Wellness Program Incentives

How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look happy? Is the place well lit 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 impact of the worksite environment on the wellness and health of employees 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 start to affect you. Do your attempts to live 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 learn healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the employer 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 advantageous.
The following ideas will help you change your workplace environment into one that truly supports the wellness of your workers and corporation.

Company Wellness Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments

Wellness Friendly Facilities

When you arrive at a workplace, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? Is there sufficient 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 employees have sufficient space?
• Vending machines with healthy diet choices like non-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks
• Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other exercise opportunities worksite 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 worksite
• 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 work out before work or while on breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it tough to evaluate a workplace. 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 prove helpful.

Proactive Wellness Policies

One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t permitted to work more than twelve hours consecutively, there will be less medication errors. If parents are afforded flextime to manage their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If workers have the potential to apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up rather than calling in sick to utilize them all.

Supportive corporate policies may include:

• Safety Belt use demanded in company 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
• Healthcare Costs coverage rewards good health
• Rates of Absenteeism policy rewards employees who don’t use sick days
• EAP ready to help workers with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
• Meaningful consequences are given 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 are able to be safely ignored. Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies remain mere lip service rather than springboards to health.

Consistent Recognition And Rewards For Success

Attention, praise, and rewards are provided for wellness achievements.
You have the potential to show you value the Corporate Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who have made lifestyle improvements in organization newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, meetings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to render appreciation, too.
Wellness mentors are sought and applauded, too. Staff Members who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer modeling and mentoring classes can encourage those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.

Managers Model And Support Healthier Behavior

Nothing could say “We advocate you to exercise often” 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 promote 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 might also provide support for employees who are working on improving their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “good job” or “nice to see you at the gym” can put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers might also help by allowing employees the flexibility to go to wellness events.

Ongoing Company Wellness Programs

It’s valuable to give staff members the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and valuable part of the organization, not a organization fad. That can activate as soon as a new employee is hired.
New staff members 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 staff members are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are visible in the corporation. Opportunities to take part are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are provided. There are issues of interest for everyone.