Winston Salem WellnessWinston Salem Wellness – Winston Salem Health Promotion

Job Site wellness screenings can take a variety of forms. Common evaluation components may include:

• Blood Pressure (BP) and heart rate.
• Cholesterol (typically a finger-stick total cholesterol test, either fasting or non-fasting).
• Blood glucose (diabetes screening).
• Height and weight.
• Percent body fat and/or BMI (body mass index).
• Fitness level.
• Bone Mineral Density(BMD).
• Posture assessment.

Considerations when offering workplace screenings:

• Wellness screenings must be conducted by qualified, and at times, licensed individuals.
• Health screenings must be conducted in a location that allows for privacy and confidentiality.
• Time for discussion and explanation screening results must be afforded as part of the assessment process.
• A process must be in place for referral for participants whose results are indicative of a need for further medical assessment.
• Screenings can be very costly to the overriding wellness budget OR there may be no expenditure to the program if participants are willing to cover the expenditure of the assessment themselves. By way of example, blood lipid and glucose testing usually costs twenty to twenty-five dollars per person, per exam. Staff Members may be willing to pay for evaluation in exchange for the convenience of having the evaluation at work.
• It generally works best to have scheduled appointments at intervals sufficient to allow time for the assessment and a brief discussion of results. Therefore, a registration and scheduling process must be devised.
• Some types of screening, such as fitness testing, require participants to bring casual clothes in which to do the testing. Staff Members ought to be notified of the need to dress in a specific manner for the screening.
• To ensure high attendance at evaluation programs, it is advisable to start promotion of the event with reminders to staff members.
• Supply employees with “screening preparation” standard procedures to remind them how to prepare for the most accurate screening results.

Resources for worksite screenings:

1. Consult with a wellness consultant or health evaluation organization.
2. If employee participation is low for on-Site health screenings, or if offering additional workplace assessment is an option, check with the community health or outreach department of your local hospital, health education department, occupational health department or workplace health department as to screenings they might offer.
3. Local health clubs may also have qualified employee for some types of screenings, such as fitness testing or body fat measurement.

Points to Consider

Hiring Certified Professionals

Enlist professionally certified instructors to lead fitness classes (whether on or offsite) or to run worksite lunch and learn meetings.  It’s also prudent to ask the instructor for references.

When you hire instructors, be sure that your insurance protects both the instructor and your business.

Risk Management

Whether we like it or not, liability is a problem these days.

Risk management plans need not be complicated or pricey. For example, part of the plan may require that workers fill out fitness appraisals and sign statements accepting the possible risks involved in physical activity. It pays to be prepared. Safety and emergency policies and procedures lower the risk of loss both to individuals and to your business.

Ask workers to sign a waiver when participating in both worksite and offsite activities. For liability reasons, workers must know the risks involved in participating in the exercise and know that they are waiving their right to sue.

The employee ought to not be asked to sign the waiver just before the exercise. The waiver may be invalid if staff members claim that they didn’t completely know the risks.

Other Safety Tips

Here’s a list of some other safety tips to keep in mind when planning physical exercise.

Look at the environment where staff members are active:

• Sidewalks should be clear of ice and snow, away from falling debris or snow, and have clearly marked curbs and safe crosswalks.
• Stairwells ought to be well-lit and in good condition and have handrails and safety features, so that staff members are not locked out of floors.
• Fitness facilities must have proper flooring, good ventilation, and access to water and an emergency phone.

Provide medical screening for workers participating in activities:

• PAR-Q
• PAR-MEDX for Pregnancy

Below are some other significant safety factors:

• First-aid kit and automated external defibrillator on site.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place and practised.
• Commercial grade fitness equipment (not donated, “hand me down” equipment).
• Documented equipment inspection and maintenance schedule.
• Orientation of equipment and programs done by certified professional with a physical activity background.

To make a difference in the lives of your fellow workers, you first need to grasp that getting active is not simply a matter of choice. Some things are within our individual control, but others are shaped by the individuals and circumstances in which we live and work.

It’s Easier to Be Active When…

• We know what to do and have the confidence, skills and opportunity to do it.
• It’s fun. “Working out” at the fitness center does not appeal to everyone. Activities need to reflect what people enjoy.
• Our friends, family or co-staff members are active with us (or at least support us).
• We feel safe, thanks to well-lit streets or stairwells.
• Sidewalks, walking/biking trails, parks and gyms are nearby.
• We have money to pay for equipment, instruction or memberships.
• We can walk, bike or take public transit to work.
• Active choices such as taking the stairs, having stretch breaks at gatherings and heading outside at lunchtime are “normal” in the workplace.
• Managers support and recognize employee efforts. Better yet, they take part.
• We can juggle our work hours to fit in physical exercise.

