How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look content? Is the place illuminated and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a dark cloud come over you, and count the hours until you can leave?
The power of the worksite environment on the wellbeing and health of workers is huge. First there is the physical look, feel, smell, and sounds of the place. Then you’re affected by the policies, like whether others are allowed to smoke around you. As time passes, more subtle factors begin to affect you. Do your attempts to adopt a healthier lifestyle get recognized at work, or are they sabotaged? Are your managers inspiring you by being positive role models? Do you get regular opportunities to discover healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, workers feel that the company they work for supports them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles. And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Workers who feel cared are naturally more loyal and beneficial.
The following ideas will help you change your workplace environment into one that truly supports the wellness of your employees and corporation.
Workplace Wellness Program Ideas for Fostering Supportive Environments
Wellness Friendly Facilities
When you enter a workplace, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? Is there proper light and clean air? Are there pleasant work areas, places to eat decent food, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. How does it smell? Sound? Do the staff members have proper space?
• Vending machines with healthy meal choices like low-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks
• Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other physical activity opportunities onsite or nearby
• Cafeteria offers healthy foods that may include a salad bar with low-fat dressing
• Natural light is used whenever possible; all lighting is appropriate and adequate
• Heating and ventilation is adjustable, comfortable and healthful
• No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas workplace
• Noise levels are safe and supportive of concentration
• Work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety hazards have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for employees who exercise before work or during breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it tough to evaluate a worksite. People get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them. It might provce useful to ask people who are unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also help.
Proactive Wellness Policies
One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t allowed to work more than twelve hours consecutively, there will be fewer medication errors. If parents are given flextime to address their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If employees can apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up instead of calling in sick to use them all.
Supportive corporate policies may include:
• Seatbelt use necessitated in organization vehicles
• Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow workers to exercise, go to children’s school conferences, etc.
• Tobacco-free policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift staff members are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Health Care Costs coverage rewards great health
• Absenteeism policy rewards employees who don’t use sick days
• EAP available to help staff members with chemical dependencies, depression, family issues
• Meaningful consequences are carried out for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior. Your employer may have a policy concerning alcohol use during work hours, but if everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch reeking of beer, the culture is one that permits drinking at lunchtime-and one in which written policies can be safely ignored. Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies become mere lip service rather than springboards to health.
Consistent Recognition And Incentives For Success
Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.
You can show you value the Worksite Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in business newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at yearly banquets, gatherings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to show appreciation, too.
Wellness mentors are sought and applauded, too. Employees who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer modeling and mentoring classes have the potential to promote those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.
Managers Model And Support Healthy Behavior
Nothing might say “We bolster you to exercise frequently” better than a manager going on a bike ride during the lunch hour–or your supervisor sitting next to you in a weight management class. Wellness activities reward relaxed interaction between people from different departments and at different levels in the chain of command. That promotes relaxed communication and a feeling of solidarity that is pure gold.
Managers have the potential to also provide support for workers who are working on working on their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “good job” or “nice to see you at the health club” is able to put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers have the potential to also help by allowing workers the flexibility to attend wellness events.
Ongoing Workplace Health Promotion Programs
It’s important to give workers the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and important part of the business, not a business fad. That can begin as soon as a new employee is hired.
New workers are oriented to the wellness program as one of the employee benefits. Information about the program ought to be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who invites the new employee to take part.
The workers are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are well known in the company. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are available. There are subject matters of interest for everyone.
