Posts from — July 2009

Smoking Cessation

Smoking cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness activity. Smoking is often a difficult habit to overcome. Workplace wellness activities to support “tobacco-free” living include:
• 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”.
• Reward individuals who have successfully quit smoking for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some sort of incentive gift.
• Provide “cold turkey” sandwiches to smokers who pledge to quit during the Great American Smokeout.
• Implement a “quitting or thinking about it” reinforcement group to assist  and advocate people trying to stop smoking.

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Addictions

If a substance abuse policy is not in place in your workplace, advocate that one be developed. Request a knowledgeable Employee Health Promotion Program Committee member be included in the policy development process. If such a policy is already in place make sure Employee Health Promotion Program Committee members are knowledgeable about the policy and have a thorough understanding of it. From time to time, remind employees of wellness resources and programs available.
• Invite AA, NA, AI-Anon, and other groups to meet in a organization building and/or publicize community meetings.
• Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and make sure food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.
• Offer easily accessible information about counseling, referral, and treatment programs available in the area. Put this information in an area where it can be viewed without embarrassment.
• When conducting wellness programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight management, nutrition, physical fitness, smoking, and accident prevention.
• Issues such as co-dependence and the difficulty of helping a substance abuser can also be addressed. Provide this information as part of the wellness program by offering informational materials, brown bag sessions, EAP information, etc.
• The Employee Assistance Program provider is an excellent resource for substance abuse wellness programming and or employee assistance.
• Other addictions, such as problem gambling, food addiction, shopping, Internet addiction, etc., can be a problem and can reach the point of affecting a person’s work and life. Offer information, video review, or employee assistance sessions addressing these issues.
• A Company Health Promotion Program Committee member may gain personal information regarding a worker problem. Remember to keep all employee information completely confidential.

Interest in increasing physical activity ranks nearly as high as weight management in employee interest and need. Ideas for increasing employee awareness and participation in physical activities follow:

• Fitness classes in the workplace: Onsite exercise can be much more convenient for staff members. However, onsite classes require logistical planning and coordination with attention to details. Onsite classes are generally more feasible for larger organizations. As part of the steps in planning and assessment, talk with other Corporate Health Promotion Programs offering workplace classes. Ask what their experience has been like. Speak to potential vendors in the area as well. Find out what it would take to offer an on-Site fitness class. YMCA’s, health clubs, and area recreation programs are good resources for this kind of discussion. It is also feasible to offer a “mini” introductory workplace class series. A mini series might consist of an introduction to a new physical exercise area. Staff Members are then expected to make the transition to home or area based programs.
• Nerf Olympics: Nerf games are fun (and entertaining) activities that encourage movement, flexibility, stress reduction, and usually are a good laugh. When organizing such an activity consider setting up a “challenge” stations with various activities. Ideas for activities include hula hoop contests, Nerf basketball no cost throws, Nerf football tosses, Frisbee “golf”, jump rope, etc. The Wellness Team will lay out the course. Each attendant goes through the stations and gets a “gold” medal (you can buy these at party stores and toy stores inexpensively) for completing all of the stations (no matter how badly they perform). Begin each attendant at intervals allowing for smooth running, but expect high difficulty stations to be backed up. This delay can add to the fun and creates a ‘keystone cops’ scenario. Nerf Olympics is a good activity to do with an audience, so encourage cheering coworkers.
• Offer incentives and rewards to staff members who engage in aerobic exercise such as walking, running and bicycling on their own time (see objective setting program, offer points toward prizes, etc.).
• Give out maps of walking/jogging trails located near the worksite. Mark distances in steps and miles. Urge workers to walk during lunch and/or break times. Post a steps accumulated map on a worksite wall where workers can log their steps or miles.
• Encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoying other forms of exercise to form fitness groups to meet before work, at lunch, or after work.
• Promote the use of stairs instead of elevators. Place bulletin boards, art contests, etc., in stairwells.
• Sponsor “Bike-to-Work” or Walk-to-Work week.
• Schedule five-minute desk stretching at the workplace. This can relieve repetitive motion issues as well as eye and back strain.
• Sponsor a personal challenge exercise such as “Climb a Mountain” or “Swim a Sea”. This is an honor system program in which participating employees are awarded minutes, steps, or miles credit for cardiovascular exercise (swimming, walking, running, skiing, biking, stair stepping, aerobics, etc.). The object of this sort of challenge is to accumulate the equivalent mileage it would take to reach the top of a famous mountain, span a body of water (swim the Columbia River), or reach a distant city/county. Try personalizing the challenge as much as possible to individual interests and/or area geographical matches close to the workplace.
• Gather a variety of exercise video or DVD tapes. Staff Members can either check out a tape for home use, or offer a group exercise video class.
• If it is not possible for employee to leave the building to exercise at lunchtime, try adopting an in-house aerobic walking track for employee use in an unused part of the workplace for lunch, break or after hours use. An example of how this concern might be solved is the use of stationary bikes and other small exercise equipment offered for employee by some 911 call centers.
• Organize a “Personal Best” Challenge”. Workers run, walk, bike, etc. their own personal best time. Repeat the personal best challenge each quarter to six months. Each time an employee improves, offer recognition and an appropriate award. Also, recognize those staff members who maintain their personal best in the same way. Urge non-participating staff members to get involved. Assist these individuals in choosing an activity that is comfortable and of interest for them, and one in which they can succeed and progress.
• When you offer an introductory or other worksite exercise class or activity, make sure the instructor can relate to the audience, and the audience can relate to the instructor. Have a Employee Wellness Program Committee member attend a current class by the selected instructor class prior to the instructor delivering a class at worksite. Also, consider the staff members who may be potentially attending the class. At times larger and/or older exercise instructors are frequently better accepted by audiences who are similarly sized and aged.
• Offer a themed “virtual” trek. Calculate the mileage for the proposed “trip” ahead of time. Be sure that the distance is appropriate for the number of expected participants and time for the event (six to eight weeks) works well. For longer activities, small teams can accumulate their mileage for the trip. Establish a reporting network. Display a map to track the trip. Chart the progress with stick pins, a magic marker, or a highlighter. Provide a brief humorous fictional narrative of the trip, posting a new one each week. Include as many participants’ names as possible. Alternate posting humorous texts with health tips along the way. Provide an incentive at the end of the trip.

