Expanding Your Wellness Without Expanding Your Time Involved.
By Victor Sharma —
EXPAND YOUR WELLNESS BUT NOT YOUR TIME INVOLVED
NUTRITION ENVIRONMENT
- Do your food providers use healthy food alternatives such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains bread, healthy beverages available?
- Do employees have access to a kitchen with fresh water, a refrigerator, and a microwave?
- Does your worksite provide healthy eating messages to employees, such as posters or brochures?
- Does your worksite provide any health information (the web, brochures, posters, etc) about nutrition to employees?
MENTAL HEALTH CULTURE
- Do you have a Mental Health in the Workplace Policy & Program?
- Do your benefits include services in EAP and Mental Health?
- Does your company encourage taking entitled breaks?
- The company encourages work-life balance.
- The company supports workers returning to work after a mental health condition
- The company has implemented programs for situations that threaten employees: harassment, violence, discrimination.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
- Does your worksite have stairs? Are employees encouraged to use them?
- Is it convenient and safe for your employees to walk or ride a bicycle to work?
- Do you have lockers and/or showers at your workplace?
- Do you have fitness equipment or classes at your workplace?
- Do you provide fitness center discounts for employees who exercise away from work?
- Do you support employee physical activity by allowing workers to take walking breaks, to do preheavy-labor stretching, or take additional time off during lunch to exercise? Do your employees get adequate exercise at work as part of their job?
- Does your company sponsor sports teams such as softball for employees?
- Are there paths near the worksite where employees can walk during breaks, lunch or after work?
- Has your worksite ever sponsored a local fun run or fun walk?
- Does your worksite provide any health information (web, brochures' posters, etc) about physical activity or exercise messages to employees?
SMOKING ENVIRONMENT
- Do you have restrictions such as no smoking in company buildings, in company vehicles, oron company property?
- Does your benefits program support smoking cessation products and treatments?
COMPANY WELLNESS PROGRAM
- Do you have a wellness committee?
- Do you allow health promotion programs to be provided during company time (not lunch hour)?
- Do you have a way to identify and support Wellness Champions in your organization? Do your employees have access to an email account for company information, education and programs?
- Do you have regular wellness days?
- Do you have regular company team building or group activities (picnics, parties, etc)?
Resources:
WebMD Better Health Evaluator - FREE HRA
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/health-a-z-tools/better-health-conversation/
NIOSH Total Worker Health - Integrating your programming http://www .cdc.gov/niosh/twh/totalhealth.html
Synergy Employment - Beliefs & Motivations
http://www .synergy-employment.com/services/wellness/program
Guarding Minds at Work
http://www guardingmindsatwork.ca/info