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Help employees make healthy choices
By JAMIE HERZLICH Newsday MELVILLE, N.Y. - You're at your Monday morning staff meeting, and on the table are bagels and cream cheese and doughnuts and bear claws.
And just down the hall to wash it all down is a vending machine filled with soda, or perhaps a candy machine.
While this may or may not describe your worksite, chances are your office isn't as healthy as it can be. But with a little imagination and effort you can create a healthier work environment for your employees without breaking the bank, say health and wellness experts.
"Wellness is not just for big business," says Don Powell, president of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine in Farmington Hills, Mich., a provider of wellness programs and publications. "There are a lot of activities small employers can implement and a lot of benefits they can receive by doing so."
Some of these benefits can include increased employee morale, lower absenteeism and potentially reduced health care costs, particularly if you have a self-insured health plan. In general, the average return on investment is $3.50 for every $1 invested in a wellness program, Powell says.
So how do you begin on the path to better workplace wellness? Well, it all starts with figuring out what your needs are, says Matthew Lewis of Lewis Wellness Consulting, which runs the Creating Wellness Center of Commack, N.Y.
Conduct a needs assessment and poll your employees on what they're interested in, suggests Lewis, who helps companies create wellness programs. That way, you can implement wellness solutions that make sense. "The best workplace programs are not dictated by upper management," says Suffolk County, N.Y., Health Commissioner Humayun Chaudhry, who co-chaired a recent workplace wellness conference. "They come from ideas from employees themselves." The health department is itself creating a workplace wellness program, says Chaudhry, who is trying to keep it as cost-effective as possible.
The American Heart Association offers different programs, including Start!, which provides companies with a free kit to set up walking routes at the worksite. You might want to check with other health-oriented nonprofits to see what they offer.
Looking for other low-cost ideas? Offer healthier food options throughout the office and consider a weight-loss challenge.
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