 – 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund gym membership for workers who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or employer sports team
• Urge stairwell use and incentives and rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Urge & support neighborhood walks or fitness events
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Provide periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage exercise
• Provide educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Organize a tobacco-free grounds
• Design a tobacco-free workplace
• Encourage the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Reimburse workers for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the expense of smoking cessation workshops
• Give handouts and information on health effects from tobacco use and tobacco cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to arouse staff members to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule workplace tobacco cessation sessions

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or lower co-payments for staff members who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Provide flu shots for employees and family members
• Offer Health Risk Assessments to all workers, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Consider offering flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Provide and reward an EAP
• Offer information on substance abuse prevention
• Provide pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Offer brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, organization stressors, etc.
• Assess corporation policies and work schedules to identify corporation stressors
• Assess the Employee Assistance Program(EAP) to be sure it is meeting the needs of the staff members and business
• Have educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Schedule classes on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance topics