Health Wellness Newsletters

A lot of corporations recognize the need for a comprehensive strategy to help their staff be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable health promotion programs are much more than several “lunch and learn” programs.

Your health promotion program should include a broad range of key elements, including -

o  A clear agenda or statement of goals.

o  A plan characterized by passion.

o  An effective leader who is creative and organized.

o  A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

o  A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

o  A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Developing Your Wellness Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your health promotion program is seen as part of a broad commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all personnel. Yes, building a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required.  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You may begin by conducting a recent survey of worker needs and interests. If you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan as a result. If you don’t, the personnel will not support the health promotion program.

Accumulating information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for  instance, you might be surprised by your business or organization’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable objectives to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the health promotion program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your health promotion program must be able to wear many hats.  The leader’s duties include -

o  Creating a vision of the health promotion program after receiving input from all interested employees.

o  Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the corporation (to senior managers and fellow personnel alike).

o  Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a wellness program.

o  Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

o  Developing and maintaining leadership skills like giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You could want to stick to short-term objectives at the beginning so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful health promotion program.

Good leaders involve as many people  as possible in the wellness program. for example, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will -

o  Be sure to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the organization.

o  Develop ambassadors who’ll help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always rememberhow you will monitor progress and evaluate the success of your health promotion program. Analysis authorizes you to -

o  Identify areas of excellence.

o  Identify factors that affect participation in your health promotion programs.

o  Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

o  Better understand issues that need attention.

o  Learn from mistakes and change the wellness program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your health promotion program, you are able to measure such things as -

o  Worker absences.

o  Worker turnover rates.

o  The cost of your employee assistance program.

o  The fee of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

o  The fee of your drug plan.

o  Accident rates and safety records.

o  Employees’ participation in health promotion programs (and whether they’re staying in the health promotion programs).

o  Changes in employees’ health habits.

o  Level of employees’ awareness of healthful lifestyle issues.

o  Results of your environmental wellness audit.

o  Other noticeable changes in areas like morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to workers (including senior level managers) and fosters excitement about the wellness program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for example, you may recognize people who’ve assisted set up the wellness program or offer tangible rewards for achieving goals.

Everybody needs to know whether employees are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a wellness program has financial benefits is usually an important factor to maintain strong support from the top.

When you pay attention to the key elements of your wellness program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you will lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.

We all know that physical activity is an important part of health and well-being. But sometimes it is hard to find time for physical activity.

Lack of time is the number one barrier that individuals  say avoids them from participating in exercise on a regular basis.

The good news is that even short sessions of exercise help your health. Research has shown that 10-minute sessions that add up to between 30 and 60 minutes a day can produce meaningful health benefits.

In addition, there are numerous ways busy individuals  can use to be more active. These strategies include -

o  multi-tasking

o  being active at work

o  being active with loved ones

o  scheduling activity into daily life

Different strategies work for different individuals . Being familiar with the different strategies is key to adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read on to take a look at strategies you can attempt. With enough commitment, some of them are sure to work for you.

Strategy #1 -  Multi-tasking

The first strategy you can try is multi-tasking. This means doing things you already do, but in a more physically active way.

This way you get done what you need to get done and you get physical activity at the same time.

For  instance, you’re already travelling to work and other places. Instead of taking the car or the bus every time, attempt using active methods of transportation like biking, inline skating, walking and skateboarding.

If you cannot use active transportation for a whole trip, try to be active for at least part of the trip. If you are riding the bus, for example, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way.

Active transportation benefits your body by increasing your activity level, and it also benefits your neighbourhood and the environment by decreasing the number of cars on the road.

You can also get physical activity while doing housework and chores.

When you’re working around home, try to be creative and look for the active option. for  instance, when you’re cleaning the crack between the fridge and the counter, why not move the fridge so you can clean the area better and build your strength at the same time?

For outdoor work, opt for the old-fashioned way of doing things, as they’re generally more active. for  instance, use a snow shovel rather than a snow blower.

Strategy #2 -  be Active at Work

A lot of Americans spend eight hours a day or more working at a sedentary job. Here are several simple ways to keep your body moving during the workday.

The exercise will revitalize you and help you be more productive.

When you’re working at your desk, try sitting on a stability ball or disk for part of your day (30 minutes to an hour). This gives your back and abdominals a workout.

Take active breaks at least once a day. During your coffee break, try doing some yoga, stretching or taking a quick walk.

You might find that walking up and down the stairs several times does a better job of rejuvenating you than the java jolt.

Speaking of the stairs, take them in lieu of the elevator whenever you can.  The stairs in your building are an opportunity to get your heart pumping.

Organize walking meetings at work. Getting outside and having meetings in a less formal setting is a excellent way to be active, makes the workday more fun and encourages creative ideas for work projects.

