Posts from — November 2010

Health Promotion is a excellent concept. It brings happiness into health and encourages a indeed holistic approach to life. Wikipedia defines wellness as a healthful balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of wellness.

It sounds like exactly what every one is looking for. But when you start to talk about corporate wellness, or corporate wellness, all life goes out of the concept. Total solutions, disease management (DM) and medical testing do not inspire visions of enjoying life and living it to the full.

They start from the assumption that sickness is here to stay and needs to be discovered, managed and controlled but can never be healed.

The wellness industry is growing phenomenally fast. Wellness guru, Paul Zane Pilzer, has labeled it the next trillion dollar industry. But wellness has two different faces.

On the one hand there are the small corporations - people  working from home or in small centers selling all types of wellness products and services at a speed of growth that is escalating quickly.

On the other hand employee health promotion is also exploding but in a very different direction.

The baby boomers who are driving the popular wellness revolution have been described as the first generation to refuse to accept the inevitability of death.

They’re actively looking for ways to prevent aging, stay healthful into old age and enjoy themselves more than ever before after retirement. This is a radical departure from current notions of old age, which are often dominated by pictures of sickness, frailty and suffering.

The organizations have been largely forced to take on wellness. This is partly through legislative pressure, with many countries introducing laws to make organizations liable for stress-related illness in their workforce.

It is also financially motivated, as research has repeatedly shown the immense costs of absenteeism (and increasingly of presenteeism as well).

Whereas the baby boomers are actively looking for new solutions and new lifestyles the companies are struggling to organize largely traditional and mainstream health systems, such as physicians, nurses, insurance and screening systems.

The problem is that the traditional health system does not have solutions for the problems that people  are handling.

Nobody ever went to see a doctor to get happy, because a doctor doesn’t have any clue how to make people  happy.  And many stress-related health problems are described as chronic diseases, which means that they last for a very long time - or maybe for the rest of your life - because there is no medical cure.

Counseling is a common offering in businesses for emotional problems, but whilst it may provide a useful pressure valve it is not a powerful treatment for stress, unhappiness or depression.

Imagine walking into a organization where the employees are happy, healthful, full of inspiration, fit, love working, have meaningful family lives, active social lives, and enjoyable relationships at work and in their community.

That type of company would be a pleasure to work in and bound to be successful because people  would be working to their optimum capacity.

So can we create a system of true wellness that’ll serve the development of the corporations and their personnel and will pay for itself because of the benefits that both sides will gain?

First of all we have to face the fact that we can’t place all the responsibility into the hands of the current health system. Absenteeism, stress, depression, the very roots of the wellness revolution, haven’t been solved by the current system.

When they had been we wouldn’t have this revolution, we would all be much more well. So we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

We also can’t rely on makeshift feel-good wellness offerings, such as the onsite massage team which visits the office once a month or the wellness day that raises awareness for a little while but leaves most individuals  unaffected. They are easy to organize but have little or no real effect on staff member health promotion.

Corporate needs are different than individual needs and many of the new small wellness companies that are springing up simply do not have the capacity to serve the corporate market.

Nevertheless it is in the best interest of both companies and employees to find and develop systems of wellness that really work - that benefit people  to be happy, handle stress, love working, and to have enough energy to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their family and social life.

So far the corporate world has hijacked the concept of wellness and turned it into a modern version of occupational health. It’s time to elevate the vision and find out how to make indeed healthy, happy worksites where individuals  thrive.

High rates of employee turnover and the costs of sick days are increasingly taking bites into corporate profits.  The high cost of recruitment programs only adds to the challenges that these problems in sum cost the average business.

A lot of organizations are finding the solution to these challenges by increasing job satisfaction, team building, and the implementation of wellness programs that yield a reduction in these costs.

It’s become increasingly clear to most managers that a well designed wellness program with a strong nutritional and fitness lifestyle emphasis will directly meet this need.

Management’s goals for a productive health promotion program should be viewed through the perspective of increased staff member productivity, reduced absenteeism due to health related causes, improved staff member morale, reduced utilisation of company subsidised health benefits, enhanced team cohesion and effectiveness and a decrease in turnover due to lack of job satisfaction.

It’s obvious that an betterment in any of these areas will have a positive impact on the financial status of any organisation.

The benefits from an workforce point of view could be seen in improved health, increased energy levels, reduced body fat, a more youthful fit body, an increased ability to handle job related stress, greater feelings of confidence and morale and more social connections at work contributing to greater feelings of satisfaction with their work and worksite.

To be most productive a health promotion program needs to achieve both managements and personnel goals, and this may be accomplished through a health promotion program that will provide the individual employee with an awareness of their current physical condition and attitudes to fitness and well-being, and the advantages of attaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, and a plan that will allow them to achieve the necessary changes to their physical condition that may be applied in the context of their life and work.

The Bottom Line - Health Promotion Programs

Reduced Absenteeism - Dupont lowered absenteeism by 47.5 percent over six years for the participants of their staff fitness initiative, (Health Behaviour, March 1992).

