Category — Health Promotion

Employee Wellness Program incentives encourage staff members to adopt positive behaviors or maintain an existing positive behavior that may potentially help the employee stay healthy and live longer. Adopting positive health behavior is fundamentally what wellness is about.

Corporate Health Promotion Program incentives can be used to increase participation rates, help individuals complete a Corporate Health Promotion Program, or help individuals change or adhere to healthy behaviors. Providing incentives and rewards will send an important message to the staff members that your organization is committed to helping them with improving their health. It also plays a meaningful role in motivating individuals to participate.

Tips on how to select appropriate Employee Health Promotion Program incentives

• Identify through an employee survey what incentives they value.

• Identify what incentives the organization can provide as well as what the budget will allow.

• Ensure that every participant who achieves a goal receives some recognition.

• Prevent offering incentives for the “best” or the “most.”

• Prevent using food as a reward.

• Make certain to use incentives to promote your Corporate Health Promotion Program, through logos and branding.

When developing a Corporate Health Promotion Program, make sure that it consists of a variety of awareness, lifestyle change, supportive environment programs, policies and activities that target risk behaviors, and the needs and interests of the employees . It’ll be important to review and revise existing policies governing such areas as smoking sections and the staff cafeteria.

Tips on designing a Corporate Health Promotion Program

• Create activities based on your plan goals addressing the specific needs of your employees . Focus on those topics that are of greatest interest to your employees and the greatest needs of your business , in that order. Avoid topics with narrow appeal.

• Be sure to keep it simple. Design the Employee Wellness Program so it is easy for the participants to understand and track.

• Be sure integrate a combination of activities to include awareness, educational, and behavior elements.

• Pick activities in which every worker can participate.

Employee Wellness Program Suggestions

• Challenges. Activities that focus on practicing a desired behavior that continues for 4-8 weeks and focuses on specific topics (such as physical activity, nutrition, or stress management).

• Learning experiences. This includes seminars, videos, and classes.

• Behavior changes (such as smoking cessation). You might or might not offer interventions at the workplace . However, you should encourage individuals to make lifestyle changes that they want to make even without an external incentive.

• Education on illness management. For example, support and education groups for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

• Learing new skills. For example, CPR and first aid.

• Preventive screenings like blood pressure, cholesterol, and vision.

Source -  Altered from the Building Healthy Texans Employee Health Promotion Toolkit.

Develop Employee Wellness Program goals and objectives

Goals are general guidelines that explain what you want to achieve. Goals define strategies or steps to take to attain the identified goal.

A Corporate Health Promotion Program should’ve a “destination”. Be certain to use the results of your surveys and your wellness committee’s mission statement as guides. Consider these ideas -  

• Focus on making health information and learning resources readily available to staff members

• Focus on group activities so employees can work together to support and encourage healthier lifestyles

• Create a Employee Wellness Program that is visible to both employees and to your customers

• Focus on written policies and guidelines

• Make certain to set objectives for your Corporate Wellness Program.

Review Guidelines for Writing Employee Health Promotion Program Goals .

Corporate Health Promotion Program Goals Should Be

Specific - A goal is specific when it provides a description of what will be accomplished. It’ll state exactly what the organization intends to accomplish. It should be written so that it can be easily and obviously communicated. A specific goal will make it easier for those writing objectives and action plans to address the following questions -  

• Who is to be involved?

• What is to be accomplished?

• Where is it to be done?

• When is it to be done?

Measurable - A goal is measurable if it’s quantifiable. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as -  How much? How many? How’ll I know when it’s accomplished?

Attainable - You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that might have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable.

Realistic - Realistic, means “do-able.” the goal needs to be realistic for your organization and where the organization is at the moment. A goal to take out all the high fat items in the snack machine may not be realistic for your corporation right now; a better goal would be to substitute some of the chips, candy bars and pies for pretzels, yogurt and dried fruit.

