Posts from — March 2009

How does physical exercise fit into a full-time employee’s full schedule? Often, it doesn’t.

One possible solution to this challenge is to make physical activity a part of the work day. Clearly, being active at work is constructive for staff members. But employers also advance from having fit, energetic and healthy staff members who are more constructive.

The challenges

Your job takes up a lot of your time. In addition to the hours you invest actually working, there is the time necessitated to get to and from work and take lunch and rest breaks during the work day. In the end, there are a limited number of hours left over for the rest of your life. This work life imbalance is especially true for Alberta, where statistics show that we work exceptionally difficult.

Many jobs today are sedentary, and numerous Americans drive to work. The pressures of work may also cause us to eat lunch at our desks and skip breaks. Then, after work or on the weekends we juggle household chores, family responsibilities and social engagements.

Workplace Wellness Programs: Get started on a workplace physical activity program

Upper Management plays a key role in creating a culture that promotes health. The leaders at your workplace impact the various policies and the informal or formal practices, and these policies and practices affect your attitude towards healthy active living.

Begin by talking to your boss about the advantages of a healthy active workplace. The best way to ensure the success of a employer physical activity program is to have the management on side and cheering you on.

Ask your higher-ups to consider taking these actions:

• Send a memo or message about the importance of health and healthy living that encourages employee to take an active break each day.
• Provide for flexible work hours that help employee to be more physically active. By way of example, they might need to take a longer lunch break to attend exercise class, making up the time by coming to work early or remaining late.
• Provide a meeting room or other suitable office space for noon-hour yoga or workout classes, and hire a teacher to lead them, or use videos.

If your boss agrees to support a workplace exercise program, do not forget to say thanks.

You don’t need an onsite fitness center

Only very large companies can afford onsite fitness facilities such as exercise equipment or squash courts. Still, most employers can take other affordable steps to support workers who wish to become more active.

For example:

• Arrange for discounted fees for staff members at a health club, recreation center or YMCA facility.
• Install showers and a place to hang a towel. (Make sure the showers are cleaned regularly and that women who use them will feel secure.)
• Install bike racks or a locked enclosure that is safe, conveniently located and well lighted.
• Have walking gatherings and set up lunch-hour walking groups
• Make employees aware of safe and pleasant walking routes near the workplace, as well as nearby locations that offer fitness programs (such as walking, swimming, running, yoga, stretching).
• Find a certified instructor to instruct employee about health, fitness and how to become more active.

Any size and type of workplace is able to support staff members who wish to be physically active. It’s highly desirable to get management on side. Even if your boss isn’t supportive, you have the potential to still discover ways to get moving more. Set up activities for groups and individuals, and bolster your co-staff members to join in.

We all know that physical activity is an significant part of health and well-being. But at times it’s hard to find time for physical activity. Lack of time is the number one barrier that people say prevents them from participating in physical activity on a regular basis.

The good news is that even short sessions of physical activity help your health. Research has established that ten-minute sessions that add up to between 30 and 60 minutes a day can produce significant health advantages.

Also, there are numerous ways busy individuals are able to use to be more active. These strategies include:

• multi-tasking
• being active at work
• being active with loved ones
• scheduling exercise into daily life

Different strategies work for different individuals. Being familiar with the different strategies is key to adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read on to check out strategies you can try. With sufficient commitment, some of them are sure to work for you.

Strategy #1: Multi-tasking

The first strategy you have the potential to try is multi-tasking. This means doing things you already do, but in a more physically active way. This way you get done what you need to get done and you get physical activity at the same time.

By way of example, you’re already travelling to work and other places. Instead of taking the car or the bus every time, try using active methods of transportation like biking, rollerblading, walking and skateboarding.

If you can’t use active transportation for a whole trip, try to be active for at least part of the trip. If you’re taking the bus, for example, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way.

Active transportation benefits your body by building your exercise level, and it also benefits your neighborhood and the environment by reducing the number of cars on the road.

You are able to also get physical activity while doing chores.

When you’re working around the house, try to be creative and look for the active choice. For example, if you’re cleaning the crack between the fridge and the counter, why not move the fridge so you are able to clean the area better and build your strength at the same time?

