Company Health And Wellness

Tobacco use Cessation

Use of tobacco cessation assistance is a worthwhile wellness activity. Use of tobacco is often a difficult habit to overcome. Corporate wellness activities to support “tobacco-free” living include –

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

• Reward individuals who have successfully quit use of tobacco for six months with an appropriate “kicked the habit” certificate and some type of incentive gift.

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

• Begin a “quitting or thinking about it” support group to assist and encourage individuals 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 Wellness Committee member be included in the policy development process.

If such a policy is already in place make sure Wellness Committee members are aware of 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 corporation building and/or publicize community meetings.

• Serve non-alcoholic drinks whenever alcohol is served, and be sure food is always served along with alcoholic beverages.

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

• When conducting wellness programs include information about responsible alcohol use on stress/weight management, nutrition, physical fitness, use of tobacco, and accident prevention.

• Issues such as co-dependence and the difficulty of assisting a substance abuser can also be addressed. Offer this information as part of the wellness program by providing informational materials, brown bag sessions, EAP information, etc.

• the Staff Member Assistance Program provider is an excellent resource for substance abuse wellness programming and or worker assistance.

• Other addictions, like problem gambling, food addiction, shopping, Internet addiction, etc., can 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.

• A Wellness Committee member may gain personal information regarding an employee problem. Don’t forget to keep all employee information totally confidential.

Interest in increasing exercise ranks almost as high as weight management in staff member interest and need. Ideas for increasing staff member awareness and participation in physical activities follow –

• Fitness classes in the worksite –  On-Site exercise can be much more convenient for staff members. Nevertheless, on-site classes require logistical planning and coordination with attention to details.

On-Site classes are typically more feasible for bigger employers. as part of the steps in planning and assessment, speak with other wellness programs offering worksite classes. Ask what their experience has been like.

Speak to potential providers in the area as well. Find out what it’d take to offer an on-site fitness class. YMCA’s, fitness clubs, and community recreation programs are excellent resources for this type of discussion.

It is also feasible to offer a “mini” introductory worksite class series. A mini series might consist of an introduction to a new physical activity area. Workers are then expected to make the transition to home or community based programs.

• Nerf Olympics –  Nerf games are fun (and entertaining) activities that encourage movement, flexibility, stress reduction, and generally are a good laugh. When planning such an activity consider establishing up a “challenge” stations with various activities.

Ideas for activities include hula hoop contests, Nerf basketball free throws, Nerf football tosses, Frisbee “golf”, jump rope, etc. the Wellness Team will lay out the course.

Each participant goes through the stations and gets a “gold” medal (you can purchase these at party stores and toy stores inexpensively) for completing all the stations (no matter how badly they perform).

Start each participant 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 peers.

• Offer incentives to employees who engage in aerobic activity like walking, running and bicycling on their own time (see goal setting program, offer points toward prizes, etc.).

• Distribute maps of walking/jogging trails located near the workplace. Mark distances in steps and miles. Be certain to encourage staff members to walk at lunchtime and/or break times.

Post a steps collected map on a workplace wall where workers can log their steps or miles. Check with CIS Healthy Benefits representative regarding pedometers and exercise kits.

• Make certain to encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoying other forms of exercise to form workout 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 “Bicycle-to-Work” or Walk-to-Be certain to work week.

• Schedule five-minute desk stretching at the worksite. This can relieve repetitive motion problems as well as eye and back strain.

• Sponsor a personal challenge activity such as “Climb a Mountain” or “Swim a Sea”. This is an honor system program in which participating workers are awarded minutes, steps, or miles credit for cardiovascular activity (swimming, walking, running, skiing, bicycling, stair stepping, group fitness, etc.).

The object of this kind 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.

• Collect a variety of exercise video or DVD tapes. Workers can either take a look at a tape for home use, or offer a group activity video class.

• If it is not possible for staff to leave the building to exercise or workout at lunch, attempt establishing an in-house aerobic walking track for staff member use in an unused part of the worksite for lunch, break or after hours use.