Timely - Finally, a goal must have a timeframe -  for next week, in three months, by age 35. It must have a starting and ending point. It should also have some intermediate points at which progress can be examined . Limiting the time in which a goal must be accomplished helps to focus effort toward its achievement. When you do not set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can begin at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to begin taking action now.

Successful Employee Health Promotion Programs are developed to meet the needs and interests of the workers . Ask workers what they are interested in, and what needs they have. People  are more willing to participate and support wellness efforts if they are involved in the decision-making process. Review the sample worker survey provided below.

Worker Interest Survey - Can be edited (http - //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/worksite _wellness/employer_tools/employee_interest_survey.doc)

When developing a recent survey, keep the following hints in mind -

• Ask mostly closed form questions, specifically if you’ll be sending the survey to a large number of employees . Closed form questions provide specific choices and are easy to tabulate.

• Invite comments, suggestions and recommendations, or ask open-ended questions at the end of the survey. Open-ended items are more difficult to summarize.

• Include a brief explanatory cover letter with the survey with the signature of the business president. Make certain to include a statement about confidentiality and anonymity.

• Ask a group of representative staff members to review the survey before it’s distributed. Find out if the questions will be understood by staff members and won’t be objected to.

• Include demographic information at the beginning , or end of the survey (gender, age, shift, site, department, etc.).

• Conduct a random drawing for a valued incentive item for all those who returned the survey. This could increase the response rate.

One rule to consider concerning surveys is if you’ve fewer than 500 employees , everybody should receive one. The benefit of everybody receiving a recent survey can be significant. If you’ve over 500 employees , a sample of the work population from each department will suffice. The higher the response, the more accurate and reliable the results. A minimum response of 40 percent to 50 percent is considered valuable.

A critical first step in organizing your corporation ’s Employee Wellness Program is the formation of a wellness committee. The focus of the wellness committee is to plan, promote, and implement the program. The committee establishes continuity, motivation, and wide ownership of the program as well as provides an great automobile for communication.

So who should be on the committee? Consider appointing the following people /departments to your committee -

• Top management within your business

• Union representatives

• Human resources  department

• Employee assistance program

• Information technology

• Communications

• Health and safety department

• Workers interested in wellness

Building a successful Corporate Health Promotion Program requires staff time as well as money. Some larger organizations may spend 20 hours per week for three to six months preparing all the steps prior to launching a Corporate Health Promotion Program.

Anywhere from 4 to 10 people  meeting monthly is equivalent to a wellness committee. A mission statement for the committee should be created by the second meeting. This way, everyone knows what the committee is working toward.

Download sample minutes from a local worksite . (WORD DOC -  http - //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/worksite _wellness/employer_tools/walking_works_minutes.doc)

Once a Corporate Wellness Program has been established, the committee’s size and meeting schedule may change. Still, no fewer than 4 members ought to meet at least quarterly so the group - and the Corporate Wellness Program - doesn’t fade away.

Support from management is essential to building a successful Corporate Wellness Program! Visible  senior management support is one of the most crucial factors in the success of a worksite Corporate Wellness Program. Upper-level management executives are responsible for making sure that the organization meets its objectives . They can provide additional assistance by assisting you to link your Corporate Wellness Program objectives to corporation outcomes, thereby positioning Corporate Wellness Program as a fundamental part of the organization.

It’s important to create support and excitement for the program from all levels of the corporation including  upper management, mid-level management, and grass-root staff members .

The challenge for any Corporate Wellness Program coordinator is convincing  upper-level management about the potential value of Corporate Wellness Program to the organization and conceptualizing how Corporate Wellness Program initiatives can impact the organization in a meaningful manner. The American Journal of Wellness is a great resource to assist you with obtaining convincing information on the benefits of a Corporate Wellness Program.

Corporate Wellness Program support from management can come in many different ways -

• Involvement in the planning process

• Distribution of funding for the Corporate Health Promotion Program

• Support for time given to the Employee Wellness Program

• Participation in wellness events

• Leadership by management, such as the distribution of a letter of support for the program.