Ideas For Physical Activity Themes:

• Swim the Mississippi to the Mardi gras.
• Take a tour to all Oregon counties.
• Take a tour of Oregon from Enterprise to Brookings.
• Run or walk around the world (25,000 miles).
• Tour de France (take all summer)
• Tour de France on a stationary bike (take all winter)
• Indianapolis 500
• Climb Mount Everest (stairs or stair climbers). Target Sir Edmund Hilary’s birthday or the anniversary of the first conquest as a completion date.
• Climb Mount Washington or Mt. Hood. Target President’s Day as a completion date.
• Climb any significant mountain and tie it to any remotely related event.
• Use time in exercise as a measurement for the contest rather than distance. This allows you to treat all forms of aerobic exercise more equitably.

employees generally enjoy sharing nutritional tips and trying new foods. Sponsor a “nutrition cook-off” and/or healthy potlucks.
• Nutrition cook-off. Teams of workers set a menu in advance and bring in prepared foods for an official competition. A nutritionist from the health department or local hospital or neighborhood serves as the judge. Dishes and foods are evaluated based on both health considerations and taste. Following the event, a cookbook of the teams’ recipes can be created and distributed to the entire employee.
• Cholesterol Control or “Down Under” Club. People with cholesterol over 200 mg. are invited to voluntarily take part. The invitation needs to be extended to all workers as the Wellness Team will not have (nor should have) access to individual health information. Offer a variety of services to help  in reducing cardiac risks. Gordian Health Solutions offers blood lipid management health programs for workers qualifying by cholesterol score. If a worker gets cholesterol numbers below 200 in six months, support an incentive such as a prize to continue progress. Continue to supply information and reminders for continued blood lipid control.
• Label reading contest. Create a particular food or food category. Staff Members must discover the designated products with the lowest/highest fat content in the grocery store. Give coupons or other prizes for predetermined number of winners or participants. Or, provide samples of healthier meal choices based on label information. Show how these compare to less healthy choices. Display results of the contest in the employee break room or at an employee brown bag event.

Other Workplace Wellness Program Nutrition Suggestions:

• Offer freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea.
• Develop a healthy food “bake-off’ once a year.
• Provide sugar and salt substitutes in the lunchroom.
• At meetings, replace sweet rolls and donuts with bran muffins, wholewheat bagels, or fresh fruit. Consider offering other decaffeinated coffee and herbal teas plus no-sugar fruit juices.
• Serve free popcorn in the break area.
• Organize a cookbook featuring healthy recipes contributed by employees.
• Fruit or veggie of the week (or month). Put up an “exotic” fruit or vegetable in your lunchroom and see if coworkers know what it is. Workers can put their name and the name of the item on an index card. These can be used to conduct a prize drawing at the end of the week from the cards with the correct answer. To add fun, encourage people to put down funny answers when in doubt of the real name of the item. Read some of those names during the prize drawing, and offer a prize for the most creative name. Divide the fruit or vegetable at the drawing and let those interested taste it. Be sure it can be eaten raw. “Unusual” meal items like star fruit are now readily available in grocery stores work well for this activity as many people have not tried these types of produce.