For outdoor work, opt for the old-fashioned way of doing things, as they’re usually more active. For example, use a snow shovel instead of a snow blower.

Strategy #2: Be Active at Work

Many Americans spend eight hours a day or more working at a sedentary job. Here are a few simple ways to keep your body moving throughout the workday. The physical activity will revitalize you and help you be more constructive.

When you’re working at your desk, try sitting on a stability ball or disk for part of your day (30 minutes to an hour). This gives your back and abs a workout.

Take active breaks at least once per day. During your coffee break, try doing some yoga, stretching or taking a quick walk. You may discover that walking up and down the stairs a few times does a better job of rejuvenating you than the java jolt.

Speaking of the stairs, take them rather than the elevator whenever you can. The stairs in your building are an opportunity to get your heart pumping.

Create walking gatherings at work. Getting outside and having gatherings in a less formal setting is a great way to be active, makes the workday more fun and encourages creative ideas for work projects.

Strategy #3: Be Active With Your Loved Ones

Do physical exercise with your family, friends, neighbours and pets. With this plan, you and your loved ones are doing some great multi-tasking together: enjoying quality time with each other and getting some of the physical exercise that you all need to be healthy.

Go for walks, swims or bike rides together. Play Frisbee, soccer and other games and sports together. When you take your children to the park, play with them instead of just watching them play.

Many community facilities offer classes that keep you and your little ones active at the same time. Research these classes and take one or two.

You are able to even be active when you’re watching your little ones do activities without you. For example, if your child plays hockey, take the opportunity to walk up and down the stairs in the stands a few times. If you feel self-conscious about doing it alone, why not gather a group of parents to do it together?

Strategy #4: Provide Physical Activity into Your Day

Schedule your physical exercise directly into your daytimer. Set a specific time and place for working out. Make your physical exercise appointments a priority, just as valuable as any other appointment you put in your daytimer.

To help you stay committed to your physical activity appointments, you might want to make appointments that involve other individuals: such as by meeting with a personal trainer, taking physical activity class or jogging with a friend.

If you’re not sure how many appointments to make or what you must be doing during your appointments, try consulting with a personal trainer. A personal trainer is able to help you advance a physical activity plan and schedule.

The bottom line: figure out what works best for you. Experiment with the strategies. Find inspiration by talking to other people about how they remain active and what strategies they use. Be creative and patient while you learn what strategies work best for you. And be aware that your “best strategy” may change from time to time.

With proper effort, you will discover what works for you. Then, run with it!

• Commit to workplace physical exercise in policy statements and commit funding to physical exercise drives.
• Clearly communicating the advantages of being physically active during work reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting all workers be active. Use meetings, bulletin boards, newsletters and e-mail to reach as many workers as possible at least once a year.
• Provide flex time for physical activity. Invite employees who actively commute to work or exercise at lunch to make up any missed time later in the day.
• Allow staff members to work part time, so that they can participate in physical activity.
• Include a physical activity account in your benefit plan to pay for or subsidize fitness memberships, assessments, classes, counselling or instruction.
• Give interest-free loans for workers to buy bicycles or good walking shoes/runners.
• Conduct periodic employee interest surveys of employee physical exercise preferences, and offer a variety of options to suit those interests and needs.
• Hire qualified people to lead stretch breaks or physical activity programs or classes. For help in finding accredited fitness leaders, visit Alberta’s Provincial Fitness Unit.
• Recognize workers who take part in physical activity. Survey workers first to determine how they prefer to be recognized, e.g., through corporation newsletters, appreciation lunches, rewards and/or thank you notes.
• Offer child care and other family-friendly amenities during physical activities that occur after work.
• Avoid scheduling gatherings over lunch.
• Promote active breaks instead of coffee breaks.
• Have active fundraisers instead of bingos. For example, workers might climb the Calgary Tower stairs or take turns riding a stationary bike for 24 hours.
• Make birthday celebrations active times. Instead of a lunch, invite the birthday person to choose an exercise. Options could include a session with a yoga instructor or an evening ski trip.
• Encourage a casual dress day. One study found that workers who dress casually were more physically active.

