Posts from — November 2008

Why it’s important and how to do it

The Worksite Wellness Plan Vision

A Worksite Wellness Plan vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and goals of your organization’s commitment to creating a Workplace Wellness Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan vision can provide a focus and a consistent direction for your Strategies for years to come. The vision statement reminds leaders and workers of the link between worker health and the organization’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Answer the following questions and you’ll have the components needed to build a simple and powerful Worksite Wellness Plan vision for your organization’s culture of health:

• What do you want your Worksite Wellness Plan to accomplish?
• How do you plan to accomplish it?
• How does this Worksite Wellness Plan mission support or further the organization’s mission?

A sample Worksite Wellness Plan vision statement might be . . .

To have workers who perform at their best and who enable XYZ Corporation to be an industry leader in printing quality and customer service (organization’s mission), XYZ Corporation is committed to providing opportunities for healthy behaviors during the workday (how) in order to encourage workers not to smoke, to be active, and to eat healthfully (what).

The Worksite Wellness Plan Brand

In the same way that your organization’s name and brand image provide visibility for your business, your Strategies toward creating a Worksite Wellness Plan will benefit from being easily recognizable to workers:

• A consistently used Worksite Wellness Plan brand on all communications sends a message to workers that the commitment to a culture of health is here to stay.
• A Worksite Wellness Plan brand institutionalizes the culture and makes it more likely to withstand changes in staff and budget.

Do what you can to engage workers in creating the identity (brand) for your organization’s Workplace Wellness Program. Not only are they more likely to accept the name, it’s also a great way to announce to workers the organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan commitment. Here are two possible approaches to involving workers:

Option 1: Have a Worksite Wellness Plan contest

1. Announce the Worksite Wellness Plan contest guidelines and deadline.
2. Have the Health and Wellness Committee review the ideas submitted, and pick a name.

If, for example, your company, Premier Building and Design, is in the commercial construction business, you might receive the following Worksite Wellness Plan ideas from workers:

• Cornerstone: Feeling well is what it’s all about
• Premier Elements: Building healthier workers
• Custom Build: Building health builds wealth
• Building Health: Designing better worker health

After reviewing the entries, your Health and Wellness Committee determines that it likes the name “Premier Elements” and the subtitle “Building health builds wealth”. Your committee awards the “name the Worksite Wellness Plan contest” prize to the two workers, those who submitted the pieces of the name that represent the final product.

Premier Elements: Building health builds wealth

3. Select a Worksite Wellness Plan logo to go with the name.

The Worksite Wellness Plan logo is an important piece of the branding

• Review any ideas submitted for Worksite Wellness Plan logos.
• If you’re fortunate enough to have a graphic design professional at your company, enlist her or his help with developing the Worksite Wellness Plan logo!
• As an alternative, pick a piece of clip-art that fits with the Worksite Wellness Plan name you’ve selected. For example, the company referenced above might look for a symbol that conveys building, health and wealth.

Option 2: Health and Wellness Committee determines the name and brand

1. Have your Health and Wellness Committee brainstorm Worksite Wellness Plan names.
• To get ideas flowing, ask members to write down all health-related words and words associated with your organization or industry.
• Try clustering words together as in the construction company example above.
2. Once your Health and Wellness Committee has narrowed down the possibilities to about three ideas, have committee members vote to select a name for your culture of health.
3. Select a Worksite Wellness Plan logo to go with the winning name.
4. Announce the organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan and the corresponding Worksite Wellness Plan name. Explain that employees on the advisory committee chose the name.

Sample Worksite Wellness Plan meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan Health and Wellness Committee new?  Has it existed on paper but been inactive for a while?  In either case, some of the following may be appropriate agenda items for your first Worksite Wellness Plan meetings.   You may also want to revisit these topics each year.

•    Clarify roles of Health and Wellness Committee members
­    Are members responsible for implementing changes or recommending changes?
­    How long are members’ terms on the Health and Wellness Committee?
­    How will new members be selected?

•    Determine Health and Wellness Committee meeting frequency and processes
­    Determine dates, times, and locations.
­    Determine how agendas will be set.
­    Plan for recording and distributing meeting notes.

