Health and Wellness Leads : Worksite Wellness Programs: Creating Supportive Environments

How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look content? Is the place well lit and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a gloom come over you, and count the hours until you are able to leave?
The influence of the workplace environment on the health & wellness of employees 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 smoke 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 positive role models? Do you get regular opportunities to learn healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the organization they work for provides them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles. And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Employees who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.
The following ideas will help you transform your workplace environment into one that truly supports the wellness of your staff members and corporation.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments

Wellness Friendly Facilities

When you enter a worksite, 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 that may include 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 hazards have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for staff members who exercise before work or while on breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it tough to evaluate a worksite. People get used to hectic conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them. It may be useful to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also help.

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 consecutively, there will be fewer medication errors. If parents are allowed flextime to manage their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If workers have the potential to apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up rather than calling in sick to utilize them all.

Supportive corporate policies may include:

• Seat Belt use necessitated in business vehicles
• Alcohol and drug policies are relevant to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow workers to exercise, go to children’s school conferences, etc.
• Tobacco-free policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift staff members are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Healthcare Costs coverage rewards great health
• Absenteeism policy rewards employees who don’t use sick days
• Employee Assistance Program(EAP) ready to help workers with chemical dependencies, depression, family concerns
• Meaningful consequences are used for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior.  Your business may have a policy against alcohol use during work hours, but if everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch smelling like beer, the culture is one that permits drinking at lunchtime-and one in which written policies can be safely ignored. Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies remain mere lip service rather than springboards to health.

Consistent Recognition And Incentives For Success

Attention, praise, and rewards are provided for wellness achievements.
You are able to show you value the Company Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in organization newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual 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 are able to encourage those who enjoy supporting others to step forward into a new role.

Managers Model And Support Healthier Behavior

Nothing could say “We advocate you to exercise often” 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 reward 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 have the potential to also provide support for employees who are working on bettering their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “great job” or “nice to see you at the gym” is able to put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers have the potential to also help by allowing staff members the flexibility to catch wellness activities.

Ongoing Company Wellness Programs

It’s important to give staff members the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and important part of the organization, not a organization 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 ought to be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who invites the new employee to take part.
The employees are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are visible in the employer. Opportunities to take part are abundant and it’s simple to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are provided. There are topics of interest for everyone.