Decreased Healthcare Costs - Steel case showed a reduction in medical claim costs of 55% for staff fitness initiative participants over non-participants over a six year period - an typical of $478.61 for participants vs. non-participants who averaged $868.88, (The Am. Journal of Wellness, Sept/Oct, 1991).

Decreased Turnover - Turnover among fitness program participants at the Canadian Life Assurance Company was 32.4 percent lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants (Canadian Journal of Public Health, Jan/Feb, 1988).

Positive Return on Investment - BC/BS  of Indiana found that its employee exercise initiative had a 250% return on investment; $2.51 for every $1 invested over a five year period (American Journal of Wellness, March, April, 1991).

The Partnership for Prevention was formed to encourage Fortune 1000 corporations to consider making workforce health a CEO issue and adopt strategies to promote avoidance and wellness.

After several years of double-digit rate increases for health insurance, businesses are realizing that among the best ways to slow the cost increases is to have workers take more responsibility for both costs and health choices.

A majority of organizations surveyed feel that the best way for decling costs is financial incentives to encourage employees to adopt healthier life choices.

Almost 100 percent of corporations surveyed say that health care costs will be a crucial or significant concern over the next five years, as reported by a recent survey by United Benefit Advisors.

More businesss are adopting higher deductible medical plans with HRA’s or HSA’S, wellness programs, and expanded disease management (DM) programs to control ever-increasing health care costs.

Failure to deal with these issues can be disastrous for an employer. Wayne Sensor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alegent Health recently stated, “I think that we’ve built a health care machinery we cannot afford. I think we are choking the economic engine of America.”

In his October 2005 newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil stated, “I think rising health- care costs are becoming the major economic issue in our nation”. Obesity costs California corporations billions of dollars each year.

Projected costs for 2005 may reach 28 billion dollars for direct and indirect health care costs, worker’s compensation, and lost productivity. California has experienced among the fastest growing rates of obesity of any state.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe, “The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis.” What’s frightening is that most individuals don’t even realize that they’re obese, which is defined as only 20% above normal weight.

There is a excellent need for more education on weight and resulting illnesses, and the workplace is an ideal venue. Wellness education and programs can lead to a meaningful return on investment and, if structured properly, can produce causes a very short period of time.

Even though many employers have attempted some form of wellness program in the past, results from those efforts have been disappointing.

In many cases, the healthier staff participated for incentives, like gym memberships, but those who needed it most didn’t take benefit of the health promotion program in a meaningful way.

Corporations are looking at ways to encourage more personnel to purchase into the wellness movement.

A recent webinar hosted by Human Resource Executive Magazine and presented by Carlson Advertising Group titled, “Healthier Employees; Healthier Bottom Line -  Engaging Staff Members is the Missing Link in Managing Healthcare Costs,” drove this point home.

This session provided actionable advice on how businesses are achieving higher impact with their wellness investments by focusing on employee engagement. It also highlighted how you can develop an Economic Engagement Model to forecast the potential impact for your company.

Corporations can simply no longer ignore the issue of their employee’s unhealthy lifestyles and must take action to engage them in a meaningful wellness program to reduce medical costs, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Staff Members also benefit as they derive better health and greater satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives.  The alternative is being caught in a non-competitive position and severely impacting the bottom-line of the corporation.

A listing of potential wellness topics and ideas not previously mentioned follows. Take some time to “think tank and brainstorm” new ideas with your own internal staff member Wellness Committee.

Nutrition Category

o  Low-fat campaign/food groups

o  Team salad bars

o  Vending machine changes

o  Diet analysis by a nutritionist

o  Produce on parade

o  Consuming disorder support group

o  Restaurant education

Exercise/Exercise Category

o  ”Elevoiders” - stair climbing

o  Poker walk

o  Mall walking program

o  Facilities â.” showers, bicycle lockers, exercise space, etc.

o  Team treks

o  Walk-a-block trails

o  Recreational tournaments

o  How-to-select equipment talks

o  Running maps

o  Bicycling maps

o  Deskercises (mini stretches for desk jockeys)

o  Fit-over-forty club

o  Tennis shoe Tuesday

o  Walk 100 miles in 100 days

o  Walking “buddies”

o  NW Trek!

Miscellaneous Category

o  House calls

o  Meet your benefits providers

o  Dental health

o  Fire safety

o  Ergonomic assessments

o  Self-help learning

o  CPR/first aid course

o  Hearing test

o  Hand washing campaign

o  Cancer screenings

o  Back class

o  Passports to health

o  Vision screenings

Stress Management Category

o  Comedy hour

o  Stress Pest

o  Humor newsletter

o  Money management seminars

o  Time management seminars

o  Relaxation class

o  Better sleep campaign

o  Relaxation room

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of worker safety and injury prevention. Health Promotion activities are a natural partner to many other human resource (HR) (HR), worker motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which could  be coordinated together.

o  Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains -  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of health insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Health Promotion and safety efforts can focus on -

o  Warm up stretches before starting work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Provide training to work groups so they might start a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

o  The wellness committee may consider contracting a fitness specialist to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for staff member groups throughout the year.

o  Make available body mechanics training on an annual basis or more frequently if possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

o  Partner with your company’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which could help personnel work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

o  Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Make certain to encourage personnel to report safety and/or injury concerns. Make certain to help senior management to establish policy to recognize and reward personnel who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

o  A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

o  Partner with upper management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

o  The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

o  Provide ergonomic training opportunities to interested workforce volunteers. These person can then assist other workforce to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

o  It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate workers for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it is for individuals to assess themselves.

o  One suggestion is to have personnel remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

o  Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.

o  Partner with the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help develop ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.

