Posts from — August 2010

Many businesses recognize the need for a robust strategy to help their workers be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than several “lunch and learn” programs.

Your health promotion program ought to include a wide range of key elements, including -

• A clear agenda or statement of objectives.

• A plan characterized by passion.

• An effective leader who’s creative and organized.

• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

• A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Creating Your Health Promotion Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a wide commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all staff. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required.  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You may begin by conducting a recent survey of staff member needs and interests. When you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan as a result. When you don’t, the workforce will not support the health promotion program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for  instance, you could be surprised by your business or organization’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the wellness program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your wellness program must be able to wear many hats.  The leader’s duties include -

• Developing a vision of the wellness program after receiving input from all interested workers.

• Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the corporation (to senior managers and fellow workforce alike).

• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a health promotion program.

• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

• Developing and maintaining leadership skills such as giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You might want to stick to short-term objectives at the beginning so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful health promotion program.

Good leaders involve as many individuals  as possible in the health promotion program. for  instance, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will -

• Be sure to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the corporation.

• Develop ambassadors who will help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always keep in mindhow you will monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Evaluation allows you to -

• Identify areas of excellence.

• Identify factors that affect participation in your wellness programs.

• Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

• Better understand issues that need attention.

• Learn from mistakes and change the health promotion program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your wellness program, you are able to measure such things as -

• Employee absences.

• Staff Member turnover rates.

• The cost of your worker assistance program.

• The fee of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

• The price of your drug plan.

• Accident rates and safety records.

• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they are staying in the wellness programs).

• Changes in employees’ health habits.

• Level of employees’ awareness of healthful lifestyle issues.

• Results of your environmental wellness audit.

• Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to personnel (including senior managers) and fosters excitement about the wellness program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for example, you could recognize individuals who’ve assisted set up the health promotion program or offer tangible rewards for achieving objectives.

Everyone needs to know whether employees are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a health promotion program has financial benefits is usually an important factor to maintain strong support from the top.

If you pay attention to the key elements of your health promotion program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you’ll lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.

Exactly how does exercise fit into a full-time employee’s busy schedule? Oftentimes, it doesn’t.

One possible solution to this challenge is to make exercise a part of the work day. Obviously, being active at work is advantageous for personnel.

But employers also benefit from having fit, energetic and healthful personnel who are more productive.

The challenges

Your job takes up a lot of your time. In addition to the hours you spend actually working, there is the time required to get to and from work and take lunch and rest breaks during the work day.

In the end, there are a limited number of hours left over for the rest of your life. This work life imbalance is particularly true for Alberta, where statistics show that we work exceptionally hard.

A lot of jobs today are sedentary, and many Americans drive to work.  The pressures of work might also cause us to eat lunch at our desks and skip breaks.

Then, after work or on the weekends we juggle household chores, family responsibilities and social engagements.

Wellness Programs -  Get began on a workplace fitness program

Management plays a key role in building a culture that promotes health.  The leaders at your workplace influence the various policies and the informal or formal practices, and these policies and practices affect your attitude towards healthful active living.

Start by talking to your boss about the advantages of a healthful active worksite.  The best way to ensure the success of a worksite fitness program is to have the executive management on side and cheering you on.

Ask your boss to consider taking these actions -

• Send a memo or message about the importance of health and healthy living that encourages staff to take an active break each day.

• Provide for flexible work hours that help staff to be more physically active. for  instance, they may need to take a longer lunch break to attend an exercise class, making up the time by coming to work early or staying late.

• Make available a meeting room or other suitable office space for noon-hour yoga or exercise classes, and hire a teacher to lead them, or use videos.

If your boss agrees to support a workplace fitness program, do not forget to say thanks.

You do not need an onsite fitness center

Only very large companies can afford onsite fitness facilities such as exercise equipment or squash courts. Still, most employers can take other inexpensive steps to support staff members who wish to become more active.

For  instance -

• Arrange for discounted fees for staff members at a health club, recreation centeror YMCA facility.

• Install showers and a place to hang a towel. (Be certain the showers are cleaned regularly and that women who use them will feel secure.)

• Install bike racks or a locked enclosure that is safe, conveniently located and well lighted.

• Hold walking meetings and set up lunch-hour walking groups

• Make staff aware about safe and pleasant walking routes near the workplace, as well as nearby facilities that offer exercise plans (such as walking, swimming, running, yoga, stretching).

• Hire a licensed instructor to teach staff about health, fitness and how to become more active.

Any size and type of workplace can support staff who wish to be physically active. It’s highly desirable to get upper-level management on side.

Even if your boss is not supportive, you can still find ways to get moving more. Make sure to set up activities for groups and person, and encourage your coworkers to join in.

