Promoting Fitnesswithin Organizations

Programs for Healthy Employees and Healthy Businesses

We are under exercised as a nation. We look instead of play. We ride instead of walk. Our existence deprives us of the minimum of physical activity essential for healthy living.

John F. Kennedy

December 5, 1961

A Call to Action

Promoting Fitness at Work

The goal of worksite wellness program is to reduce the number of lifestyle diseases adding to employer and employee healthcare costs.

• Management viewpoint

Promoting Fitness at Work

The goal of worksite wellness program is to encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors to achieve and/or maintain a high quality of life.

• Health Professional viewpoint

Promoting Fitness at Work

The goal of worksite wellness program is for my employer to help me learn healthy habits and new activities that can help me and my family live a healthier life.

• Employee viewpoint

Promoting Fitness at Work

Happy, healthy and having a great time!

Promoting Fitness at Work

The goal of worksite wellness program is to make me humiliate myself by dancing in the break room, get sweaty in my work clothes, discuss my weight with my coworkers, make me lie about what I really ate for dinner last night and ultimately to remove all of the “good stuff” from of the vending machines.

• Viewpoint of many – you know who you are.

Promoting Fitness at Work

You took the Snickers out of

the vending machine?!

Welcome to Wellness!

Go eat an apple.

What Works?

What are the Basic Needs?

A designated staff person or team

Program appropriate resources

Financial resources

Patience and enthusiasm

Commitment from management

I’m an IT technician.

How did I get put in charge of wellness?

Not so basic needs:Health Promotion Management

Needs Interventions

Health Risks Policy Changes

Injury risk Education

Chronic Illness Environmental Support

Absenteeism Incentives

Medical Costs Administrative Changes

Productivity Work Culture Changes

Programs to Choose Two main types of fitness promotion

programs for the workplace:

• Participation Only

• Results Based

Participation Based Programs

No goals or results are required Incentives offered to participate In some cases, there are

disincentives for not participating

Results Based Programs

Incentives offered for attaining a specific goal

An outcome must be achieved, this makes RBP’s more heavily regulated.

Fitness Promotion Programs

Program Differences

PARTICIPATION BASED RESULTS BASED

Very accessible Reasonably accessible depending on program goal

Minimal data to track Data must be collected and managed

Fun and generally good for staff moral Fun and generally good for staff moral

Fairly inexpensive Program goal determines cost

Good for all businesses - especially those just getting started

Good for businesses with strong management support

Good for gathering employee input Good for gather input and data

Employee Data

The Health Risk Assessment• A health risk assessment is an assessment

tool or questionnaire designed to identify health risks and outline information to assist people in making healthful changes that impact their health and prevent chronic disease.

• Popular tool for both participation and results based programs.

Health Risk Assessments HRA’s gather valuable

information about employees: data must be held in strict confidence.

Employers must also ensure that HRA’s are compliant with all regulations.

Legal Notes

Laws governing wellness programs:

• Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act (HIPAA)

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• California Fair Employment and

Housing Act (FEHA)

• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination

Act (GINA)

Conduct a Worksite Wellness or Health & Fitness Audit

What are we doing well?• Policies/Handbooks

• Health insurance

• Newsletters What can we do better?

• Vending machines

• Flexible schedules

• Healthier celebrations

• What in our work environment supports health

Survey Employees What do employee’s want?

• Onsite fitness classes?

• Subsidized gym memberships?

• Lunchtime classes on nutrition

and healthy lifestyle?

• Pleasant and inviting break areas?

• Company softball team?

• What do they perceived as barriers?

Review the Literature

Average 28% reduction in sick leave

absenteeism.

Average 26% reduction in health costs.

Average 30% reduction in workers'

compensation and disability claims costs.

Average $5.93-to-$1 savings-to-cost ratio.

Partnership for Prevention http://www.prevent.org

A meta-review of 42 published studies of worksite health promotion programs shows:

Grow An Advisory Board

Get administration involved.

Recruit managers and staff

members who are motivated

and will serve as role models.

Evaluate employee survey

responses and brainstorm.

Determine goals.

Assign tasks.

Assess Your Resources

Discuss what can your employees contribute?

What local resources may meet your needs?

Do any online or social media programs meet your needs?

Choose Your Path

Champion your program

Be open to input

Be prepared to roll with

the punches

There is no wrong way

Assess Your Efforts

Give your employees real, personal data.

Give your management usable data.

Celebrate positive trends Use data to plan next steps

Fitness Promotion Contributes to Healthy Communities

Healthy worksites contribute to a healthy community culture.

Healthy lessons learned at work get shared at home.

One or both parents work = opportunity

Choose Your Program

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”

~Jonathan Kozol, On Being a

Teacher