An example of how this issue could  be solved is the use of stationary bicycles and other small exercise equipment provided for staff by some 911 call centers.

• Sponsor a “Personal Best” Challenge”. Staff Members run, walk, bicycle, etc. their own personal best time. Repeat the personal best challenge each quarter to six months. Each time an staff member improves, offer recognition and an appropriate award.

Additionally, recognize those employees who maintain their personal best in the same way. Be certain to encourage non-participating employees to get involved.

Assist these person in picking  an activity that is comfortable and of interest for them, and one in which they are able to succeed and progress.

• When you offer an introductory or other onsite exercise class or activity, be certain the instructor can relate to the audience, and the audience can relate to the instructor.

Have a Wellness Committee member attend a current class by the selected instructor class before the instructor conducting a class at worksite. Also, consider the staff members who might  be potentially attending the class.

Sometimes bigger and/or older exercise instructors are often better accepted by audiences who are similarly sized and aged.

• Sponsor a themed “virtual” trek. Calculate the mileage for the proposed “trip” ahead of time. Be certain that the distance is appropriate for the number of expected participants and time for the event (six to eight weeks) works well.

For longer events, small teams can accumulate their mileage for the trip. Establish a reporting network. Post 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 Exercise 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 bicycle (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 meaningful 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 activity more equitably.

Employees ordinarily 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 community serves as the judge.

Dishes and foods are assessed based on both health considerations and taste. Following the event, a cookbook of the teams’ recipes may be created and distributed to the entire staff.

• Cholesterol Control or “Down Under” Club. People  with cholesterol over 200 mg. are invited to voluntarily participate. the invitation needs to be extended to all staff members as the Wellness Team won’t have (nor should have) access to individual medical information.

Offer a selection of services to assist in lowering cardiac risks. Gordian Health Solutions offers cholesterol management health programs for staff members qualifying by cholesterol score.

When an employee gets cholesterol numbers below 200 in six months, provide an incentive like a prize to continue progress. Continue to supply information and reminders for continued cholesterol control.

• Label reading contest. Designate a particular food or food category. Employees must find 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 food 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 Wellness Program Nutrition Suggestions –

• Give freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea.

• Sponsor a healthful 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.

• Create a cookbook featuring healthy recipes contributed by employees.

• Fruit or veggie of the week (or month). Display an “exotic” fruit or vegetable in your lunchroom and see when peers know what it is. Staff Members can put their name and the name of the item on an index card.

These may 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 provide a prize for the most creative name. Divide the fruit or vegetable at the drawing and let those interested taste it. Be sure it could be eaten raw.

Unusual food items like star fruit are now readily available in supermarkets work well for this activity as many individuals  have not tried these types of produce.

Weight management is a major area of both worker interest and need. Body Mass Index  is the clinical measure that indicates whether people  are in a healthy weight range or are overweight or obese.    

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of a person’s overall height to their overall weight. Height and weight are measured during the employee biometric testing. A computer mathematical calculation provides the Body Mass Index (BMI) score.    

Ideas for worksite based weight management programs include –    

• Have Weight Watchers, TOPS, or other reputable weight control groups meet in your workplace or nearby. Offer such groups before/after work or at lunch. Worker attendance is generally better when employees can attend either wholly or partially on work time.

Break times might  be rolled into lunch break times to minimize staff member time away from work duties (with management approval). Workers normally pay their own fees for class attendance and supporting materials.

• If the wellness program offers incentives based on participation, award a completion gift when staff member has attended a certain number of weight control sessions or activities.

• Supply information regarding community weight management groups.

• Incentives like cash, tee shirts, plaques, certificates, hours/days off, names on bulletin boards can be given to person who write a weight loss contract and meet their goal.

• Establish a workplace commitment to offer alternative healthful snacks at business-sponsored meetings. Healthy snacks such as fruit, pretzels, plain popcorn, almonds, and veggies provide demonstration as to the business’s commitment to health and worker well being.