We all know that exercise is an important part of health and wellness. But sometimes it is hard to find time for exercise.

Lack of time is the number one barrier that individuals  say avoids them from participating in physical activity on a regular basis.

The good news is that even short sessions of physical activity help your health. Research has shown that 10-minute sessions that add up to between 30 and 60 minutes a day can produce significant health benefits.

Furthermore, there are numerous ways busy individuals  can use to be more active. These strategies include -

• multi-tasking

• being active at work

• being active with loved ones

• scheduling activity into daily life

Different strategies work for different people . Being familiar with the different strategies is key to adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read on to check out strategies you can try. With enough commitment, some of them are sure to work for you.

Strategy #1 -  Multi-tasking

The first strategy you can try is multi-tasking. This means doing things you already do, but in a more physically active way.

This way you get done what you need to get done and you get exercise at the same time.

For example, you’re already travelling to work and other places. Instead of taking the car or the bus every time, try using active methods of transportation like biking, inline skating, walking and skateboarding.

If you can’t use active transportation for a whole trip, attempt to be active for at least part of the trip. If you are riding the bus, for example, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way.

Active transportation benefits your body by increasing your activity level, and it also benefits your neighbourhood and the environment by decreasing the number of cars on the road.

You can also get physical activity while doing housework and chores.

When you are working around home, try to be creative and look for the active choice. for example, when you are cleaning the crack between the fridge and the counter, why not move the fridge so you can clean the area better and build your strength at the same time?

For outdoor work, choose the old-fashioned way of doing things, as they are usually more active. for  instance, use a snow shovel rather than a snow blower.

Strategy #2 -  be Active at Work

Many American Citizens spend eight hours a day or more working at a sedentary job. Here are several simple ways to keep your body moving during the workday.

The physical activity will revitalize you and help you be more productive.

When you are working at your desk, try sitting on a stability ball or disk for part of your day (30 minutes to an hour). This gives your back and abs a workout.

Take active breaks at least once a day. During your coffee break, try doing some yoga, stretching or taking a quick walk.

You may find that walking up and down the stairs a few times does a better job of rejuvenating you than the java jolt.

Speaking of the stairs, take them in lieu of the elevator whenever you can.  The stairs in your building are an opportunity to get your heart pumping.

Organize walking meetings at work. Getting outside and having meetings in a less formal setting is a great way to be active, makes the workday more fun and encourages creative ideas for work projects.

Strategy #3 -  be Active With Your Loved Ones

Do exercise with your family, friends, neighbours and pets. With this strategy, you and your loved ones are doing some great multi-tasking together -  enjoying quality time with each other and getting some of the exercise that you all need to be healthy.

Go for walks, swims or bicycle rides together. Play Frisbee, soccer and other games and sports together. When you take your children to the park, play with them instead of just watching them play.

Many community facilities offer classes that keep you and your children active at the same time. Research these classes and take one or two.

You can even be active when you’re watching your kids do activities without you. for example, when your child plays hockey, take the opportunity to walk up and down the stairs in the stands a few times.

When you feel self-conscious about doing it alone, why not gather a group of parents to do it together?

Strategy #4 -  Schedule Physical Activity into Your Day

Schedule your exercise directly into your daytimer. Be sure to set a specific time and place for exercising. Make your exercise appointments a priority, just as important as any other appointment you put in your daytimer.

To help you stay committed to your physical activity appointments, you may want to make appointments that involve other people  - such as by meeting with a personal trainer, taking an exercise class or jogging with a friend.

If you’re not sure how many appointments to make or what you must be doing during your appointments, try consulting with a fitness trainer. A fitness trainer can help you create a exercise plan and schedule.

The bottom line -  find out what works best for you. Experiment with the strategies. Find inspiration by talking to other people  about how they keep active and what strategies they use.

Be creative and patient while you determine what strategies work best for you.  And be aware that your “best strategy” may change from time to time.

With enough effort, you’ll discover what works for you. Then, run with it!

At the end of the day, is it worthwhile to ban smoking on the premises at your company?

It depends on the steps you take to support employees trying to kick the habit, finds a recent research study .  The Journal of Tobacco Policy and Research found that smokers do, in truth  take more sick days than their non-smoking peers.

And even when the smoker is in relatively good overall health (i.e., isn’t obese, doesn’t have chronic health conditions), he or she is still likely to have higher healthcare costs than a comparable non-smoker over the last three years.

How does a use of tobacco ban fit into the cost equation? When the smoker quits, healthcare costs even out.

But when the person only refrains from smoking on the job - but continues puffing away at home - the business sees little to no medical cost decrease. the study  found similar patterns for absenteeism.

