Employee Health Promotion

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started?
Or maybe you want to jump start or improve upon your current wellness program?
The list below provides ‘best practices’ that can help meet any
wellness program budget! The Employee Health Promotion ideas are divided into
topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Administer an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Design a Employee Health Promotion Committee
• Identify medical plans that cover costs for weight management and smoking
  cessation
• Waive co-pay or reimburse for preventive health care visits
• Put up pamphlets on a variety of wellness subject matters for employees
  to take
• Design a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines,
  DVD’s on a variety of subject matters of interest to employees
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities
  and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Plan and reward periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Plan monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Post a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Post messages from national health observances during the month
• Post healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Sponsor a benefits fair
• Sponsor organization fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Sponsor organization health fairs or other on-Site events

Nutrition Programs

• Offer free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at organization events
• Provide information to employees about the nutritional content of food
  served in the cafeteria
• Design a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock vending machines with healthier options
• Subsidize healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¢ apples
  may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Start a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Provide pamphlets available on a variety of healthy eating subject matters
• Include nutrition articles in organization newsletters
• Schedule a healthy food tasting contest Free
• Schedule educational sessions at lunch-time on a variety of nutrition subject
  matters of interest
• Sponsor an employee healthy meal cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and
  use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all employees

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules so that employees can take part
  in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration costs for weight-management programs
• Provide a support group to help employees who are trying to lose weight
• Arrange for registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for employees
  who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight control
• Offer individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight
• Offer onsite fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital,
  Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Schedule an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Allow flexible work schedules to encourage physical activity
• Design a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Design accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Urge employees to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Design a fitness center with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes,
  fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairways more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Offer reduced health club membership fees to all employees
• Provide facilities for employees to secure bikes
• Schedule 5 – ten minute stretch breaks during the day
• Subsidize health club membership for employees who take part a minimal
  number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or organization sports team
• Urge stairwell use and rewards and incentives
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Urge & support neighborhood walks or fitness events
• Urge walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Provide periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Schedule educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Design a tobacco-free grounds
• Design a tobacco-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco
  Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the cost of smoking cessation classes
• Provide pamphlets and information on health effects from tobacco use and
  tobacco cessation
• Schedule awareness sessions to arouse employees to try to quit tobacco
  use
• Schedule onsite smoking cessation classes

Employee Health Screening

• Discount health care insurance premiums or reduce co-payments for employees
  who take part in screenings and who take part in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Offer flu shots for employees and family members
• Offer Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and
  follow-up
• Offer periodic Blood Pressure (BP) screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood glucose, body composition,
  etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Allow flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and reward an Employee Assistance Program(EAP)
• Provide information on substance abuse prevention
• Provide pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Provide pamphlets and information on work life balance, such as financial
  planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building,
  organization stressors, etc.
• Assess organization policies and work schedules to identify organization
  stressors
• Assess the Employee Assistance Program(EAP) to be sure it is meeting the
  needs of the employees and organization
• Schedule educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Schedule classes on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance
  subject matters

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments, are an assessment tool or
questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information
to help people in making healthy changes that influence their health and prevent
chronic conditions.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments have four standard components
in worksite settings:

• A Questionnaire
• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Employees complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nutrition
practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions,
smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another important feature to consider
is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including
health screenings such as cholesterol and Blood Pressure (BP) results increases
the benefits of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by offering
a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions
and program options. However, it is important to determine if the Health Risk
Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program
and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks
as well as information on how to reduce risk factors. Individual reports are
totally confidential. Depending on the reason for launching the Health Risk
Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s important to consider the type
of report the organization will receive as well. A group report summarizing
major risk factors and recommendations for programs to enable in order to reduce
employee and organization risks supplies important information for your wellness
program.

The Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments can be used to:

• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Motivate employees to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach high-risk employees
• Plan Employee Health Promotion based on the identified needs
• Evaluate program effectiveness by comparing Health Risk Appraisals / Health
  Risk Assessments completed at set intervals such as yearly.