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Worksite Wellness Planning:
"Strides to a Healthier Worksite"

1. Starting a wellness program
2. Foundations of a wellness program
   • Worksite Environment
     (Environmental & Policy Changes)
   • Physical Activity and Nutrition
   • Stages of Change
   • Wellness Committees
3. Surveys
4. Ideas for wellness program activities
   • Strategies
   • Setting goals and objectives
5. Physical Activity in the Workplace
   • Fitness Challenge
6. Nutrition in the Workplace
• Fruits & Veggies - More Matters Snack Bowl

Starting a Wellness Program

The Process

Foundations of a Wellness Program

1. Worksite Environment (Policy & Environmental Changes)

Policy and environmental changes enable worksites to support healthy behaviors. “It is unreasonable to expect large proportions of the population to make individual behavior changes that are discouraged by the environment and existing social norms” (Schmid, Pratt and Howze, 1995).

Now, more efforts are being focused on the environments in which individuals live and work. It does little good, for example, to encourage people to take a walk outside if their neighborhoods are unsafe and unpleasant, or to promote healthy eating when fresh fruits and vegetables are not readily accessible or affordable.

Worksite policies and environments should not discourage healthy behaviors, but rather promote a healthy lifestyle whenever possible.

Support for healthy choices is also important. There is strong pressure to eat whenever food is available, especially in a group setting. For example, food is served at a staff meeting and only rolls, cookies, soda and coffee are available. For an individual watching their intake of extra calories there are 2 choices: 1) to disrupt their personal dietary efforts, or 2) take the less-than social step and refuse the offer of food. In this case, environmental change happens when fruit is offered along with the cookies, or 100% juice is also available, as an alternative to the soda.

Click here to see other “Examples of Worksite Policy and Environmental Changes”

2. Physical Activity and Nutrition

Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are behavioral risk factors that can have grave consequences on an individual’s health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these two risk behaviors are responsible for at least 400,000 preventable deaths each year, second only to tobacco use.

Encouraging physical activity and healthy eating, as well as creating environments and establishing policies which support these behaviors are critical to reducing the burden of a number of chronic diseases, including South Dakota’s number one killer—cardiovascular disease.

How much is enough? The South Dakota Department of Health recommends thirty minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least five days per week. It is acceptable to accumulate physical activity in bouts of at least 10 minutes. Therefore, taking a few short walks is an example of a quick and easy way to start getting the physical activity you need during the day.

Consuming at least 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, monitoring portion size and quality of diet, and eating a diet low in saturated fat are key steps towards a healthy diet.

3. Stages of Change

The Stages of Change model offers levels of a person’s “readiness to change”. These are:

• Precontemplation - not intending to change or resisting change (“I just don’t see how this is going to help me.”)
• Contemplation - Intending to change or considering change (“I know I need to start exercising, but I just can’t seem to find the time.”)
• Preparation - Getting ready for change or making small changes (“I bought a lunch bag so I can start bringing my own lunch to work.”)
• Action - Making a change or taking action on a regular basis for a short period of time (less than six months) (“I have been meditating at least once a day for a couple of months.”)
• Maintenance - Sustaining the change (“I have been walking regularly for over a year as a member of the local walking club.”)

Workplace wellness programs focused on environmental issues allow for individual progress to higher stages at their own pace. It is important not to push change beyond an individual’s readiness.

4. Wellness Committees

It is critical that a wellness program have a dedicated committee. A wellness committee, drawing members from different work areas within the workplace, establishes motivation, continuity, and ownership of the program. This group will oversee and implement the program.

-The wellness committee should plan to hold monthly or bi-monthly meetings.
-A mission statement may be developed. Everyone will then know what you are working towards.
-Once a wellness program has been established, the committee's size and meeting schedule may change.

Surveys

(Feel free to use these surveys or adapt the questions to best fit your needs.)

Valuable tools for wellness programs are surveys.

Employer surveys gather information regarding employee health and promotion of physical activity and nutrition. Employers are an important component in promoting physical activity/nutrition programs and can build interest and participation in the program.

Sample Employer Survey - in Adobe Acrobat (pdf).

Employee surveys introduce employees to worksite wellness, gather their interests and needs, and play an important role in beginning a successful wellness program.

Sample Employee Survey - in Adobe Acrobat (pdf).

How to promote the survey?

1. Send as an attachment with a cover letter in an email.
2. Display a poster in break room announcing business’s interest in starting a wellness program and soliciting employees input.

Ideas for Wellness Program Activities

• Strategies
• Setting goals and objectives

Physical Activity in the Workplace

Many options for implementing physical activity programs in the workplace are available, from offering lower gym or fitness center memberships to setting up a walking/running program.

The benefits of physical activity programs are obvious: Improved health, alertness, and overall well being of the employees to name a few. These will result in a reduction of injuries and a decrease in absenteeism. In effect, these programs will help employees become happier, healthier, and more productive.

Ideas:

• Try a “Walk to Work Day” for employees who live close enough.
• Encourage regular physical activities: sponsor a company team or arrange regular activity nights.
• Support and promote physical activity breaks during the workday, such as stretching or walking.
• Implement incentive-based programs to encourage physical activity, such as pedometer walking challenges.
• Host a “Walk with the Manager” program.
• Post motivational signs at elevators and escalators to encourage usage.
• Offer flexible work hours to allow for physical activity during the day.
• Support recreation leagues, community and state park programs with employees.
• Offer on-site opportunities, such as group classes or personal training.
• Provide incentives for participation in physical activity and/or weight management/maintenance activities.
• Explore discounted memberships at local health clubs, recreation centers, or YMCA’s.
• Implement a Fitness Challenge - Instructions (pdf) - Calendar (pdf).

Nutrition in the Workplace

For many, eating healthy is boring and doesn’t taste good. People are concerned that choosing healthier foods is going to cost more. It’s important that people know that these perceptions of making healthier food choices are unnecessary. Colorful fruits and vegetables, tasty breads and pastas, wonderful herbs and spices can all add up to the good taste without adding up to more money.

Healthy eating doesn’t mean every single thing you eat has to be low fat or high fiber. It does mean balancing less healthy choices with healthier ones.

Offering healthy snack food alternatives in the workplace is an easy start to making it easier for employees to make healthier food choices.

Ideas:

• Offer appealing, low-cost, healthy food options, such as fruits and vegetables, juices, and low-fat dairy products in vending machines, snack bars, break rooms, and/or cafeterias. These can include fresh, canned, and dried fruits, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, plain or mixed nuts, low-fat bagged snacks, nonfat yogurt and milk.
• Promote the adoption of 5 A Day in catering/cafeteria policies.
• Offer healthful food alternatives at meetings, company functions, and health education events.
• Post motivational signs about 5 A Day, nutrition, and healthful eating in the cafeteria and break rooms.
• Make water available throughout the day by providing a bottled water dispenser in your worksite.
• Provide protected time and dedicated space away from the work area for breaks and lunch.
• Place prompters for healthy food choices on vending machines.
• Make refrigerators available for employees’ food storage.
• Provide incentives for participation in nutrition and/or weight management/maintenance activities.
• Start a healthy recipes exchange where employees swap recipes.
• Distribute educational materials, such as newsletters, recipes, brochures, and posters, at workplaces that show the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and how to prepare healthy meals throughout the day.
• Host a Fruits & Veggies - More Matters snack bowl (pdf). Just as employees often organize to purchase coffee or spring water as a group, encourage employees to organize for group purchases of fruits and vegetables.