• Make sure that your building’s stairwells are clean, attractive and safe, and post signs encouraging employees to use the stairs.
• Create a wellness newsletter or intranet.
• Promote the Activity Tracker and bolster employees to track their physical exercise every week.
• Be creative, and make the most of the workspace you have. For example, mark off a safe walking path inside or around the building. You might also set up a training circuit, highlighting features of the worksite such as stairs.
• Provide physical exercise opportunities at different times to accommodate night-, shift-, and part-time workers.
• For staff members in remote or satellite offices, offer equal access to key initiatives via the intranet. Adapt challenges to suit their environment and take advantage of local facilities and resources.
• Make physical exercise available to workers with special needs. Adapt information and activities for any employee who are visually impaired or physically disabled as well as for individuals who speak English as a second language.
• Educate staff members about physical exercise using information from reputable sources such as the Alberta Centre for Active Living.
• Offer facilities that invite worksite physical activity. Possibilities include bike racks, physical activity room, change rooms with lockers and showers, and safe and attractive grounds for walking.
• Have walking meetings.
• Encourage employees to walk to co-workers’ offices rather than e-mailing or phoning.
• Set up a stretching room. This low-cost initiative requires only a room, stretching mats, stability balls and medicine balls. Put up posters that show stretches and exercises.
• Offer rewards and incentives such as shoe bags, ball caps, T-shirts or water bottles to reward employee participation.
• Loan out pedometers for three months, so that staff members are able to find out how many steps they usually take and how much activity they need to add to get basic health benefits.
• Create space for staff members to plant and maintain a flowerbed or garden at the workplace. Use any resulting produce for meetings and potluck lunches or donate it to charity.
• Develop a workplace health & wellness fair.
• Hire a qualified fitness specialist to design and manage an onsite fitness facility.
• Supply staff members with active wear that shows off the company logo.

• Create a launch event to foster excitement about upcoming activities and to create a social climate that establishes being active as the norm.
• Establish and promote monthly or bi-monthly corporation programs that are fun and active, e.g., picnics with physical games, employee tournaments and dragon boat racing. Encourage families to join in by including all-ages programs such as relay races, soccer matches, bocce ball and baseball games.
• Launch a swim club at a local pool. Invite groups of workers to swim the distance of a nearby lake. Convert kilometres to lengths and reward workers who complete the swim. Set up a challenge between workers and managers to see who covers the greatest distance.
• Display a sign-up board where employee can join a group or find a buddy to take part in activities of interest.
• Create a organization badminton tournament that lasts several months, with each employee playing once a week. Display the results as the tournament progresses.
• Create an office Olympics, World Cup, Wimbledon or Masters Games. Invite teams to compete in several activities over a month. Reward everyone who participates.
• Organize a point system in which one minute of activity equals one point. Set a target, and post a chart where all staff members can track their points. Reward the first group to reach that target.
• Create a stair climb challenge. Post a chart at the top of the stairwell, and advocate staff members to track the number of flights of stairs they climb each workday. Set up teams, and award a prize to the first group to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest.
• Display and encourage a sign-up board for lunchtime walking groups.
• Develop a walk “across the U.S.” Choose a route, discover how many steps it would take to walk that distance and challenge staff members to do it. Give or loan pedometers to staff members, and ask them to record the number of steps they take. Or, if you cannot afford pedometers, track the minutes walked. Set up a challenge between staff members and managers to see who has the potential to walk across the U.S. first.
• Create a walk to work club. Acknowledge staff members who either walk to work or walk to public transit.
• Have a volunteer group leader guide weekly lunchtime power walks.
• Create a million-step challenge. Form groups, challenge each group to walk a combined total of a million steps and reward the winner. Departments or sites might compete with each other and with senior staff.
• Challenge workers to walk 10,000 steps a day. Buy pedometers for all participating workers or, if you can’t afford that, make pedometers available at a reduced rate. Provide tips for increasing daily steps, and reward workers who succeed.

There is no one correct way to approach wellness programs but winning programs share common success factors. These include responsibility from management, employee participation, adequate resources, and a policy concerning health that goes hand in hand with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

Corporate Health Promotion Program: A Range of Approaches

Although the objective is to eventually have a long-term, all-inclusive wellness program, some corporations prefer to begin with a single program at a basic level. For example, the first steps could be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthy eating; or they could launch a pilot project to discover how interested employees are to ensure employees needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious. This approach provides a chance to show the impact on employees and the workplace so upper management will be more willing to consider a larger and more far-reaching plan.

