Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

There is no single correct way to approach wellness programs but winning programs share common success factors. These include commitment from management, employee participation, adequate resources, and a policy on health that goes hand in hand with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

Corporate Wellness Program: A Range of Approaches

Although the goal is to eventually have a long-term, comprehensive wellness program, some employers prefer to start with a single program at a basic level. By way of example, the first steps could be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthy eating; or they could launch a pilot project to learn how interested workers are to ensure workers needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious. This approach supplies a chance to show the effect on workers and the workplace so senior staff will be more willing to consider a larger and more far-reaching plan.

Other companies plan a variety of initiatives to meet the needs of the different sorts of people that make up their workforce. And some decide to cultivate a sound organization case, complete with a health plan, before beginning any sort of program. Corporations want to ensure that a new program is completely integrated with their overall organization vision and mission.

Workplace Health Promotion Program: Success Factors

Whether your organization chooses to think big from the outset or to start with something smaller, always keep in mind the following key success factors:

• backing and participation from management;
• employee participation in planning;
• programs that meet employee needs;
• a realistic budget; and
• continuous review.

In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a group must follow to accomplish its goal of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Organizations also need game plans, even if they do not call them by that name.

Good planning will help to make sure that your wellness program happens the way you want it to, and that expenditures are able to be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning prevents small concerns from becoming bigger.

Steps in Creating a Corporate Wellness Program

Get management reinforcement. You may need to advance a employer case to convince managers that the wellness program is a employer strategy-that employee health and job satisfaction impacts their productivity. workers need to see evidence that management believes in and is committed to employee health.

Establish a planning committee. Participants can include representatives from employee groups as well as from human resources(HR), health and safety, and communications.

Collect information. To prove that your Company Wellness Program is advantageous, establish a benchmark before the program begins. You may wish to look at employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, prescription costs or WCB expenditures. Evaluate what workplace facilities are available to support employees to make healthy choices such as showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bicycle. Evaluate employee needs through a survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.

Organize the plan to reflect the information gathered. Include program objectives, activities and how you are intend to measure whether your objectives were met. Keep the plan flexible. You may have to change direction in response to employee feedback or changes in the company’s structure.

Get upper management approval. Support for employee time and a budget are required.

Put activities in place. Provide a variety of activities that establish awareness, expand knowledge, develop skills, and offer social interaction. (Activities might include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns such as Employee Wellness Programs Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that offer information about neighborhood resources.) Workplaces have the potential to also make it easier for staff members to make healthy choices by offering flextime to allow staff members to fit exercise in when it is convenient or by subsidizing programs in cooperation with neighborhood or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for gatherings is able to be sure that healthy foods are offered.

Review the plan. Share your successes with others, learn from your mistakes and modify activities.

A wellness program doesn’t have to be complicated or a huge expenditure. Just do it. Obtain reinforcement from management, bring a few committed people together to generate some ideas and get started.