Strategy #3 -  be Active With Your Loved Ones

Do exercise with your family, friends, neighbours and pets. With this strategy, you and your loved ones are doing some excellent multi-tasking together -  enjoying quality time with each other and getting some exercise that you all need to be healthy.

Go for walks, swims or bicycle rides together. Play Frisbee, soccer and other games and sports together. When you take your kids to the park, play with them instead of just watching them play.

A lot of community facilities offer classes that keep you and your kids active at the same time. Research these classes and take one or two.

You can even be active when you’re watching your kids do activities without you. for example, when your child plays hockey, take the opportunity to walk up and down the stairs in the stands several times.

When you feel self-conscious about doing it alone, why not gather a group of parents to do it together?

Strategy #4 -  Schedule Exercise into Your Day

Schedule your physical activity directly into your daytimer. Be sure to set a specific time and place for exercising. Make your physical activity appointments a priority, just as important as any other appointment you put in your daytimer.

To help you stay committed to your exercise appointments, you could want to make appointments that involve other individuals  - like by meeting with a fitness trainer, taking an exercise class or jogging with a friend.

If you’re not sure how many appointments to make or what you must be doing during your appointments, try consulting with a personal trainer. A personal trainer can help you create a exercise plan and schedule.

The bottom line -  determine what works best for you. Experiment with the strategies. Find inspiration by talking to other individuals  about how they keep active and what strategies they use.

Be creative and patient while you determine what strategies work best for you.  And be aware that your “best strategy” may change from time to time.

With enough effort, you will discover what works for you. Then, run with it!

o  Be certain that your building’s stairwells are clean, attractive and safe, and post signs stimulating personnel to use the stairs.

o  Start a wellness newsletter or intranet.

o  Promote the Activity Tracker and encourage personnel to track their exercise every week.

o  be creative, and make the most of the workspace you have. for  instance, mark off a safe walking path inside or around the building.

You may also set up a training circuit, highlighting features of the workplace such as stairs.

o  Provide physical activity opportunities at different times to accommodate night-, shift-, and part-time workers.

o  For workers in remote or satellite offices, offer equal access to key wellness programs via the intranet. Adapt challenges to suit their environment and take advantage of local facilities and resources.

o  Make physical activity available to staff with special needs. Adapt information and activities for any staff who are visually impaired or physically disabled as well as for people  who speak English as a second language.

o  Educate personnel about physical activity using information from reputable sources such as the Alberta Center for Active Living.

o  Make available facilities that invite on-site exercise. Possibilities include bike racks, an exercise room, change rooms with lockers and showers, and safe and attractive grounds for walking.

o  Hold walking meetings.

o  Make sure to encourage staff members to walk to colleagues’ offices instead of e-mailing or phoning.

o  Make sure to set up a stretching room. This low-cost initiative requires only a room, stretching mats, stability balls and medicine balls. Put up posters that show stretches and exercises.

o  Give incentives such as shoe bags, ball caps, T-shirts or water bottles to reward staff participation.

o  Loan out pedometers for three months, so that personnel can determine how many steps they typically take and how much activity they need to add to get basic health benefits.

o  Make space for staff members to plant and maintain a flowerbed or garden at the worksite. Use any resulting produce for meetings and potluck lunches or donate it to charity.

o  Plan a worksite health fair.

o  Hire a qualified fitness specialist to design and manage an on-site exercise facility.

o  Supply staff members with active wear that shows off the business logo.

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

Wellness Program -  A Range of Approaches

Despite the fact that the goal is to eventually have a long-term, comprehensive wellness program, some corporations prefer to begin with a single program at a basic level.

For example, the first steps can be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthful eating; or they might launch a pilot project to find out how interested employees are to ensure employees needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious.

This approach provides a chance to show the impact on personnel and the worksite so executive management are going to be more willing to consider a larger and more far-reaching strategy.

Other businesses plan a selection of wellness programs to meet the needs of the different types of people  that make up their workforce.  And some decide to develop a sound organization case, complete with a health strategy, before trying any kind of wellness program.

Businesses want to ensure that a new wellness program is fully integrated with their overall corporation vision and mission.

Wellness Program -  Success Factors

Regardless of whether your corporation chooses to think large from the outset or to start with something smaller, always rememberthe following key success factors -

o  support and participation from management;

o  employee involvement in planning;

o  wellness programs that meet staff member needs;

o  A realistic budget; and

o  continuous review.

In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a team must follow to accomplish its goal of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Organizations also need game plans, even when they don’t call them by that name.

Good planning will help to ensure that your health promotion program happens the way you want it to, and that costs may be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning avoids small problems from becoming bigger.