Other businesses plan a variety of drives to meet the needs of the different sorts of people that make up their workforce. And some decide to advance a sound organization case, complete with a health plan, before attempting any type of program. Corporations want to be sure that a new program is fully integrated with their overall organization vision and mission.

Employee Wellness Program: Success Factors

Whether your employer chooses to think big from the outset or to start with something smaller, always keep in mind the following key success factors:

• reinforcement and participation from upper management;
• employee participation in organizing;
• programs that meet employee needs;
• a realistic budget; and
• continuous review.

In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a group must follow to accomplish its intention of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Businesses also need game plans, even if they do not call them by that name.

Good planning will help to make sure that your wellness program happens the way you want it to, and that costs can be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning prevents small issues from becoming bigger.

Steps in Starting a Employee Health Promotion Program

Get upper management backing. You may need to cultivate a corporation case to convince managers that the wellness program is a corporation strategy-that employee health and job satisfaction affects their productivity. workers need to see evidence that upper management believes in and is committed to employee health.

Establish a planning committee. Members have the potential to include representatives from employee groups as well as from human resources, health and safety, and communications.

Accumulate information. To prove that your Employee Wellness Program is beneficial, establish a benchmark before the program begins. You may wish to look at employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, prescription costs or WCB expenses. Evaluate what workplace facilities are available to support workers to make healthy choices such as showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bicycle. Evaluate employee needs through a survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.

Establish the plan to reflect the information gathered. Include program objectives, activities and how you are going to measure whether your objectives were met. Keep the plan flexible. You may have to change direction in response to employee feedback or changes in the company’s structure.

Obtain management approval. Support for employee time and a budget are necessitated.

Put activities in place. Offer a variety of activities that create awareness, increase knowledge, cultivate skills, and support social interaction. (Activities could include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns such as Corporate Health Promotion Programs Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that support information about area resources.) Workplaces can also make it easier for workers to make healthy choices by providing flextime to allow workers to fit activity in when it is convenient or by subsidizing programs in cooperation with area or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for gatherings has the potential to make sure that healthy foods are offered.

Assess the plan. Share your successes with others, learn from your mistakes and modify activities.

A wellness program doesn’t have to be complicated or a huge investment. Just do it. Get support from management, bring a few committed people together to generate some ideas and get started.

How does it feel to walk into your workplace? Do people look content? Is the place illuminated and cheerful? Do you feel welcome, wanted and energized? Or do you feel a dark cloud descend upon you, and count the hours until you can leave?
The power of the workplace environment on the health and wellness of workers is huge. 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 light up around you. After a while, more subtle factors begin to affect you. Do your attempts to live 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, employees feel that the organization they work for provides them with encouragement, opportunity, and rewards for healthy lifestyles. And the spirit that results is highly contagious. Staff Members who feel cared are naturally more loyal and productive.
The following ideas will help you change your workplace environment into one that truly supports the wellness of your employees and corporation.

Company Health Promotion Program Ideas for Creating Supportive Environments

Wellness Friendly Facilities

When you arrive at a workplace, 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 food, take a walk before lunch? Close your eyes. How does it smell? Sound? Do the workers have sufficient space?
• Vending machines with healthy diet 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 onsite or nearby
• Cafeteria offers healthy foods that may include 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 conducive to concentration
• Work station furniture conforms to ergometric standards
• Safety hazards have been eliminated
• Lockers and showers are available for staff members who work out before work or during breaks
• Stairs are clean and well lit, convenient and pleasant to use
Familiarity can make it hard to evaluate a worksite. 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 help.

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 consecutively, there will be fewer medication errors. If parents are given flextime to address their children’s needs, they’ll be less stressed. If employees are able to apply unused sick days to planned vacation time, they’ll save them up rather than calling in sick to utilize them all.

Supportive corporate policies may include:

• Seat Belt use required in organization vehicles
• Drug and alcohol policies are appropriate to the industry
• Emergency procedures are developed, known, and practiced
• Flexible work schedules allow staff members to exercise, go to children’s school conferences, etc.
• Tobacco-free policy is enforced
• Excessive overtime is discouraged
• Membership at fitness facility is partially reimbursed
• Shift workers are scheduled to allow adequate rest
• Health Care Costs coverage rewards great health
• Rates of Absenteeism policy rewards staff members who don’t use sick days
• EAP ready to help workers with chemical dependencies, depression, family issues
• Meaningful consequences are given for unsafe, unhealthy, prohibited behavior.  Your employer may have a policy concerning alcohol use during work hours, but if everyone looks the other way when someone comes back from lunch smelling like beer, the culture is one that permits drinking during 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 rather than 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 Company Wellness Programs by celebrating your programs and those who have made lifestyle improvements in employer newsletters, on bulletin boards, and at annual banquets, gatherings, and celebrations. Incentives are a direct way to render appreciation, too.
Wellness mentors are sought and applauded, too. Employees who support others’ efforts to better their health are noticed and appreciated. Peer 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 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 can also provide support for workers who are working on bettering their health. It doesn’t take anything fancy-just a “great job” or “nice to see you at the health club” can put a glow on the cheeks of most of us.
Managers are able to also help by allowing employees the flexibility to attend wellness activities.

Ongoing Workplace Wellness Programs

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

These are simple programs that have the potential to be done within your organization to excite healthy behaviors during a contest or during other times. The goal is to encourage employee participation. Some examples:
• Create a sub-committee of enthusiastic workers who will help promote the exercise program by offering ideas, ideas and encouragement to fellow workers.
• Create monthly mailbox brochures to encourage a contest or support fitness-related education/encouragement information.
• Send a periodic voicemail on each member’s telephone with encouraging wellness messages.
• Make available regular cumulative health progress reports.
• Offer low-fat or heart-healthy lunch selections on a weekly basis in your cafeteria or have staff members bring a healthy snack to share, with a recipe book compiled at the culmination of the contest or specified time period (such as a National Nutrition Month in March).
• Distribute employee gifts (pedometers or other novelty item related to some aspect of your contest theme) as registration kicks off.
• Allocate for employees “Fitness 15-Minute Walk Breaks;” corporation time to walk, physical activity, etc. If appropriate, you could use a space not currently used to set up a treadmill, elliptical, bicycle, some no cost weights and relaxation music.
• Have a T-shirt design contest.
• Establish posters to map contest (or fitness) progress and to serve as reminder of your objectives:
   • Use push pins or other identifiers for each individual to display in the office showing how they have progressed – employees can get very creative with this and design pins that reflect their personalities.
   • Use a chart to compare progress.
   • Use a “thermometer” type graphic and illustrate progress – consider a different, health-related graphic all together and color it in as you progress.
• Provide aerobic dance or walking videos in your conference or break rooms.
• Compile a list of organized activities in the neighborhood that offer opportunities to get staff members exercising by participating as a team (below are just a few):
   • Race For The Cure
   • March of Dimes Walk America event
   • Juvenile Diabetes Research
   • Foundation Walk to Cure
   • American Heart Association’s Heart Walk
   • American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life
   • American Lung Association’s Lung Run
   • Local marathons or special community walks or runs
• Establish or attend a health-and-fitness retreat.
• Hold a soup-and-salad luncheon followed by a hula-hoop contest!
• Use the mall as an alternate walking location during inclement weather.
• Create “Move it Mondays” – allow staff members to take an extra 10 minutes at lunchtime for exercise.
• Create “Tasty Tuesdays” – support staff members with low-calorie treats/snacks.
• Create “Walking Wednesdays”- allow workers to take an extra 10 minutes at lunch to walk, or “Wacky Wednesdays” that allow workers to explore new exercises.
• Establish “Thirsty Thursdays” – make healthy smoothies or juice drinks for staff members.
• Create “Fresh Fruit Fridays” for employee – offer seasonal fruit treats.
• Send weekly physical activity tips to employees via the most effective communications vehicle in your workplace.
• Partner with another company representative for local media events coordinated through your advertising or communication department.
• Encourage departmental teams to challenge each other (examples: Customer Service, Marketing, Medical Support).
• Create walking clubs with executive/supervisory leadership.
• Seek out local aerobic opportunities or classes through churches, area groups, college, YMCA, etc.
• Contact several local area fitness centers and ask if they can or will offer group discounts for exercise programs, waive enrollment fees, or set up a 12-week program as opposed to signing an extended contract.
• Hold a Frozen Yogurt Social – “Reap the Benefits of Fitness.”
• Map out a walking track around the facility including the number of laps necessitated for one mile.

