Corporate Wellness Incentive Plans

How does it feel to walk into your worksite? Do people look happy? Is the place illuminated 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 are able to leave?
The influence of the workplace environment on the wellness and health of staff members is profound. 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. After a while, 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 positive role models? Do you get regular opportunities to learn healthier behaviors?
In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the organization they work for supplies 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 employer.

Worksite Health Promotion Program Ideas for Fostering Supportive Environments

Wellness Friendly Facilities

When you arrive at a worksite, 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 meals, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. How does it smell? Sound? Do the staff members have sufficient space?
• Vending machines with healthy meal 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 workplace 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 healthful
• No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas workplace
• Noise levels are safe and supportive of concentration
• Work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety risks have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for staff members who work out before work or while on breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it hard to evaluate a workplace. People get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them. It may be useful to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Professional consultants can also assist.

Proactive Wellness Policies

One clear way to impact behavior is through policies and procedures. If nurses aren’t allowed to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be less medication errors. If parents are allowed flextime to manage their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If staff members have the potential to 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:

• Seat Belt use necessitated in employer 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.
• Nonsmoking policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift staff members are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Medical Costs coverage rewards great health
• Rates of Absenteeism policy rewards workers who don’t use sick days
• Employee Assistance Program ready to help staff members with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
• Meaningful consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior.  Your business 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 lunch-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 instead of springboards to health.

Consistent Recognition And Incentives For Success

Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.
You are able to show you value the Worksite Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who have made lifestyle improvements in company 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. Employees who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer modeling and mentoring classes can promote those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.

Managers Model And Support Healthy Behavior

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

Ongoing Company Wellness Programs

It’s valuable to give employees the sense that the wellness program is a permanent and valuable part of the corporation, not a corporation fad. That can begin as soon as a new employee is hired.
New employees are oriented to the wellness program as one of the employee benefits. Information about the program must be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who invites the new employee to take part.
The workers are familiar with the ongoing wellness programs.
The wellness programs and wellness coordinator are visible in the employer. Opportunities to take part are abundant and it’s simple to sign up.
A wide variety of awareness classes are provided. There are topics of interest for everyone.