Weight management is a major area of both employee interest and need. Body Mass Index (BMI) is the clinical measure that indicates whether individuals are in a healthy weight range or are overweight or obese. The BMI is a measure of a person’s overall height to their overall weight. Height and weight are measured during the Healthy Benefits assessment. A computer mathematical calculation supports the BMI score. Gordian health management programs are available for Healthy Benefits participants who qualify based on their BMI score, and who are interested in a weight management program.

Ideas for worksite based weight management programs include:
• Have Weight Watchers, TOPS, or other reputable weight control groups meet in your worksite or nearby. Provide such groups before/after work or at lunchtime. Employee attendance is generally better if workers can attend either wholly or partially on work time. Break times may be rolled into lunch break times to minimize employee time away from work duties (with management approval). workers usually pay their own fees for class attendance and supporting materials.
• If the wellness program offers rewards and incentives based on participation, award a completion gift when employee has attended a certain number of weight management sessions or activities.
• Supply information regarding community weight management groups.
• Incentives such as cash, tee shirts, plaques, certificates, hours/days off, names on bulletin boards can be given to people who write a weight loss contract and meet their intention.
• Establish a worksite responsibility to offer alternative healthy snacks at business-sponsored meetings. Healthy snacks such as fruit, pretzels, plain popcorn, almonds, and veggies support demonstration as to the employer’s responsibility to health and employee well being.

Every worksite will have employees who will not participate in available worksite wellness activities. But these same employees may be following countless healthy practices in their daily living. A wonderful wellness program must give these individuals credit and recognition for their wonderful work.

Recognition of healthy goal setting and goal execution is a good approach for reinforcing what individuals are doing on their own outside of work, and for reaching those who do not like group activities. Suggested steps for individual goals/objectives and recognition include:
• A form workers can fill out which includes the set goal(s) and a target date for completion.
• Information on setting realistic goals/objectives, as individuals often overestimate what they can do and by when. It’s good to remind staff members “baby steps” count!
• Maintain a confidential file of the submitted employee objective forms in a dated “tickler” system.
• Send a reminder to each employee at the time of each participant’s objective date. This reminder might be a copy of their original objective form. Ask for employee’s feedback regarding their objective(s): completed the objective, need an extension, or have discontinued the objective.
• When the form is returned from an employee:
   1. If an employee has completed the objective, a certificate of completion is received along with a prize or incentive item linked to the objective (if possible).
   2. If the employee renegotiates the deadline or the goal, the form is re-filed for future follow-up. Continue to bolster the employee.
   3. If the intention is canceled, send a note acknowledging this “good try” and advocate the employee to try again when the timing is right.
• Allow those interested in this process to set goals and objectives any time and as often as they want.

Walking Club

Walking clubs or “trekking” can either be done in real time (by scheduling walking groups), or clubs can be set it up so individuals do their walking on their own and keep a shared log at work. Following a certain number of miles or steps are logged, workers are eligible for membership into the walking “club” and receive something like a prize (a walking pin, similar to the ones that volkswalkers get, or a certificate of membership). Ways to continue interest in walking groups include:

• Regualr announcements about area walking programs. Keep abreast of programs in the area, Parks & Recreation programs, available tracks, inside walking options, volkswalking programs, etc.
• Regualr information specific to walkers; such as what to look for when buying a pair of walking shoes.
• Consider a workplace team to take part in a local fundraiser walk, such as the March of Dimes walk.
• A walking club can be the kind of “club” that never really meets, or it can be the kind that does provide the option for those who are interested in group walks and activities.

Health Awareness Video Programming

Many good health related videos and DVDs are available through loan programs either at no or low costs. Choose video programming based on employee interests and needs.

• Schedule periodic health video viewings at lunchtime brown bag sessions.
• The videos can be related to health or other related wellness subject matters like financial planning, caring for aging parents, or even humor as a “break” from the work routine.
• Preview videos before showing them to insure they are appropriate, not too long, etc.
• Have a Workplace Wellness Program Committee Host moderate the viewing, greet individuals, and lead a brief discussion after the video. Design one or two questions for discussion after previewing the video and use these to lead the discussion. Many health videos come with group discussion questions.
• Supply a pertinent educational handouts for participants to take with them for more information on the topic.
• If possible, support popcorn or fruit as a snack.
• Offer a prize drawing (or points if you are doing that kind of incentive program) for those attending the video program and discussion.

Wellness Mentors

Every workplace generally has at least a couple of staff members who have successfully made changes in their health. Often, other staff members will relate to one of their peers. Peer reinforcement can go a long ways in encouraging healthy changes.

• Seek volunteers from the work force who have experienced a disease resulting from an unhealthy behavior, or survived or recovered from a disease that just happens like breast cancer, and who have successfully made positive changes.
• Associate these success story staff members with staff members struggling with similar health issues.
• Both workers participating in the mentoring process are doing so on a voluntary basis. Respect the privacy of this very special relationship.
• A Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee person can be involved from a peripheral standpoint, and be available to share other resources that might be significant to both workers.