Bottom line -  A workplace smoking ban in combo with a smoking cessation program gets results. A smoking ban alone normally doesn’t.

• Commit to worksite exercise in policy statements and commit funding to exercise initiatives.

• Clearly communicating the advantages of being physically active during the workday reinforces the company’s commitment to helping all staff be active.

Use meetings, bulletin boards, newsletters and e-mail to reach as many personnel as possible at least once a year.

• Make available flex time for exercise. Invite workforce who actively commute to work or exercise at lunchtime to make up any missed time later in the day.

• Allow staff to work part time, so that they can participate in exercise.

• Include a exercise account in your benefit plan to pay for or subsidize fitness memberships, assessments, classes, counselling or instruction.

• Give interest-free loans for employees to buy bikes or good walking shoes/runners.

• Conduct periodic surveys of staff physical activity preferences, and offer a variety of choices to suit those interests and needs.

• Hire certified individuals  to lead stretch breaks or physical activity programs or classes. for help in locating accredited fitness leaders, visit Alberta’s Provincial Fitness Unit.

• Recognize staff who participate in exercise. Survey staff first to determine how they prefer to be recognized, e.g., through business newsletters, appreciation lunches, rewards and/or thank you notes.

• Provide child care and other family-friendly amenities during physical activities that occur after work.

• Prevent scheduling meetings over lunch.

• Make sure to encourage active breaks instead of coffee breaks.

• Have active fundraisers rather than bingos. for example, personnel might climb the Calgary Tower stairs or take turns riding a stationary bike for 24 hours.

• Make birthday celebrations active times. Instead of a lunch, invite the birthday person to choose an activity. Options could include a session with a yoga teacher or an evening ski trip.

• Promote a casual dress day. One study found that employees who dress casually were more physically active.

In the last few years, there’s been a rising trend for public businesss - not just private corporations - to ban tobacco use. Here’s what your peers are doing.

What’s New in Benefits and Compensation lately surveyed 374 of our readers from both the private and public sectors to find out their organization’s policy on allowing workers to smoke onsite and hiring smokers in the first place. Here’s what we found -

• 11% have developed a policy of hiring only non-smokers

• 17 percent allow workers to smoke offsite, but ban it on all corporation property

• 39% restrict use of tobacco to designated areas outside the building

• 30 percent allow smoking anywhere outside the building, and

•  3% allow smoking in break rooms or other indoor areas.

Public companys get aggressive

While much of the publicity about no-hire policies for smokers centers on private companies, it’s actually public corporations in certain states who have been the most aggressive of late.

For  instance, Florida is one of the states at the forefront of the movement. Sarasota County lately became  the third Florida county to take a no-hire stance to control health care costs.  

New hires must take a drug test that detects nicotine and sign a pledge certifying that they haven’t smoked in the past 12 months.

The ban won’t affect current workers, but the county has undertaken smoking cessation programs aimed at employees’ wallets.

Non-smokers pay less for coverage through various incentives and the county covers the cost of participating in tobacco use cessation programs.

The reason why Florida public employers are able to take these steps -  the state supreme Supreme Court has ruled that refusing to hire smokers doesn’t break discrimination laws.

But your state laws may vary, so proceed with caution before considering similar policies.

• Be sure that your building’s stairwells are clean, attractive and safe, and post signs stimulating workforce to use the stairs.

• Start a wellness newsletter or intranet.

• Promote the Activity Tracker and encourage personnel to track their exercise every week.

• be creative, and make the most of the workspace you have. for  instance, mark off a safe walking path inside or around the building.

You might also set up a training circuit, highlighting features of the worksite like stairs.

• Give physical activity opportunities at different times to accommodate night-, shift-, and part-time staff members.

• For staff members in remote or satellite offices, offer equal access to key wellness programs via the intranet. Adapt challenges to suit their environment and take advantage of local facilities and resources.

• Make exercise available to personnel with special needs. Adapt information and activities for any staff who are visually impaired or physically disabled in addition to for people  who speak English as a second language.

• Educate staff members about physical activity using information from reputable sources such as the Alberta Center for Active Living.

• Make available facilities that invite onsite exercise. Possibilities include bicycle racks, an exercise room, change rooms with lockers and showers, and safe and attractive grounds for walking.

• Hold walking meetings.

• Make certain to encourage employees to walk to coworkers’ offices in lieu of e-mailing or phoning.

• Be certain to set up a stretching room. This low-cost program requires only a room, stretching mats, stability balls and medicine balls. Put up posters that show stretches and exercises.

• Give incentives like shoe bags, ball caps, T-shirts or water bottles to reward staff participation.

• Loan out pedometers for three months, so that personnel can determine how many steps they generally take and how much activity they need to add to get basic health benefits.