Every workplace will have staff members who’ll not participate in offered corporate wellness activities. But these same staff members could  be following many healthful practices in their daily living.

A good wellness program should give these individuals  credit and recognition for their good work.

Recognition of healthy goal setting and goal achievement is a good approach for reinforcing what people  are doing on their own outside of work, and for reaching those who don’t like group activities.    

Suggested steps for individual goals 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 objectives, as individuals  often overestimate what they can do and by when. It’s good to remind workers “baby steps” count!   

• Maintain a confidential file of the submitted employee goal forms in a dated “tickler” system.   

• Send a reminder to each staff member at the time of each participant’s goal date. This reminder can be a copy of their original goal form. Ask for employee’s feedback regarding their goal(s) –  completed the goal, need an extension, or have discontinued the goal.   

• When the form is returned from an employee –    

   1) If an employee has completed the goal, a certificate of completion is received along with a prize or incentive item linked to the goal (if possible).

   2) When the worker renegotiates the deadline or the goal, the form is re-filed for future follow-up. Continue to encourage the worker.

   3) When the goal is canceled, send a note acknowledging this “good try” and encourage the employee to try again when the timing is right.

• Allow those interested in this process to set 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 people  do their walking on their own and keep a shared log at work.

After a certain number of miles or steps are logged, staff members 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 –

• Periodic announcements about community walking events. Keep abreast of events in the community, Parks and Recreation programs, available tracks, inside walking choices, volkswalking events, etc.

• Periodic information specific to walkers; like what to look for when buying a pair of walking footwear.

• Consider a workplace team to participate in a local fundraiser walk, such as the March of Dimes walk.

• A walking club could be the type of “club” that never really meets, or it could be the type that does provide the option for those who are interested in group walks and events.

Health Awareness Video Programming

A lot of good health related videos and DVDs are available through loan programs either at no or low costs. Choose video programming based on staff member interests and needs.

• Schedule periodic health video viewings during lunch brown bag sessions.

• the videos could be related to health or other related wellness topics like financial planning, caring for aging parents, or even humor as a “break” from the work routine.

• Make certain to preview videos before showing them to insure they’re appropriate, not too long, etc.

• Have a Wellness Committee Host moderate the viewing, greet people , and lead a brief discussion after the video. Create one or two questions for discussion after previewing the video and use these to lead the discussion. A lot of health videos come with group discussion questions.

• Attempt to supply a pertinent educational  pamphlet for participants to take with them for additional information on the topic.

• When possible, provide popcorn or fruit as a snack.

• Offer a prize drawing (or points if you’re doing that type 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 colleagues. Coworker support can go a long ways in encouraging healthy changes.

• Seek volunteers from the work force who have experienced a illness resulting from an unhealthful behavior, or survived or recovered from a illness that just happens like breast cancer, and who have successfully made positive changes.

• Connect these success story employees with employees struggling with similar health issues.

• Both employees participating in the mentoring process are doing so on a voluntary basis. Respect the privacy of this very special relationship.

• A Wellness Committee individuals can be involved from a peripheral standpoint, and be available to share other resources that might  be valuable to both employees.

Develop and offer “free” health information resources as part of the overall corporate wellness strategy. Reliable information is available free, or at very low cost, through many resource areas.

Ideas and resources will be suggested here. Also review the Resource and Website listings after this guide for more ideas and resources.

Wellness Bulletin Board Ideas

Most workplaces have at least one staff member bulletin board located in a central area. Obtain permission to use part of that bulletin board as the “Wellness Corner”, or obtain management approval to create a bulletin board dedicated to wellness. Wellness bulletin board suggestions include –

• White 8 1/2″ x 11″ flyers will be ignored. Use color or nonstandard size and shape when possible.

• Change your bulletin boards often. When they remain the same too long, they become “white noise.”

• Play “Dialing for Dollars” to raise bulletin board attention. Make a random phone call and ask an employee to name the health fact of the day as listed on the health bulletin board. Award nominal prizes to winners.

Use an “activities calendar” with targeted advertisements, football schedules, recipes, etc. that will encourage keeping the calendar updated and utilized.

• Post or email quick tips on health. Get tips from the Hope Health website at – http – //www.hithope.com/main.php?dir=content&file=health_tips.txt.

Wellness Library

Create an employee library in a central area that has easy employee access. Resources and ideas for the library could include –

• A local medical resources guide with referral lists to help staff members hook up with resources when on-site resources can’t be provided. Keep referral lists in a 3-ring binder and update monthly.

• A brief, periodic wellness newsletter or update flyer distributed to staff members via their paycheck or department meetings. It’s easy to make use of the monthly CIS Healthy Benefits worker update for this purpose.

• A variety of consumer books, magazines, videos, and articles related to good health. Solicit worker donations of current titles and recyclable items.

Make certain to encourage employees to checkout materials for loan. Update resources regularly. Consider using some of the CIS Healthy Benefits corporate wellness grant funds for good library resources.

• Healthy resources are available at local libraries. Publicize those resources within your on-site wellness library.

• Health magazines could be kept in the staff member break area.

• Download additional copies of the CareWise quarterly newsletter from the CIS website at http – //www.cciservices.com, Healthy Benefits, and circulate these in worker break room areas.

• Develop a consumer health information bin that is updated with articles and pertinent information regarding consumerism and healthcare. Check the resource listings after this guide for more ideas.

• Free  pamphlet materials may be acquired from local non-profit agencies (American Red Cross, Heart Association, Cancer Society, Lung Association), and made available in employee areas.

See website listings and other resources in the back of this guide for more ideas regarding free medical resources.

New Year’s Resolution Bulletin Board

• Have workers voluntarily write down their health-related New Year’s resolutions on 3″ x 5″ index cards with their names on the back.

• Post the cards in the form of a collage on the wellness bulletin board.

• Leave the cards up for about two weeks, and then store them in a secure wellness file.

• Post the cards near the end of February to remind employees of their goals and self-commitments.

• Take the cards down again after another week and again store in a secure file.

• Mail the cards back to the individuals along with wellness program promotions or other information announcements after March.

• Throughout the year, continue to offer wellness opportunities, support groups, or related activities.

The feasibility of worksite based wellness courses depends on the size of the workforce. Worksite programs have to be supported with an enough of interested workers to keep a class going.

Generally a certain level of worker involvement is also necessary to ensure availability of facilities such as a room and equipment.

There are broad ranges of ongoing courses which may be offered in the worksite, including aerobics, yoga, tai chi, stretching, weight control, stress management, use of tobacco cessation, and self defense.

Depending on results from an interest survey, offering an “introductory” mini class series regarding a topic of high interest might  be a good beginning idea.

For  instance, offer a series of five starting yoga classes to acquaint workers with the posture and relaxation advantages of yoga. After an introductory series, workers may want to pursue something on their own in the community.

Or, possibly an employee interest group could create where interested employees would pursue the chosen activity as a group.

Who Pays for What When? (Staff Member Subsidies and Discounts)

Many staff members and wellness teams are underneath the impression that the company should pay for all wellness activities. Remember the company is paying the bulk of the employee’s health and benefits package.

When vacation time, insurance costs, and sick costs are all factored in, the typical American company spends very close to $10,000 per year per employee on related health, time off, and lost productivity costs.

Health is an individual responsibility and a gift we can all give to ourselves. Be sure to help employees increase their understanding and appreciation of self-care for their health by encouraging their share of accountability for healthy and safe living and working.

Other ways of financing worksite based wellness activities and to also “internally” motivate staff members are included here –

Subsidies

If there is a budget but not enough space or staff to offer on-site classes that are available elsewhere (like Weight Watchers, health clubs exercise classes, Jazzercise, hospital community ed programs, etc.), a subsidy can be offered to those who take advantage of these community resources.

Establish guidelines ahead of time about eligibility and maximum reimbursement, conditions for reimbursement, whether proof of participation is required and what form it should take (receipts, log forms, etc).

The wellness policy also needs to address whether someone is eligible one time only, once a year, every five years, etc. for reimbursements.

• Subsidies work best when the staff member puts out the money and effort first, and then gets a partial reimbursement or completion gift based on some sort of attendance or participation completion.

• the reimbursement ought to be big enough to be worth the trouble of implementing the program, but should not cover the entire cost the program.

• It’s easy to get carried away with requiring “proof” in these kinds of programs. Don’t make it too bureaucratic or no one will use it. It is important to remember no matter how well your policies are set up, there will be people , ordinarily very few, who cheat-that’s unavoidable and should not become the major focus of documentation requirements.

• Consider appropriate participation gifts for financial reimbursement. for example, when an worker meets attendance criteria for a stretching class, provide a stretching strap or yoga mat as the completion gift.

• Be sure to check with the management team regarding policy for subsidies, tax reporting, etc.

Discounts and Donations

Staff Member discounts and donations may be sensitive areas for public companys and staff members. In many jurisdictions, public staff members are not allowed to receive any type of special consideration, including discounts, from local businesses, vendors, or providers.

Make certain to check organizational ethics and procurement policies before asking for discounts.

When management policy does allow for discounts and donations, the whole solicitation process needs to be conducted fairly and spelled out in writing. All interested, licensed vendors, and service providers should’ve a fair unbiased opportunity to participate if they so choose.

No inappropriate advantages are given to one provider over another in terms of access to workers, publicity, etc. No provider or service provider should be promised or guaranteed additional revenue, company, or anything else when they choose to voluntarily offer a donation or discount to workers.

Follow the same donation and/or solicitation policies when offering vendor door prizes or gifts at an employer-sponsored health fair.

Hollywood Stars or American Celebrities

This is another fun activity focusing on healthy weight loss or maintenance.

• Participants pick a secret code name (the name of a Hollywood star or other celebrity).

• Participants weigh-in with a “trusted” confident privately – at which time a healthy weight goal is set for the period of the contest.

• Post a chart with everybody’s secret name assigning each a beginning weight of zero.

• Participants weigh themselves weekly and submit the weight with their code name on the paper.

• Weight is expressed in relation to a beginning weight of zero. for  instance +4 would indicate a weight gain of four pounds; while -2 would indicate a weight loss of two pounds.

• Future weigh-ins must be in relation to the starting weight, not the previous week’s weight.

• the chart is kept current and posted publicly by Wellness Committee.

• Post a “weight control hint of the week” next to the tracking chart.

• Give “take one”  flyers on weight management education or motivational tips by the chart.

• Celebrate employee progress at the end of the activity.

Wellness Book/Journal Club and/or Book Exchange

Similar to any other book discussion group, the readings and focus of this group is health. With a wide “health” definition, many subjects may be appropriate including communication, self-improvement, relationships, money management, environment, ecology, recreation, cooking, etc.

Let the group pick the topics and books. Another suggested idea is to establish a book swap area where readers can trade the book(s) for those that others have left for trade.

Pre-Make sure to work Stretching Group

Several minutes of gentle stretching is a excellent way to safely start the workday. A expert fitness instructor could  be brought in to teach proper stretching techniques.

After that, most often an internal group can meet and run itself. Offer periodic refresher sessions with the trainer or instructor to vary the routine and help keep participants motivated.

Considerations for workplace stretching –

• Be sure to work with your Management Team for stretching endorsement.

• Stretches ought to be taught by a knowledgeable and certified person.

• Even though pre-work stretches are done on an employee’s personal time, the question of company liability will likely arise, in particular when someone reports an associated stretching injury.

Check with your company’s legal counsel and/or contact your company workers’ compensation carrier to help in design of an staff member release of liability waiver.

Worksite Chair Massage

Bring in a certified massage therapist to offer chair massage at the employees’ expense. These massages are done fully clothed with the recipient seated in a chair.

The therapist brings in a special chair that fully supports the head and shoulders while an upper body massage is given. Sessions are typically 15 minutes, with an typical cost between $12.00 – $15.00 per session.

Post a sign up sheet with appointments at intervals recommended by the therapist. Make sure the therapist is certified. It’ll be necessary to provide a private space. A group of “regulars” may evolve which can establish a regular massage schedule.

Obtain an agreement with management so employees can trade massage time for coffee or personal break time.  Note –  management may want the therapist to supply proof of liability insurance.

Art at Work

Art may be a good way to nurture employees’ creative side and help them manage stress at the same time. Bring in various art and craft supplies once a month and let the creative juices flow.

If participants are willing, have a temporary “art show” later that day. Or, feature employee art during certain months or times of the year. Be certain to encourage employees to post their art in their personal workspaces.

Healthful Email-a-Week

Develop an email list of colleagues who want to receive an inspirational, funny or educational health quote, thought, tip or idea once a week by email.

Ask members of the Wellness Committee to collect ideas initially, and then ask the members of the email list to contribute ideas and information as time goes on. Follow all corporation rules regarding work time and email protocols.

Hobby Show or Demonstrations

Hobbies are good stress management tools. Be certain to encourage employees to show off their talents by sponsoring a “hobby fair” or demonstration. Send around a sign up sheet.

See who’d be willing to bring in samples of their hobby, and maybe even do a live demonstration. Fairs or demonstrations can be scheduled as a group activity or brown bag that permits interested staff members to interact.

Or, hobby sharing can be done in groupings by topic over a scheduled period of time, authorizing for a brief presentation and/or demonstration by the hobbyist.

Brown bag presentations are a good way to develop awareness about selected health topics. Community health professionals will often provide presentations of a half hour or less at no charge.

Use worker interest surveys to follow up on worker interests that are expressed. the definition of health is broad, so brown bag presentations may also cover a wide variety of topics. Topics may include physical, mental, emotional, women’s health, men’s health, financial health, etc.

Considerations for brown bag presentations –

• Brown bag sessions are good for awareness building. This seed planting process can help staff members become more proactive about healthful options.

• Do not schedule the program for the full hour – usually 40 minutes or so works best. This will allow folks a chance to come and go, grab a quick bite, ask questions, etc.

• If the subject matter is sensitive, like domestic violence, substance abuse, etc., it’s possible people  will be reluctant to attend for fear of being associated publicly with the problem. They will, notwithstanding, attend when the focus is on helping family members, peers, etc.

• Ensure that employees hear valuable information and will leave with tools and resources to carry out the message. Be certain to work with the presenter on information strategies that work for your staff member group.

• Promotional materials should publicize the program with a name that indicates the brown bag focus. Include all other pertinent information such as where, who, when, etc.

• Some topics that cannot be covered in one session might  be offered in a short series. It will work best to schedule one session each week instead of several sessions in one week.

For  instance, you might offer a 3-week series on healthful eating instead of attempting to cram all the information into one session.

• A catchy title can draw people  to the event. an example of this would be calling lunchtime presentations “Noonlighting”

• If possible, provide a free healthful snack for employees who attend.

• to keep the momentum going, attempt setting up a routine monthly time and day for lunchtime seminars.

• If staff members work in shift or are in work groups in different geographical areas, devise a plan that offers equal attendance opportunity to all.

Resources –

1. Please see the idea list at the end of this guide which offers a selection of resource topics of interest to employees.

2. Every community has many person, experts, or experts from voluntary groups (heart, cancer, lung associations), special interest groups (Y’s, Red Cross, Weight Watcher’s, Safety Council, Alcoholics Anonymous), or the local health department as possibilities to present worksite sessions free or at a low cost.

Many of these contacts will also provide inexpensive materials.

3. Topic videos can be used for a brown bag session.