Steps in Planning a Health Promotion Program

Obtain senior management support. You might need to create a business case to convince managers that the health promotion program is a business strategyâ.”that employee health and job satisfaction affects their productivity. Employees need to see evidence that senior management believes in and is committed to employee health.

Establish a planning committee. Members can include representatives from worker groups as well as from HR, health and safety, and communications.

Collect information.  To prove that your health promotion program is beneficial, establish a benchmark before the health promotion program starts. You may wish to look at staff member satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, drug costs or WCB costs.

Assess what workplace facilities are available to support personnel to make healthful choices such as showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bicycle. Assess staff member needs through a recent survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.

Create the plan to reflect the information collected. Include wellness program objectives, activities and how you’re going to measure whether your objectives were met.

Keep the plan flexible. You may have to change direction in response to worker feedback or changes in the company’s structure.

Get upper-level management approval. Support for staff time and a budget are needed.

Put activities in place. Make available a selection of activities that create awareness, increase knowledge, create skills, and provide social interaction.

Activities could include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns like Employee Health Promotion Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that provide information about community resources.

Workplaces can also make it easier for staff members to make healthy options by providing flextime to allow staff members to fit activity in when it’s convenient or by subsidizing wellness programs in cooperation with community or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for meetings can ensure that healthy foods are offered.

Evaluate 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 investment. Just do it. Get support from management, bring several committed people  together to generate some ideas and get started.

These are fun and easy events that may be done within your organization to motivate healthful behaviors during a contest or during other times.  The goal is to encourage staff member participation. Some examples -

o  Create a sub-committee of enthusiastic staff members who will help promote the fitness program by offering ideas, suggestions and encouragement to fellow employees.

o  Create monthly mailbox flyers to promote a contest or provide fitness-related education/encouragement information.

o  Send a weekly voicemail on each participant’s telephone with encouraging wellness messages.

o  Give regular cumulative health progress reports.

o  Offer low-fat or heart-healthful lunch selections once a week in your cafeteria or have staff members bring a healthful snack to share, with a recipe book compiled at the end of the contest or specified time period (like a National Nutrition Month in March).

o  Distribute worker gifts (pedometers or other novelty item related to some aspect of your contest theme) as registration begins.

o  Allow employees “Fitness15-Minute Walk Breaks;” company time to walk, exercise, etc. If appropriate, you might use a space not currently used to set up a treadmill, elliptical bicycle, some free weights and meditation music.

o  Hold a T-shirt design contest.

o  Create posters to map contest (or fitness) progress and to serve as reminder of your goals -

o  Use push pins or other identifiers for each individual to put up in the office showing how they have progressed â.” employees can get very creative with this and design pins that reflect their personalities.

o  Use a bar graph to compare progress.

o  Use a “thermometer” kind graphic and color in progress â.” consider a different, fitness-related graphic all together and color it in as you progress.

o  Give aerobic dance or walking videos in your conference or break rooms.

o  Compile a list of organized events in the community that offer opportunities to get staff members exercising by participating as a team (below are just a few) -

o  Race for the Cure

o  March of Dimes Walk America event

o  Juvenile Diabetes Research

o  Foundation Walk to Cure

o  American Heart Association’s Heart Walk

o  American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life

o  American Lung Association’s Lung Run

o  Local marathons or special community walks or runs

o  Develop or attend a health-and-fitness retreat or workshop.

o  Hold a soup-and-salad luncheon followed by a hula-hoop contest!

o  Use the mall as an alternate walking location during inclement weather.

o  Designate “Move it Mondays” â.” allow personnel to take an additional 10 minutes during lunch for exercise.

o  Designate “Tasty Tuesdays” â.” provide staff with low-calorie treats/snacks.

o  Designate “Walking Wednesdays”â.” allow personnel to take an additional 10 minutes during lunchtime to walk, or “Wacky Wednesdays” that allow personnel to explore new exercises.

o  Designate “Thirsty Thursdays” â.” make healthful smoothies or juice drinks for employees.

o  Designate “Fresh Fruit Fridays” for staff â.” offer seasonal fruit treats.

o  Send weekly exercise tips to personnel via the most effective communications car in your worksite.

o  Partner with another business representative for local media events coordinated through your marketing or communication department.

o  Make certain to encourage departmental teams to challenge each other (examples - Patron Service, Advertising, Medical Support).

o  Start walking clubs with executive/supervisory leadership.

o  Seek out local aerobic opportunities or classes through churches, community groups, college, YMCA, etc.

o  Contact a few local area health clubs and ask when they can or will offer group discounts for exercise programs, waive enrollment fees, or set up a 12â.”week program as opposed to signing an extended contract.

o  Hold a Frozen Yogurt Social â.” “Reap the Benefits of Fitness.”

o  Map out a walking track around the building including the number of laps required for one mile.