• Download a sample letter requesting  upper management support. (http - //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/worksite _wellness/employer_tools/sr_mgt_support.doc)

• Flexibility of worker schedules to accommodate wellness activities

The first step in developing your wellness/Employee Health Promotion Program is to understand your organization and how Employee Health Promotion Program will fit into the current structure. By researching your organization’s history with similar programs and eliciting feedback from coworkers, you can find the best solution for your organization.

Corporate Health Promotion Program -  Research Questions

• Find out if Corporate Wellness Program has been done in the past. If so, what worked and what did not?

• Was it widely accepted?

• Was programming successful? Why or why not?

• What does your business hope to gain from implementing a Corporate Wellness Program?

Answers to these questions will help you begin the process of creating a culture of wellness within your organization. It is imperative that you assess the environment before starting a program.

Employee Health Promotion Program -  Employee Feedback

In addition, you can start the process of understanding your organization by reviewing the survey below -

WORD DOC -  http - //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/worksite _wellness/employer_tools/work_climate_survey.doc

The costs of health care have been rising more than 10 percent yearly for several years. A substantial amount of the money spent in the health care system treats expensive illnesses and illnesses .

• Approximately 95% of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical services, while about 5% is allocated to preventing illness and promoting health.

• Potentially, 50% to 70% of all illnesses are preventable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.

• In an effort to optimize worker health, reduce preventable health care utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower health care costs and improve worker satisfaction and retention, many companies are developing, or are interested in developing, Employee Wellness Programs for workers .

The benefits of Employee Wellness are well documented. More than 120 research studies repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high returns on investment (ROI). Some major findings include the following -

• Savings of $3.48 in reduced health care costs per dollar invested.

• Savings of $5.82 in lower rates of absenteeism costs per dollar invested.

• ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of program implementation.

• Lifestyle behavior change programs -  $3 to $6 ROI within 2 to 5 years.

• Self care, decision support programs -  $2 to $3 ROI within a year.

• Disease management programs -  $7 to $10 ROI within a year.

By offering health betterment programs, businesses are not only providing an additional service for staff members , but they are also gaining financially. Moreover , the impact of a health betterment program goes beyond decreased health care cost and ROI. A health betterment program can affect productivity, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical care costs.

* Source -  Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement -  A comprehensive guide to designing, implementing and reviewing workplace programs. National Business Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.

According to the American Journal of Wellness, “Health promotion is the science and art of helping people  change their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health. Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior, and create environments that support good health practices. Of the three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest impact in producing lasting change.”

Employee Health Promotion Program -  Action Steps

The process of building a Corporate Wellness Program involves -

• Identifying the current health status of your staff members

• Deciding the appropriate programs and interventions to offer

• Promoting and implementing the programs

• Building in motivational incentives

• Measuring the impact

• Revising programs based on analysis outcomes

It could even include developing policies and procedures that support employee participation in wellness activities at your worksite (such as flextime).

Steps to Starting a Employee Wellness Program

• Conduct an organizational assessment

• Obtain management support

• Establish a wellness committee

• Obtain employee input

• Create goals and objectives

• Design and implement program activities

• Pick incentives

• Evaluate outcomes

One of the ways the government plans to improve the nation’s health is through comprehensive Corporate Wellness Programs. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, these programs might help workers live healthier lifestyles by creating supportive work environments and offering awareness, education and behavior change programs. In truth , one of the goals of Healthy Individuals  2010, a set of health objectives for the nation to achieve by the year 2010, is to increase the proportion of workers that participate in a comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program at their worksite to 75% .

5 Ways to Assess and Improve Your Staff Member ’s Health

Emotional health is a state of wellness that comes from understanding and acknowledging our emotions and finding appropriate ways to express them. As staff members , we often bring emotional problems from our childhood or current family life into the worksite because we have not dealt with them effectively outside of work. This can seriously damage worksite relationships and lead to poor performance and negative feelings all around.