•    Plan Worksite Wellness Plan communication with leadership
­    Does a leader sit on the group or does the coordinator report on progress (and to whom)?
­    How frequently do leaders want reports on Worksite Wellness Plan progress?

•    Select a name and brand for your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan

•    Develop a vision statement for your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan

•    Establish existing allies Worksite Wellness Plan for promoting worker health within your organization
­    Who do Health and Wellness Committee members know who could be relied on to support workplace changes needed to establish a culture that promotes health?

•    Brainstorm challenges your organization may face in working to establish facilities, policies and Worksite Wellness Plan practices that promote worker health
­    What do committee members regard as opportunities? How about potential Worksite Wellness Plan obstacles?

•    History of past Worksite Wellness Plan efforts
­    If relevant, summarize past Worksite Wellness Plan efforts. Discuss what your organization learned from those efforts.
?    What has the organization tried over the last few years?
?    What has worked well?
?    What hasn’t worked well?
?    How, if at all, was success of previous Worksite Wellness Plan efforts measured?

A representative Health and Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Workplace Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the organization.

Membership of your Health and Wellness Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your organization’s size). Your Health and Wellness Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time workers, managers and front-line employees, salary and hourly workers, union representation, Human Resources, marketing or communications, legal, and occupational health/safety).

Here are some additional considerations:

• Health and Wellness Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
• Determine in advance how long Health and Wellness Committee members will serve and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your organization’s Workplace Wellness Program.
• It’s not important, or even desirable, to have your healthiest workers on the Health and Wellness Committee. Ideal Health and Wellness Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Workplace Wellness Program.
• Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health and Wellness Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some organizations that have started stipends have generated enough worker interest that the selection of Health and Wellness Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health and Wellness Committee responsibilities become a formal part of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health and Wellness Committee

In some organizations the Health and Wellness Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Workplace Wellness Program. In other organizations, the Health and Wellness Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Health and Wellness Committee.
• Help establish a vision and name for the organization’s Workplace Wellness Program.
• Represent their peer group by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies, policies, and programs.
• Make available feedback on the possible obstacles to proposed Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies and offer suggestions for addressing those obstacles (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of workers?).
• Suggest effective Worksite Wellness Plan communication Strategies and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with workers who work the third shift? How will workers react to a proposed message from leadership?
• Be a voice of support for a culture of health, carrying the message from the Health and Wellness Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Health and Wellness Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Health and Wellness Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Health and Wellness Committee may want to meet very often at first, then slightly less frequently as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Health and Wellness Committee is new, it might be useful to ask members to provide information about themselves and their interests.

Communicate. Set up frequent channels of communication with Health and Wellness Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is frequently the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

Check-in. At least once a year, assess how effectively the Health and Wellness Committee is functioning. Is the Health and Wellness Committee serving its original purpose? Ask committee members for their feedback. Do they feel like their work is making a difference? Do they feel like their input is valued and taken into account when planning and implementing initiatives? Do they understand their expected Worksite Wellness Plan roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

Beginning a Worksite Wellness Plan need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Worksite Wellness Plan in your organization’s annual business plan and budget as you do for other efforts important to your organization’s success.

How much to budget for the Workplace Wellness Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for creating a Worksite Wellness Plan that results in improved employee health. Organizations differ in how much money they need and how much they can make available for the Workplace Wellness Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Worksite Wellness Plan budget:

• Worksite Wellness Plan staffing costs (either internal salaries or consultant fees)
• Worksite Wellness Plan data collection costs (including health risk assessment costs, if relevant)
• Worksite Wellness Plan rewards for healthy behaviors (such as discounts on premiums for non-smokers)
• Costs of Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies to be started (such as costs of covering tobacco quit medications or costs of subsidizing healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines)
• Worksite Wellness Plan administrative and communications expenses

In times of tight finances, be prepared to justify your requested Worksite Wellness Plan budget. Arm yourself with data on potential short- and long-term outcomes of the proposed Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies. Itemize the Worksite Wellness Plan expenses of past initiatives and share projected expenses for initiatives planned for the upcoming year.

