Creatinging a Workplace Wellness Program

Workplace Wellness Programs start and end with individual health. Individuals, after all, are able to make decisions about maintaining and / or improving their health and wellbeing. Employee Workplace Wellness Programs must therefore provide the tools and resources necessary to assist and motivate individuals to actively participate in the program. 

Individual health is only one part of establishing worker Workplace Wellness Programs. Below you’ll find some things to assist you in your efforts to establish a healthy atmosphere for you and your coworkers. 

Encouraging Your Employer to Create an Workplace Wellness Program 

This is the first step in establishing a Workplace Wellness Program. In recent times more and more companies are establishing to see the value of promoting and supporting the health of their workers. Partnership for Prevention, a nonprofit organization, has released a sourcebook called “Healthy Workforce 2010″ (http://www.wellnessproposals.com/pdfs/tool_kits/healthy_workforce_2010.pdf). This sourcebook is an excellent resource containing information on:

      •     Benefits of Workplace Wellness Programs

      •     Suggestions on where to start

      •     Tools like surveys and evaluation forms 

These resources are for both companies and workers to guide the development and determine the effectiveness of their new Workplace Wellness Program. Make available it to your employer as a place to start or read it yourself and present your ideas. 

Participating in Workplace Wellness Programs 

Once you have an worker Workplace Wellness Program established, participating fully in all facets of the program is important. Many of us know that we need to more actively engage in Workplace Wellness Programs to enhance our health, yet have difficulty finding and taking the time to do so. These simple steps can jumpstart your participation in an worker Workplace Wellness Program:

      •     Examine the offerings that interest you and that you need for health  improvement.

      •     Schedule time to go to the presentation or service.

      •     Actively following through with recommendations from the program.

      •     Make a decision now to enhance your health. You will feel better today and tomorrow and the next day for actively moving towards wellness. 

Here is a list of potential Workplace Wellness Programs that might be available to you at work:

      •     ergonomic evaluations and ergonomic training classes

      •     lactation rooms and classes

      •     prenatal education program

      •     quiet rooms for relaxation

      •     stress management programs

      •     fitnes centers

      •     chair massage

      •     nutrition education

      •     workplace primary medical care services

      •     child care facility or resources and referral service

      •     tobacco cessation programs parenting classes

      •     Elder care resources and referral service

      •     cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose screening programs

      •     influenza vaccinations

      •     weight management programs

      •     medical care consumerism programs

      •     work/life programs

      •     lifestyle coaching

      •     mobile mammography 

More information to follow in my next posting about Employee Workplace Wellness Programs