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

Your workplace might have policies and guidelines already in place about issues like appropriate decorations themes, work time, etc. Be sure to check with upper management regarding all guidelines and policies.

Do not 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, when done respectfully, can help familiarize your workforce with values and practices of different cultures and ethnic groups.

Several topical ideas for holiday themes include -

o  Health Promotion committee members distribute “healthful heart valentines” to each staff member for Valentine’s Day.

o  Thanksgiving “turkey trot”. Employees 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 grocery store or donated).

o  Chinese New Year tai chi demonstration. Consider a follow-up workplace introductory tai chi class offering.

o  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 does not have to be low fat or in particular healthful, since the purpose is enhancing cultural diversity, not counting calories.

Pre/Post Holiday Weigh In

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

o  Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident before Thanksgiving.  The weigh-ins might  be conducted on the honor system, but weight must be recorded on a weight-tracking card. You might invite a local nurse or Weight Watchers representative to monitor weigh-ins.

o  Staff Members set a personal goal of maintaining their weight from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

o  Weight cards are stored in a secure file location.

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

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

o  Remind personnel of the necessity to continue physical activity during the busy holiday season.

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

o  Workers who’ve maintained their weight or who’ve lost weight receive a prize and award certificate.

o  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. Many 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 bigger events. Health observances are tied to nearly every aspect of wellness and health. Things to consider -

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

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

o  National Worker Fitness Day/Week (April) is a good place to start.

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

Create and promote events well ensuring that personnel will come to expect and anticipate these health promotion programs each year. It’s best to do a few wellnesss well than many promotions poorly.

A lot of employees enjoy team related activities. These activities normally take place on an staff member’s time away from work and participation is totally voluntary in nature.

Even though the sports team isn’t part of an worker’s regular work duties, if the team or activity is associated with the business, the business could 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 organization department. In addition consult with your company’s workers’ compensation carrier and/or legal counsel.

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

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

o  Invite an official from among the above companies to speak at a company 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 -

o  TV Free Week (usually in April) - Develop a chart for the kids to use to record their TV-free participation.

o  Give a certificate to anyone who is TV-free for a week.

o  If possible, offer a few prizes (but not video rental certificates, video games or other TV-related items) for related categories, like less than 5 hours of Television, no video games for a week, etc.

Stress Management

Many simple wellness activities and practices can help employees understand the role stress plays in effecting health, safety, and productivity. It is necessary to help employees understand simple stress management strategies for reducing stress levels.

o  Stress kit check out. Have stress management tools available for staff member 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.

o  Provide a stress management brown bag event at which staff can try different types stress management tools.

o  Be sure to encourage personnel to take 10-minute relaxation/exercise breaks. Post reminders.

o  Provide a comfortable employee break area.

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

o  Make sure to work with Management to keep supervisors informed about the effects of stress in the workplace. Supervisors are often the first step in helping staff find different ways of managing work related stressors.

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

o  Provide stress management self-assessments to interested workforce. 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 can be sensitive areas for staff. Accordingly, it’s crucial to provide information in a selection 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 anybody. Other considerations include -

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

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

o  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 and through their health benefits. Give written contact information for your EAP, but do so discretely.

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

Tobacco use Cessation

Use of tobacco cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness activity. Use of tobacco is usually a challenging habit to overcome. Corporate wellness activities to support “smoke-free” living include -

o  Use American Lung Association resource. These include the Freedom From Smoking group and/or video-tutorial. There is also a follow-up video “A Lifetime of Freedom From Smoking”.

o  Reward person who’ve successfully quit smoking for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some type of incentive gift.

o  Give “cold turkey” sandwiches to smokers who pledge to quit during the Excellent American Smokeout.

o  Begin a “quitting or thinking about it” support group to assist and encourage person trying to stop use of tobacco.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

If a substance abuse policy isn’t in place in your workplace, advocate that one be developed. Request a knowledgeable Health Promotion Committee member be included in the policy development process.

If such a policy is already in place be certain Health Promotion Committee members are cognizant of the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind workers of wellness resources and programs available.

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

o  Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and make certain food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.

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

o  When conducting health promotion programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight control, nutrition, fitness, smoking, and accident prevention.

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

o  The Employee Assistance Program provider is an excellent resource for substance abuse wellness programming and or employee assistance.

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

o  A Wellness Committee member may gain personal information regarding an worker problem. Remember to keep all worker information totally confidential.