Exactly how does it feel to walk into your worksite? Do people look happy? is the place well lit and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a gloom come over you, and count the hours until you can leave?
The influence of the worksite environment on the wellness of workers is profound. First there’s 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 awhile, 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 healthy role models? Do you get regular opportunities to learn healthier behavior?
In a supportive environment, staff members feel that the business they work for provides them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy life choices.
And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Employees who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.
The following ideas will help you transform your worksite environment into one that in truth supports the wellness of your workforce and organization.
Health Promotion Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments
Health Promotion Friendly Facilities
When you enter a workplace, do you feel comfortable? Could you be happy working there? is there enough light and clean air? Are there pleasant work areas, places to eat decent food, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. Just how does it smell? Sound? Do the personnel have enough space?
There’s no doubt that our physical environment affects us, from basic safety matters to subtle factors that can cause or reduce stress. Healthful environments often have these features -
o Vending machines with healthy food choices like low-fat milk, fruits, sugar-free and caffeine-free beverages and low-calorie snacks
o Workout area, walking paths, playing fields, basketball hoop, or other exercise opportunities on-site or nearby
o Cafeteria offers healthy foods including a salad bar with low-fat dressing
o Natural light is used whenever possible; all lighting is appropriate and adequate
o Heating and ventilation is adjustable, comfortable and healthy
o No cigarette machines, ashtrays, or smoking areas on-site
o Noise levels are safe and conducive to concentration
o Be sure to work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
o Safety hazards have been eliminated
o Lockers and showers are available for employees who workout before work or during breaks
o Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it hard to evaluate a workplace. Individuals get used to stressful conditions and forget that conditions ever bothered them.
It may be useful to ask people who are unfamiliar with your workplace to walk through with you. Specialist consultants can also help.
Proactive Health Promotion Policies
One clear way to influence behavior is through policies and procedures. When nurses aren’t permitted to work more than twelve hours in a row, there will be fewer medication errors.
If parents are allowed flextime to attend to their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If workforce can 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 could include -
o Seatbelt use required in corporation cars
o Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry
o Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
o Flexible work schedules allow workforce to exercise, attend children’s school conferences, etc.
o Nonuse of tobacco policy is enforced
o Excessive overtime is discouraged
o Membership at workout facility is partially reimbursed
o Shift workforce are scheduled to allow adequate rest
o Medical care coverage rewards good health
o Absenteeism policy rewards staff who don’t use sick days
o Staff Member assistance program available to help personnel with chemical dependencies, depression, family problems
o Meaningful consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthful, prohibited behavior. Your business may have a policy against alcohol use during work hours, but when everybody looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch smelling like beer, the culture is one that authorizes drinking at lunch-and one in which written policies could be safely ignored.
Prohibited behaviors must be confronted promptly. Otherwise your policies become mere lip service instead of springboards to health.
Consistent Recognition and Rewards for Success
Attention, praise, and rewards are given for wellness achievements.
You can show you value wellness by celebrating your wellness programs and those who’ve made lifestyle improvements in corporation newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, meetings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to show appreciation, too.
Health Promotion mentors are sought and applauded, too. Workers who support others’ efforts to improve their health are noticed and appreciated. Coworker modeling and mentoring classes can encourage those who enjoy assisting others to step forward into a new role.
Managers Model and Support Healthy Behavior
Nothing could say “We encourage you to exercise often” better than a manager going on a bike ride during the lunch hour–or your supervisor sitting next to you in a weight control class.
Health Promotion 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 can also provide support for personnel who are working on bettering their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “good job” or “nice to see you at the health and fitness center” can put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers can also help by allowing staff the flexibility to attend wellness events.
Ongoing Wellness Programs
It is imperative that you give staff members the sense that the health promotion program is a permanent and important part of the corporation, not a corporation fad. That can begin as soon as a new worker is hired.
New workforce are oriented to the wellness program as among the employee benefits. Information about the wellness program must be presented by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable individuals who invites the new employee to participate.
The staff are familiar with the ongoing health promotion programs.
The wellness programs and wellness staff are well known in the business. Opportunities to participate are abundant and it’s easy to sign up.
A broad variety of awareness courses are offered. There are topics of interest for everybody.