Think about how you could create some of these conditions in your workplace. By taking these steps, you’ll make it more likely that employees both want and are able to be active during working hours.

Workplace physical exercise drives that focus only on individuals have limited success. Research shows that reaching people in various ways gives the strong chance of long-term success.

A plan directed at multiple echelons is also called an “ecological approach.”

The sort of evaluation you choose is dependent upon when you do it and the kind of information you collect.

This section describes when to use three types: formative, process and summative evaluations.

During the Planning Stage

Use formative evaluations in the planning stages to see that your program is based on solid information. These evaluations also help you to develop effective and appropriate materials and procedures.

Examples of formative evaluations include:

• records of upper management commitments to the program
• employee interest surveys
• workplace environmental assessments
• pre-testing of program materials

During Your Initiative

A process evaluation is used when the plan is underway. These evaluations help you:

• track what is going well and what isn’t (and how to revise your program)
• find out if you are reaching the workers you want to reach
• describe the plan to others
• monitor who is participating in the plan

During or Following Your Initiative

Summative evaluations happen when the plan is already in place or completed. Use this type of evaluation to measure what employees like about the plan and what could be improved.

All three types of evaluations have their place. The evaluation you choose depends on the time and financial resources you have available.

What Do You Seek to Achieve?

Consider why you’re evaluating and what your evaluation is going to measure.

If you’re trying to discover whether plan has been efficacious, see if you followed your mission statement and met your objectives and goals.

If you do not have a mission statement or goals and objectives, agree with management and your employee Worksite Wellness Program Committee how your organization will track success.

By way of example, you can track success by changes in:

• Physical measures (e.g., strength, flexibility, waist circumference of workers).
• Psychological measures (e.g., employee morale, satisfaction levels, stress levels).
• Productivity measures (e.g., decline in absenteeism rates, increased employee work rate).

Thinking About workers

If you’re thinking of making improvements to the program, consider whether the program is still relevant and fitting for workers. Find out if there are any obstacles to participation in the program or to participation in physical exercise during work.

As staff members are the ones participating in the program, it’s valuable to give them a chance to offer feedback on the physical activity program.

Choosing an Evaluation Method

Decide on your assessment method. Both measurable results (e.g., absenteeism rates or questionnaire responses) and descriptive results (e.g., one-on-one interviews or focus groups) can be used to evaluate. The method you choose will hinge upon the time and funding available and what you want to measure.

Deciding How to Do the Evaluation

Decide when and where you will do your evaluation (and who will be evaluated). For more information, read the “Types of Evaluations” section on this website.
You might want to pilot test your evaluation (e.g., with members of the Corporate Wellness Program Committee) before sending it out to employees. The employee Corporate Wellness Program Committee might also wish to evaluate the initiative’s planning process.

Doing the Assessment

• Compare your results to baseline information (i.e., evaluation results from before the launch of your initiative). If you don’t have this information, save your evaluation results to compare with later results. You can also look at other information you may have, such as employee satisfaction survey results.
• Analyze and disseminate meaningful and easy-to-know results with senior staff and staff members.
• Assessment results can be used to improve the current physical activity program and/or to cultivate new pushes in future.

Prior to starting your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve gathered and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

• gained support from management for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Employee Wellness Program Committee
• assessed what is possible in your workplace
• found out what workers want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you’re now ready to develop your action plan to increase physical activity at your workplace.

With the Workplace Wellness Program Committee, take the following steps.

• Combine the outcome of the employee survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to upper management and workers.
• Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, employer, community, policy) in the workplace listed in “Keys to Success”. For example, suppose a large group of workers show an interest in biking to work. Since these individuals may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you might give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks might also be significant for making employees’ bikes secure during work.
• Consult the list of practical ideas found this website.
• Designate a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s central mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Setting goals and objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint approaching what you have learned. Make program and activity recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek upper management approval to move ahead.
• Once your plan is in place, it’s valuable to reward it to employees. Organizing a launch is a great way to do this. A formal kick-off also demonstrates management responsibility. If employees aren’t aware of the plan, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Establish what you need to track to show that you have reached your objectives. Measure these factors before you start. This way, when you evaluate later, you will know if there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical exercise during the workday, you must discover what employees need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to impact, so it’s important to be aware of their needs and gain their reinforcement.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask workers questions that let you assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.

