Posts from — September 2010

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

Your worksite may have policies and guidelines already in place about issues like appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be sure to check with senior level management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Don’t forget to include and acknowledge the holiday celebrations of the various cultures or groups represented in your workforce. It’s ordinarily safer to use graphics, themes, and wording that are not specific to one culture, as others may feel left out.

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

Several topical ideas for holiday themes include -

• Wellness committee members distribute “healthy heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.

• Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Workers 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).

• Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up worksite introductory tai chi class offering.

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

Each person can say several words about the origin and tradition behind the food. In this holiday theme, food doesn’t have to be low fat or specifically healthful, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

Holiday weight gain may be a large health challenge. This wellness activity is fun, low-key, and assists workforce monitor their weight during the holiday season.

• 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.

• Employees set an individual goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

• Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

• Provide weekly weight control hints. These must be posted next to the wellness bulletin board, sent via email, or provided in pamphlet form.

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

• Remind employees of the necessity to continue exercise during the busy holiday season.

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

• Employees who have maintained their weight or who have lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

• Employees 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 could 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 nearly every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider -

• National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and corporations to coordinate bigger events and celebrations.

• A wellness message is more likely to stick with people when the information is presented at work, in local supermarkets, and on TV.

• National Staff Member Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to begin.

• A word of advice - don’t go overboard in attempting to tie a wellness program into these national observances, as there are so many. Choose one to three events per year and stick with these.

Create and promote events well ensuring that staff will come to expect and anticipate these wellness programs each year. It is best to do several wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.

Many workforce enjoy team related activities. These activities normally take place on an employee’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.

Even though the sports team isn’t part of an staff member’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the employer, the employer can be held liable in the event of an worker injury.

If the activity brings with it a risk of injury, it’s necessary to address the possible risk and liability issues with the correct company department. Also consult with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

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

• Give handouts and catalogs from area Parks and Recreation departments and county park organizations so staff can take advantage of community leagues, trips and offerings.

• Invite an official from among the above corporations to speak at a business 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 could be taken home and shared with the entire family. Ideas for these include -

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

• Give a certificate to whoever who is TV-free for a week.

• 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 TV, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

A lot of simple wellness activities and practices can help workforce understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It is necessary to help workforce understand simple stress management strategies for decreasing stress levels.

• 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.

• Provide a stress management brown bag event at which staff can attempt different types stress management tools.

• Make sure to encourage workforce to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.

• Give a comfortable staff member break area.

• Designate a “quiet room” for meditation and relaxation, if possible.

• Be sure to work with Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the worksite. Supervisors are often the first step in helping personnel find different ways of managing work related stressors.

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

• Give stress management self-assessments to interested staff. Follow these up with a stress management videotape, a brown bag presentation, or a community guest speaker.

Mental Wellness

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

Mental health topics may be sensitive areas for staff. Therefore, it’s imperative 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 setting that doesn’t embarrass anyone. Other considerations include -

• When planning to offer an oratory event or presentation a neutral class title will ensure potential participants will not be put off by the name.

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

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

Always remind participants that individual help is available through the EAP also through their health benefits. Provide written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.

• The Staff Member Assistance Program (EAP) is an great partner and resource for wellness programming in these areas.  The employee assistance program can help find ways to address psychological health, stress, coping, and other related issues.

Tobacco use 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 -

• Use American Lung Association resource. These include the Freedom From Tobacco use group and/or video-tutorial. There’s also a follow-up video “A Lifetime of Freedom From Tobacco use”.

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

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

• Start a “quitting or thinking about it” support group to assist and encourage individuals trying to stop use of tobacco.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

If a substance abuse policy is not in place in your workplace, 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 be certain Health Promotion Committee members are aware of the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind workforce of wellness resources and programs available.

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

• Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and be sure food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.

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

• When conducting health promotion programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight control, nutrition, physical fitness, use of tobacco, and accident prevention.

• Issues such as co-dependence and the difficulty of assisting a substance abuser can also be addressed. Give this information as part of the health promotion program by providing informational materials, brown bag sessions, employee assistance program (EAP) information, etc.

• The Worker Assistance Program provider is an excellent resource for substance abuse wellness programming and or worker assistance.

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

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

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

• Fitness classes in the worksite - Onsite exercise could be much more convenient for workforce. Nevertheless, onsite classes require logistical planning and coordination with attention to details.

Onsite classes are usually more feasible for larger 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.

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

It’s also feasible to offer a “mini” introductory workplace 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.

• Nerf Olympics -  Nerf games are fun (and entertaining) activities that encourage movement, flexibility, stress reduction, and usually are a good laugh. When planning such an activity consider establishing 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 Wellness 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).

Start each participant at intervals allowing 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.

• Make available incentives to employees who engage in aerobic exercise such as walking, running and bicycling on their own time (see goal establishing wellness program, offer points toward prizes, etc.).

• Distribute maps of walking/jogging trails located near the workplace. Mark distances in steps and miles. Make certain to encourage workforce to walk during lunch and/or break times.

Post a steps accumulated map on a workplace wall where workers can log their steps or miles.

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

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

• Sponsor “Bicycle-to-Work” or Walk-to-Make sure to work week.

• Schedule five-minute desk stretching at the worksite. This can relieve repetitive motion problems as well as eye and back strain.

• Sponsor a personal challenge activity such as “Climb a Mountain” or “Swim a Sea”. This is an honor system wellness program in which participating staff are awarded minutes, steps, or miles credit for cardiovascular activity (swimming, walking, running, skiing, bicycling, stair stepping, aerobics, etc.).

The object of this kind of challenge is to accumulate the equivalent mileage it would take to reach the top of a famous mountain, span a body of water (swim the Columbia River), or reach a distant city/county.

Attempt personalizing the challenge as much as possible to individual interests and/or area geographical matches close to the worksite.

• Collect a variety of exercise video or DVD tapes. Workers can either review a tape for home use, or offer a group activity video class.

• If it is not possible for staff to leave the building to exercise or workout at lunch, attempt establishing an in-house aerobic walking track for employee use in an unused part of the worksite for lunch, break or after hours use.

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

• Sponsor a “Personal Best” Challenge”. Employees run, walk, bike, 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.

In addition, 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 picking  an activity that is comfortable and of interest for them, and one in which they can succeed and progress.

• When you offer an introductory or other onsite exercise class or activity, make certain 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. Furthermore, 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.

• Sponsor a themed “virtual” trek. Calculate the mileage for the proposed “trip” ahead of time. Make sure 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 Exercise Themes -

• Swim the Mississippi to the Mardi gras.

• Take a tour to all Oregon counties.

• Take a tour of Oregon from Enterprise to Brookings.

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

• Tour de France (take all summer)

• Tour de France on a stationary bike (take all winter)

• Indianapolis 500

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

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

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

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

Workers typically enjoy sharing nutritional tips and attempting new foods. Sponsor a “nutrition cook-off” and/or healthful potlucks.

• Nutrition cook-off. Teams of workers 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 evaluated 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.

• 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 personnel as the Health Promotion Team won’t have (nor should have) access to individual medical information.

Offer a selection of services to assist in lowering cardiac risks. Gordian Health Solutions offers cholesterol management health programs for workforce 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.

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

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

Other Health Promotion Program Nutrition Suggestions -

• Give freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea.

• Sponsor a healthy food “bake-off” once a year.

• Give sugar and salt substitutes in the lunchroom.

• 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.

• Serve free popcorn in the break area.

• Develop a cookbook featuring healthy recipes contributed by employees.

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

These can 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 may be eaten raw.

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

Weight management is a major area of both employee interest and need. Body Mass Index  is the clinical measure that indicates whether people  are in a healthy 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 medical testing. A computer mathematical calculation provides the Body Mass Index (BMI) score.    

Ideas for worksite based weight management programs include -    

• Have Weight Watchers, TOPS, or other reputable weight control groups meet in your workplace or nearby. Provide such groups before/after work or at lunch. Staff Member attendance is ordinarily better when staff members can attend either wholly or partially on work time.

Break times might  be rolled into lunch break times to minimize staff member time away from work duties (with senior management approval). Workers typically pay their own fees for class attendance and supporting materials.

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

• Supply information regarding community weight control groups.

• Incentives like cash, tee shirts, plaques, certificates, hours/days off, names on bulletin boards may be given to individuals who write a losing weight contract and meet their goal.

• Start a worksite commitment to offer alternative healthful snacks at corporation-sponsored meetings. Healthy snacks like fruit, pretzels, plain popcorn, almonds, and veggies provide demonstration as to the corporation’s commitment to health and employee well being.

Every worksite will have staff members who’ll not take part in offered employee wellness activities. But these same staff members may  be following many healthful 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 -    

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

• Information on establishing realistic goals, as individuals  often overestimate what they can do and by when. It’s good to remind workforce “baby steps” count!   

• Maintain a confidential file of the submitted worker goal forms in a dated “tickler” system.   

• Send a reminder to each employee 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.   

• When the form is returned from an employee -    

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

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

• Allow those interested in this process to set goals 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 can 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, personnel 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 -

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

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

• Consider a workplace team to take part in a local fundraiser walk, like the March of Dimes walk.

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

Health Awareness Video Programming

Many 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.

• Schedule periodic health video viewings at lunchtime brown bag sessions.

• The videos could 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.

• Make sure to preview videos before showing them to insure they are appropriate, not too long, etc.

• Have a Health Promotion Committee Host moderate the viewing, greet people , 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.

• Attempt to supply a pertinent educational flyer for participants to take with them for more information on the topic.

• If possible, provide popcorn or fruit as a snack.

• Make available a prize drawing (or points when you’re doing that type of incentive health promotion program) for those attending the video program and discussion.

Wellness Mentors

Every worksite ordinarily has at least a couple of staff members who have successfully made changes in their health. Usually, other staff members will relate to one of their coworkers. Colleague support can go a long ways in encouraging healthful changes.

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

• Connect these success story workforce with workforce struggling with similar health issues.

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

• A Health Promotion Committee individuals can be involved from a peripheral standpoint, and be available to share other resources that may  be valuable to both staff members.