Sustaining Worksite Wellness Plan Funding

A dedicated Worksite Wellness Plan line item in your organization’s budget makes it more likely to be regarded as a need, rather than as a “nice-to-have” amenity that could be cut when funds run low.

One of the best Strategies for ensuring continued financial support for the Worksite Wellness Plan is frequent communication to leadership, including:

• How many workers have you reached through the Workplace Wellness Program? Has morale improved? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer workers using tobacco, more workers active?
• How well are you managing the Worksite Wellness Plan resources you’ve been given? Where and how has your budget been spent? Keep track of the staff time needed for each initiative and be able to present the numbers at any time.
• Anecdotal Worksite Wellness Plan success stories from workers. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Supplemental sources of Worksite Wellness Plan Funding

If needed, have the individuals responsible for creating a Worksite Wellness Plan look for ways to supplement available internal funds. Are there grants or other financing available that can help support your Worksite Wellness Plan ? What community Worksite Wellness Plan resources could you use to meet some of your needs?

Locating an individual to guide your organization in creating a Worksite Wellness Plan

Without a qualified Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator to guide and manage your organization’s creation of a culture of health, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s vital that the creation of a culture of health be someone’s priority, not all organizations need a full-time coordinator.  There are a number of ways to obtain the time of a qualified coordinator.

Be careful not to confuse Worksite Wellness Plan skills with fitness skills. You are not looking for a personal trainer or a nutritionist to run your Workplace Wellness Program. The following are good indications that an individual may be qualified to be a Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator:

• knowledge of population health, community health and worksite Workplace Wellness Programs
• competent working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Worksite Wellness Plan data
• competent managing projects, including developing timelines and facilitating meetings
• competent in strategic planning, including defining goals and related objectives
• ability to understand, and use the findings of, journal articles on effective Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies.

What will a Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator do?

The Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator is responsible for guiding a process that creates workplace facilities, policies and practices that promote health. The individual may do some of all of the following for your Workplace Wellness Program:

• act as a liaison between leadership and the Worksite Wellness Plan employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Worksite Wellness Plan
• create and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies
• facilitate Health and Wellness Committee meetings
• guide your organization in setting measurable goals for the Worksite Wellness Plan
• recommend effective Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies, using the evidence in the health behavior literature and national and/or recommended best practices
• document and report short-term and long-term progress on Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator:

• Existing employees: Are there individuals on employees who have the background, or are interested in gaining the skills, to serve as a Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator? Is it possible to dedicate a portion of someone’s time (e.g., .5 FTE) to the position of coordinating your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Worksite Wellness Plan position.
• New employees – Can you hire an individual to be your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?
• Worksite Wellness Plan Consultation – Various organizations (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Worksite Wellness Plan consultation on building a culture of health within a workplace.

An outside Worksite Wellness Plan consultant can advise an internal Worksite Wellness Plan coordinator and your Health and Wellness Committee on setting priorities and deciding on Strategies. Or, you can contract with a Worksite Wellness Plan consultant to be your coordinator. If you select the latter approach, you’ll want to contract with the individual for sufficient hours to carry out all of the responsibilities associated with coordinating an effective strategy.

Strong and visible leadership support for the Worksite Wellness Plan promotes health and is vital to securing needed Worksite Wellness Plan resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

1. Establish a Worksite Wellness Plan champion

In a small organization, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Workplace Wellness Program. In a larger organization, look for an executive with the authority to influence others in the uppermost levels of the organization regarding the Workplace Wellness Program. The Worksite Wellness Plan champion need not be the fittest member of leadership. Rather, look for a Worksite Wellness Plan leader with the disposition to be a visible and vocal supporter of workplace policies that encourage healthy behaviors. Organizations with multiple sites can consider whether it would be useful to have an executive Worksite Wellness Plan champion at each site.

2. Find existing Worksite Wellness Plan allies

There may already be a number of individuals within your organization who recognize the value of a Workplace Wellness Program. Think about who those individuals are in your organization; consider areas such as occupational safety, union representatives, risk management, health officers, and human resources when looking for a Worksite Wellness Plan ally. Secure their stated support for the Workplace Wellness Program. Worksite Wellness Plan support could include contributions of staff time or expertise, financial resources, agreement to endorse/support policy and environmental changes, or agreement to participate in, and voice their support for, changes in the workplace that will help to build a culture of health.