It’s valuable to know this information so that your physical exercise program meets employees’ needs. Staff Members aren’t going to take part in something they’re not interested in.

Ask workers what they want, and then start changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. By way of example, workers may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask staff members what the organization could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of people.

For example, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be significant as well.

If you’re starting a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving workers is key to increasing physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to take part in and support physical exercise initiatives when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:

• Keep it short (no longer than ten minutes to complete).
• Make sure workers know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and difficult to analyze, ask them to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and suggestions in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of possible programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although support from the top is vital to a efficacious program, support from other employees is also valuable.

Once you get the go-ahead from management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Company Wellness Program Committee to help determine the next steps. Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of employee time management is willing to contribute, this Company Wellness Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the plan.

The Company Health Promotion Program Committee might include staff members from human resources(HR), occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a great idea to involve employee from other areas who have an interest in promoting physical exercise. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. By way of example, it’s valuable for the Company Health Promotion Program Committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following:

• Assessing your workplace environment
• Carrying out an employee interest survey.
• Developing a mission statement and goals and objectives.
• Writing a physical activity or wellness policy declaring the organization’s responsibility to physical activity.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the plan.
• Coordinating specific activities.
• Deciding how the program will be evaluated.
• Continually assessing what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before making plans to promote physical activity during work, it’s significant to learn what is “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s impossible due to funding or space limits. By way of example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness facility if there’s no space for it. Be open, however, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Finding out What’s Possible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for diagrams of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails may be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some questions to help you assess your workplace:

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space have that make it easier to be physically active during work? By way of example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a fitness facility, factory walking lanes?
• What nearby facilities or opportunities might employees use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you near sidewalks, walking trails, community centres, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?
• What resources are available?
• Can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?
• What is the structure of your business? By way of example, consider employee size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining upper management reinforcement is essential to the success of a physical activity program.

Whether the changes you’d like to see involve the work environment, overriding policies or specific programs, successfully implementing your ideas is dependent upon management support.

Support from upper management is vital for three reasons:

• You need their support to involve staff members in a workplace initiative.
• When upper management pays attention to and supports program, employees also view the program as worthwhile.
• Senior Management has the authority to give work time and money to support the program.

It’s valuable to keep senior staff involved throughout a physical exercise program, but at three points you’ll need support for:

• An central concept, including a go-ahead to assess what workers want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.
• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.
• Evaluating the program to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the program.

Approaching Senior Leadership

Before going to senior staff to gain initial support for promoting physical exercise during the workday, do your homework.

• Prepare a company case clearly outlining how the company will profit by promoting physical exercise during the workday.
• List the individual, social and corporate advantages of physical exercise and the advantages of being active during work.
• Present some general ideas about what the program could include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from senior staff:

• How will this help our company?
• How can we innervate workers to take part?
• How much will it cost to run this program or make this change?
• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the range of activities they would support. Often managers have their own ideas they would like to see acted on to better the workplace.

Remember to include middle managers when gaining backing for your program. They may be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical exercise challenges.

In today’s employer environment, the health of staff members is often related to the health of the employer. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased productiveness are just some of the advantages of having healthy staff members. Promoting health in your workplace need not be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any employer, big or little, can encourage healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some recommendations:

Healthy Eating

• For breakfast meetings, rather than serving donuts, large muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch gatherings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100 % fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Reimburse staff members for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy diet choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in snack machines.
• Offer a means for people to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Create programs and group activities to promote staff members to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge activities, stretch breaks, group sports or participation in local or provincial activities.
• Offer onsite health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in EAPs to help staff members work towards physical exercise goals and objectives.
• Provide a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices simple: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and fitness center facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that employees have more opportunities to take part in exercise program as part of their working day.
• Reimburse health club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Provide corporate health club memberships to reduce costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Organize lunch ‘n learn sessions to support information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to support cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Post a list of local restaurants that offer healthy food choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate workers on portion sizes.
• Include physical exercise and diet information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Develop activities that reward healthy eating and physical exercise. By way of example, start a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities