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 gloom come over you, and count the hours until you can leave?
The influence of the worksite environment on the wellness of workers is profound. First there’s the physical look, feel, smell, and sounds of the place. Then you are affected by the policies, like whether others are allowed to smoke around you.
After awhile, 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 healthful role models? Do you get regular opportunities to learn healthier behavior?
In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the organization they work for provides them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles.
And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Staff Members who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.
The following ideas will help you transform your workplace environment into one that truly supports the wellness of your staff members and organization.
Health Promotion Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments
Health Promotion Friendly Facilities
When you enter a worksite, do you feel comfortable? Could you be glad working there? is there enough 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 workers have enough space?
There’s no doubt that our physical environment affects us, from basic safety matters to subtle factors that can cause or reduce stress. Healthy environments often have these features –
• Vending machines with healthful food 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 exercise opportunities on-site or nearby
• Cafeteria offers healthy foods including 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 healthy
• No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or use of tobacco areas onsite
• Noise levels are safe and conducive to concentration
• Make sure to work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety hazards have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for workers who workout before work or during breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it hard to evaluate a worksite. People get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them.
It might be useful to ask people who are unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also help.
Proactive Health Promotion Policies
One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t permitted to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be fewer medication errors.
If parents are permitted flextime to attend to 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 required in corporation automobiles
• Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow staff members to exercise, attend children’s school conferences, etc.
• Nonuse of tobacco policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift workers are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Medical care coverage rewards good health
• Absenteeism policy rewards staff members who do not use sick days
• Employee assistance program available to help staff members with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
• Significant consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior. Your business might have a policy against alcohol use during work hours, but when everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch smelling like beer, the culture is one that allows drinking at lunch-and one in which written policies may be safely ignored.
Prohibited behaviors should be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies become mere lip service in lieu of springboards to health.
Consistent Recognition and Rewards for Success
Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.
You can show you value wellness by celebrating your programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in corporation newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, meetings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to show appreciation, too.
Health Promotion mentors are sought and applauded, too. Employees who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Colleague modeling and mentoring classes can encourage those who enjoy helping others to step forward into a new role.
Managers Model and Support Healthful Behavior
Nothing could say “We encourage 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 control class.
Health Promotion 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 can also provide support for employees who are working on bettering their health. It does not 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 can also help by authorizing staff members the flexibility to attend wellness events.
Ongoing Health Promotion Programs
It’s important to give employees the sense that the health promotion program is a permanent and important part of the organization, not a business fad. That can begin as soon as a new employee is hired.
New employees are oriented to the health promotion program as among the staff member benefits. Information about the program must be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who invites the new staff member to participate.
The workers are familiar with the ongoing programs.
The programs and wellness staff are well known in the business. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness courses are offered. There are topics of interest for everybody.
Corporate Wellness Companies