• Make space for staff members to plant and maintain a flowerbed or garden at the worksite. Use any resulting produce for meetings and potluck lunches or donate it to charity.

• Plan a worksite wellness fair.

• Hire a licensed fitness professional to design and manage an on-site workout facility.

• Supply workforce with active wear that shows off the organization logo.

Quitting use of tobacco at any age can improve a person’s health. and believe it or not, older employees often fair better with use of tobacco cessation than younger employees.  

As reported by the Journal of American Medicine, Duke Univ. reseearchers tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16% of those who joined the smoking cessation program later returned to smoking.  

Previous research has found young smokers who attempt to quit have a 35% to 45% relapse rate within two years.

Given that employees nationwide are retiring later and the cost of retiree healthcare is sky high, you might want to keep trying with use of tobacco cessation programs, even for the oldest employees on your health plan.

• Organize a launch event to create excitement about upcoming activities and to create a social climate that establishes being active as the norm.

• Organize and promote monthly or bi-monthly corporation events that are fun and active, e.g., picnics with physical games, staff tournaments and dragon boat racing.

Be certain to encourage families to join in by including all-ages events such as relay races, soccer matches, bocce ball and baseball games.

• Start a swim club at a local pool. Invite groups of workers to swim the distance of a nearby lake. Convert kilometres to lengths and reward workers who complete the swim.

Be sure to set up a challenge between workforce and managers to see who covers the greatest distance.

• Post a sign-up board where staff can enroll in a group or find a buddy to take part in activities of interest.

• Arrange a corporation badminton tournament that lasts a few months, with each staff member playing once a week. Post the results as the tournament progresses.

• Organize an office Olympics, World Cup, Wimbledon or Masters Games. Invite teams to compete in several activities over a month. Reward everyone who participates.

• Develop a point system in which one minute of activity is equivalent to one point. Be sure to set a target, and post a chart where all personnel can track their points. Reward the first group to reach that target.

• Co-ordinate a stair climb challenge. Post a chart at the top of the stairwell, and encourage staff members to track the number of flights of stairs they climb each workday.

Make certain to set up teams, and award a prize to the first team to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest.

• Post and promote a sign-up board for lunchtime walking groups.

• Organize a walk “across the United States ” Pick a route, determine how many steps it’d take to walk that distance and challenge employees to do it.

Give or loan pedometers to personnel, and ask them to record the number of steps they take. Or, when you cannot afford pedometers, track the minutes walked. Make sure to set up a challenge between personnel and managers to see who can walk across the USA  first.

• Co-ordinate a walk to work club. Acknowledge staff who either walk to work or walk to public transit.

• Have a volunteer group leader guide weekly lunchtime power walks.

• Coordinate a million-step challenge. Form groups, challenge each group to walk a combined total of a million steps and reward the winner. Departments or sites could compete with each other and with management.

• Challenge workforce to walk 10,000 steps a day. Purchase pedometers for all participating workforce or, if you cannot afford that, make pedometers available at a decreased rate.

Provide tips for increasing daily steps, and reward workforce who succeed.

In this recession economy and out-of-control staff member debt, many companys who don’t have automatic 401(k) enrollment have seen participation drop.

Here’s how one small business in Arizona cleverly tied 401(k) education to employees’ other financial concerns. Rather than simply holding its usual 401(k) open enrollment education meeting, it held a “financial wellness fair.”

Stressed 401(k) importance

How it worked -  on the same day the company’s 401(k) vendor sent a plan rep to discuss the retirement plan, the company also arranged for a licensed financial planner to speak to workers.

The financial planner went first. She started the session by pointing out that she wasn’t affiliated by any method with the management of the 401(k) plan.

That was vital both for the company’s legal protection under ERISA and for building trust with employees. She then discussed why it’s vital for individuals  to participate in the 401(k) plan, and offered attendees budgeting tips and basic strategies for cutting their debt.

The financial planner’s talk cut to the heart of a few major issues that hurt both worker salary satisfaction and 401(k) participation. Numerous studies show that the No. 1 reason many individuals  avoid 401(k) participation is that they feel they can’t sacrifice any part of their entire paycheck and still survive financially.

The second part of the session was the standard 401(k) enrollment presentation from the provider. End result -  Staff Members were more attentive and there was a noticeable uptick in both new 401(k) enrollments and salary contributions from already-enrolled staff members.

The event was such a smash that the company plans to make the Financial Wellness Fair a regular part of 401(k) enrollment. While the financial planning advice is generic (the company may add third-party personal finance planning as a voluntary benefit in the future), it’s also timely.

The 401(k) signup appeal comes while the financial planning tips are still fresh in employees’ minds and they’re excited to do something to help themselves.