3. Build a business case for the Worksite Wellness Plan

There is a reason that more and more organizations are finding a way to promote employee health via a Worksite Wellness Plan and policies: A Worksite Wellness Plan makes good business sense. employees with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism)1 and incur lower medical care costs than workers with less healthy behaviors.2,3  As a result it would be foolish not to have a Workplace Wellness Program.

4. When developing a Worksite Wellness Plan use what you know about leadership styles and the decision-making process within your organization

Every organization is different. Build leadership support for the Worksite Wellness Plan in the way that makes the most sense for your organization. Think about the following as you plan how to approach leadership for Worksite Wellness Plan support:

• What are the current priorities and pressures facing executives? How could a Worksite Wellness Plan and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
• How do the leaders prefer to receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
• What types of Worksite Wellness Plan information are likely to influence decisions? Do they want data and Worksite Wellness Plan statistics specific to your organization, or are state or national data sufficient? Are the leaders more influenced by internal factors or by what competitors are doing?
• Who would the leaders see as a credible messenger for this Worksite Wellness Plan information? Does someone from the risk management area carry more clout than someone from the human resources area?
• How do decisions get made in your organization? Informal committee meetings? Formal or informal meetings between executives? Plan accordingly and you increase the odds that the Worksite Wellness Plan will become a reality.

5. Maintain Worksite Wellness Plan support once you have it

Once you have appropriate Worksite Wellness Plan support, ensure that you keep it by regularly updating the leaders on employee health and progress toward creating a culture that promotes health. Ask upper management how frequently they want to receive Worksite Wellness Plan progress reports.

Source Information:
1 Bunn, JOEM, 2006, 48:10.
2 Foldes, Bland, An et al. Modifiable Health Risks and Short-Term Health Care Costs. BC/BS of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.
3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

The workplace setting is a powerful, but frequently overlooked, component in managing worker health.  Here we will identify some of the best-practices in creating a Worksite Wellness Plan that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows workers to take charge of their own health.  For example, a Worksite Wellness Plan that includes a tobacco-free workplace policy improves the likelihood that workers will try to quit smoking and will quit using tobacco successfully. Similarly, a Worksite Wellness Plan that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps raise workers’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for workers with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in creating a Worksite Wellness Plan and workplace setting that promotes worker health.

In an era of increasing medical care costs and intense competition, organizations have a vested interest in the health of their workers.  Research has found that, on average, workers with healthy behaviors (such as not using tobacco or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower medical care expenses, are absent from work less frequently, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than workers with unhealthy behaviors.

Workplace Wellness Program: Securing Leadership Support

Worksite Wellness Plan support from the uppermost level of leadership is vital to your success in creating a culture of health within your workplace. Look for Worksite Wellness Plan support from a leader who is respected by and can influence other leaders. (It’s not important that he or she be the fittest executive within your organization just that they directly support the Workplace Wellness Program.) You will be relying on this culture-of-health champion to advocate for changes that you recommend and to ensure the organization allocates adequate Worksite Wellness Plan resources (staff, time, and money) to maintain and enhance the workplace policies, physical setting, and social norms.

Secure Worksite Wellness Plan Staff and Budget

The creation and maintenance of a Worksite Wellness Plan within your organization needs to be someone’s priority. However, unless your organization is quite large, you likely don’t need to hire a full-time staff person for the Workplace Wellness Program.  There are a number of ways to find an individual with the needed skills to guide and support your organization’s Workplace Wellness Program.

Beginning facilities and Worksite Wellness Plan policies, such as those allowing workers to be physically active during the workday, does not need to be expensive, but it does require adequate and sustained financing.  If possible, include the creation of a workplace setting that supports the Worksite Wellness Plan as a permanent part of the operating budget; that helps to ensure it’s an ongoing priority for your organization.