Many tools and techniques exist for assisting us improve our emotional health. Some of the most common are given below, with real-life case histories illustrating their use. When an unpleasant mood or feeling persists over a length of time, don’t hesitate to seek out a certified specialist. Corporate Wellness Programs usually have specialist support already in place as part of their services.

Wellness Coaching

One of the hallmarks of emotional health is the willingness to ask for help when we need it. Confidential specialist help, the coaching and counseling provided byemployee assistance program (EAP) s or Employee Health Promotion Programs, can provide an external source of strength and insight for “working out” emotionally-based problems instead of “working them in” to your job.

Self-help Groups

Self-help groups are developed to aid people  in emotional situations in which they feel alone. The purpose of these groups is twofold -  to allow people  to safely feel and express their emotions, and to help break their isolation at work and/or in society at large and reintegrate them into society with the support of a coworker group.

The classic self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous, but thanks to technology, it is possible to connect with others that have common health challenges, no matter how unique the situation. People  are taking benefit of tele-conference groups and social web sites , such as sparkindividuals .com and revolutionhealth.com. Employee Wellness Programs often have such groups available through internet based or telephone support. Progressive Employee Wellness provider Exan Wellness, for instance , offers teleconference cell groups and moderated wellness forums for interacting with others in a supportive, confidential and unknown environment. People  with shared challenges get together and discuss the emotional challenges they are facing at work or in other areas of their lives and work through change together.

Journaling

Journaling is often recommended by counsellors as a way to help identify and process emotions. Individuals  record their emotions in writing as they experience them, in no matter what form they wish. By helping the writer gain greater emotional clarity, journaling can help in making more emotionally informed decisions. In much the same way, letter writing enables people  to identify and process the emotions they feel in relation to others. The letter doesn’t have to be sent or its contents shared -  it simply provides a place for the expression of feelings.

An 18-year-old “army brat,” Brent has always done well at school, academically and athletically. But in his last year of high school, something seems to have happened to him. He has lost all interest in school, becoming moody and withdrawn.

Brent describes to his guidance counselor all the times he had to move when he was growing up. Each move wrenched him from his friends and forced him to play the role of the “new kid on the block.” the counselor suggests that Brent write letters to the friends he’s missed over the years telling them how he felt. Finally, he’s a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Assess Your Emotional Health

Companies that seek to boost Staff Member ’s interpersonal skills, or emotional intelligence in the worksite are more successful, according to ground-breaking journalist Daniel Goleman. And emotional intelligence is the buzzword in worksite s these days. Some Corporate Health Promotion Programs have information about emotional intelligence, or emotional health assessments. Seek out more information about emotional intelligence for better Corporate Health Promotion .

Friendships and Support Systems

Friendships allow people  to feel supported in their emotional journeys. At the same time, they give people  an opportunity to develop their empathetic skills. These skills are also important for workplace health. When we’re empathic with fellow workers , we help them resolve negative or unhealthy emotions. New friendships are made through hobbies, classes, clubs, or even through internet based groups. A lot of people  are finding emotional satisfaction by connecting or re-connecting with friends through Facebook and other social websites .

Sometimes workplace stress that is not dealt with in a healthy manner can be brought home. A 36-year-old mother of three, Sarah, wants to be a good wife, a good mother, and a success at her job. One day, drained after a long day at work, she shouted at her rambunctious children and threatened to hit her youngest son. Her behavior horrified her. To make matters worse, she believes she is a failure at her job as well as at motherhood. She watches with jealousy as younger coworkers advance much more quickly up the corporate ladder despite having less experience than she has.

On the advice of a counselor, she decides to take time out for herself and take a course for amateur painters. It does not take long before she strikes up a friendship with a single mom in the class. She once led a life very similar to Sarah’s before managing to achieve a better balance between work and family. Her new friend becomes a much-needed sounding board for Sarah and offers her perspectives on her life that she hadn’t considered before.