Staff Member Involvement in the Worksite Wellness Plan

Setting up a representative group of employees to advise your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan ensures that improvements in workplace facilities, policies and practices address the true needs and obstacles of all groups of employees.   In addition, these workers can serve as the front-line Worksite Wellness Plan supporters of policies and practices with their peers.

Develop a Worksite Wellness Plan Vision and “Brand”

A Worksite Wellness Plan vision and a brand are powerful first steps in bringing a Worksite Wellness Plan from an idea to a reality. What would you like your workplace environment to look like five years from now? A succinct Worksite Wellness Plan vision statement summarizes for all (workers and leaders alike) the reasons for creating a Workplace Wellness Program. It also reminds everyone of the link between worker health and your organization’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Branding your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan sends a message to workers that the organization’s commitment and support of healthy behaviors is important and is here to stay. Select a Worksite Wellness Plan name and logo that resonate with workers. Then use that brand on all Worksite Wellness Plan communications with workers about the policies, facilities and programs your organization offers to promote healthy behaviors.

Assess Your Current Worksite Wellness Plan Situation

Exactly how your organization creates a Worksite Wellness Plan that promotes healthy eating, physical activity, and reduces tobacco use will depend on the unique characteristics of your organization and employee population.

Assess how the current workplace facilities, policies, and unwritten norms support — or discourage — healthy behaviors.

Gather information on the health and health-related behaviors of your employee population.  The most common method is by using a validated health risk assessment. If you don’t have data specific to your workers, you can estimate the prevalence of different health risks and behaviors within your employee population using state or national data.  Note: Information on employees’ health interests alone is not sufficient; but can be a useful supplement to health risk data and might help you set priorities.

Determine Worksite Wellness Plan Goals and Priorities

Use what you’ve discovered about employee health and about your current workplace setting to determine your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan priorities. From those Worksite Wellness Plan priorities, define clear and measurable Worksite Wellness Plan goals for improving employee health and your organization’s culture. Well written goals will provide the basis for planning and for measuring your progress.

Select Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies

Focus your organization’s Worksite Wellness Plan resources (time, energy and money) on tactics that are most likely to produce results:  an increase in healthy eating, an increase in physical activity, and a reduction in tobacco use. There’s no need to guess at what might work. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reviewed thousands of studies and has identified the Worksite Wellness Plan approaches most likely to result in significant, lasting, and widespread improvements in health behaviors. Those Worksite Wellness Plan tactics are included in the physical activity, tobacco, and healthy eating sections of this website.

The formula for Worksite Wellness Plan success is to make the healthier choices the easier choices.

Implement Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies

Once you’ve chosen your Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies, it can be useful to arrange the work on a timeline.  The “right” amount of time for implementing each Worksite Wellness Plan strategy depends on the staff time, budget, and business demands of your organization.  Work plans keep your efforts moving and help to ensure that plans to start a Worksite Wellness Plan stay on track even if there are changes in staffing or other challenges.

Educate and Communicate About the Worksite Wellness Plan

Ensure workers are aware of the Worksite Wellness Plan opportunities you’ve provided.   Planning your Worksite Wellness Plan communications allows you to communicate regularly with workers without overwhelming them at any one time.

Monitor and Report Your Worksite Wellness Plan Results

At the same time that you plan your Worksite Wellness Plan Strategies, think about how you’ll measure success.  It’s much easier to gather information – or to start systems for collecting information — before you begin a Worksite Wellness Plan strategy rather than as an afterthought.   Keep in mind that you’re likely to see improvements in worker morale and/or behaviors before you see decreases in absenteeism or medical care claims.

Report both your Worksite Wellness Plan successes in building a healthy workplace environment (such as complete implementation of a policy that provides workers time for walking during the workday), and Worksite Wellness Plan successes in getting employees to take charge of their health (an increase in the number of workers who contacted the stop-smoking program, or an increase in the number of fruit-cups purchased from the cafeteria following a promotion and price-cut).

Health Testing:
• Blood pressure
• Breast cancer Testing
• Skin cancer Testing
• Diabetes Testing
• Cholesterol Testing
• Eye exams
• Body-fat Testing
• Influenza (Flu) shots
• Posture screening, spinal assessment
• Worksite child immunizations
• Prostate cancer screenings
• Fitness Testing
• Depression Testing

Fitness Ideas:
• Worksite fitness center or exercise room
• Walking and/or running club (during lunch hour or breaks)
• Worksite bike rake
• Mind and Body classes (yoga, tai chi) programs
• Team sports (volleyball, basketball, softball)
• Host an exercise equipment swap

Behavior Change or Lifestyle Change Initiatives:
• Smoking cessation
• Weight management programs
• Substance abuse programs
• Fitness activity
• Stress management programs

Safety and Prevention Initiatives:
• Back-injury prevention and training
• Ergonomic education
• Tool safety programs
• Fire safety programs

Health Education, Awareness, and Support Initiatives:
• Lunch-and-learn or brown-bag wellness seminars (see your EAP for a list)
• Diet and Nutrition information, plus provide healthy food alternatives in your vending machines and cafeteria, and provide food storage and preparation facilities to encourage healthier eating
• Prenatal care programs
• Work-Life Balance programs
• Elder care programs
• Cancer support groups
• Financial Wellness Programs

Stress-Reliever Initiatives:
• Laughter bulletin board where employee can post jokes and cartoons (in good taste)
• Onsite Massage Services
• Stretch breaks
• Group lunches or celebrations

Disease Management Initiatives:
• Back pain
• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Cancer
• Obesity
• Hypertension

Employee Health Services
• on-site medical services
• worksite medical examinations
• health risk screening and counselling:
• blood pressure screening,
• blood cholesterol screening,
• blood glucose screening clinics,
• thyroid screening,
• bone density screening,
• prostrate cancer screening
• promote self-exams – breasts, testicles
• medical surveillance Initiatives
• immunizations and flu vaccinations
• Disability Management
• Active rehab
• Return to work Initiatives
• Self-care Initiatives
• Disease management information and presentations:
• diabetes,
• stomach disorder,
• arthritis,
• asthma,
• allergy,
• foot and back care Initiatives,
• chronic fatigue,
• migraines
• Online health education with continuous learning/reminders/tips
• Daily/weekly/monthly email tips or news bulletins
• Fitness appraisals
• Safety and health fairs
• Hand-washing tips and reminders
• Visiting your doctor guide – tips to efficiency
• links and information on help lines

• clearly communicated vision and mission
• clear and accurate job descriptions
• supportive appraisal system
• worker empowerment through decision-making, pace of work and connection to company goals, (on-line tools that connect to goals such as Baxter Healthcare)
• two-way communication training
• ‘no lunch hour’ meeting rules unless it is a lunch ‘n’ learn
• absenteeism and attendance program
• career tracking, (on-line tools like Pfizer)
• continuing education
• job rotation, special project assignments
• time management
• creative ideas program
• change and complaint process
• email guidelines
• technology courses and assistance
• vacation useage
• shift work rotations and breaks
• conflict management skills
• handling negative attitudes workshops

Occupational Wellness Programs: Management Training

• scheduling
• incentive and recognition Initiatives
• workload impact
• communication and feedback skills
• conflict management skills and support skills
• priority setting
• all of which are apart of the four employment relationship factors (trust, commitment, influence, and communication – from Canadian Policy Research Network)

Occupational Wellness Programs: Contributions and Benefits

• massage – try an on-site massage therapist or seated massage breaks
• orthotics
• orthodontics
• gym membership subsidies
• education subsidies
• tobacco cessation and weight control partial reimbursement incentives
• safety shoe reimbursement
• out-of-country coverage
• vision care
• alternative therapy coverage

Occupational Wellness Programs: Building Support
• exercise  breaks and stretches
• team challenges
• company sport teams such as soccer, volleyball, and hockey
• use staff members who are in-house experts e.g., gardening, yoga, construction
• celebrate birthdays, anniversaries – other significant dates and achievements
• 5 minute catch-up at beginning of work week
• pot lucks and food for meetings
• green room for time outs and regrouping self
• encouraging face to face communications
• learn names

**The creation of health or harm within an company depends on how work is managed.  Workplace Culture Strategies must address high demand/low control, high effort/low reward, fairness, purpose and trust.