These are short informational “Health Tips” in an e-mail format on many different health-related issues. You can appoint someone within your organization to find specific issues on the Internet from sites that are in the public domain or issues can be purchased from organizations. Some qualified sources include:
• Hope Health
• Sound Ideas, Inc.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institutes of Health

These e-mails can be sent daily, weekly or monthly. Our experience indicates weekly is the best frequency.

If the majority of your employees do not have e-mail, consider offering the information to them through:
• Bulletin boards
• Check stuffers
• Mailbox stuffers
• Newsletters

SAMPLE #1 Worksite Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Workplace Health Promotion Program
To: Wellness Team
Subject: Layering for Exercise

One way to help ensure enjoyment of a winter walk (or run) is to make sure you’re dressed properly for the weather. And the secret to that, for a winter workout, is to dress in layers.
Layer 1 — Avoid 100 percent cotton in the first layer, next to your skin. Cotton holds perspiration. Wear underwear made from manmade fabrics to wick perspiration away from skin.
Layer 2 — A zippered sweatshirt and sweatpants will keep you warm. Just open the zipper if you get too warm.
Layer 3 — If needed, over the sweatsuit, you can add a waterproof and windproof jacket. If it’s very cold, you may want to wear a jacket made with goose down.
Hands — Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves.
Feet — Wear socks made from wool or manmade fabrics that keep your feet dry and warm. Avoid 100% cotton socks. Don’t wear sneakers or boots that fit too tightly … this will restrict blood flow and your feet will end up feeling colder.
Head — About 40 percent of your body heat is lost through your head. Wear a hat and cover your ears.
Lips — Don’t forget lip balm containing sunscreen … even in winter!

SAMPLE #2 Worksite Wellness E-mail Messages

From: Workplace Wellness Program
To: Wellness Team
Subject: Energy Boosts

Need a boost of energy? Here are some ideas for tapping into your own energy sources — and most require little effort.
• Get an extra hour of sleep. No surprise here — it has the potential to make a big difference in your energy level the next day.
• Eat less more often. Have little, balanced meals or snacks throughout your day for a steady supply of fuel and energy. Make note of which foods seem to boost your energy level.
• Drink enough water. Dehydration leads to to fatigue, which you can offset by drinking water throughout the day.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Both have the potential to contribute to dehydration and fatigue. They also tend to disrupt sleep patterns.

Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs are learning sessions planned and organized by you to meet specific goals. Come up with a topic and choose a speaker. Select a site for the “Lunch and Learn” session, usually a lunchroom or break room. Depending on your budget and objectives, workers have the potential to brown bag the lunch or you might provide the meal. Meetings have the potential to be mandatory or elective, your choice.
Experience tells us the most success will be seen if these Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs are elective and if the employer supplies lunch.
Goals for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Sessions

Education on a specific health concern. You may want to choose one of your group’s top diagnoses. Examples are:
• Diabetes – diabetes prevention and care by a certified diabetic educator
• Heart disease – cardiovascular health (individual counseling sessions with a nutritionist)
• Hypertension
• Hyperlipidemia
• Flu and pneumonia
• Breast cancer – breast health or breast self-exam sessions can be taught by a trained instructor

Education on healthcare insurance benefits:
• Diabetes – what are the covered benefits, where to purchase diabetic supplies, support groups for workers with diabetes.
• Workplace Wellness Program Benefits
• Well baby/child care.

Education on the importance of enrolling in your health plan or local health department’s health education programs or disease management programs. Example programs:
• Diabetes
• Respiratory
• Low-Back Pain
• Cardiovascular
• Tobacco use

Community Resource Speakers for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs
• Local health plan office
• Local heart association
• Local cancer society
• Pharmacies – many pharmacists are available to speak on pharmacy-related issues.
• Pharmaceutical Organizations – a myriad of employers have standard presentations developed for employers that are provided no cost of charge to use at your own direction. Some examples are:
   • Know Your Numbers (high blood lipids) – Pfizer
   • Respiratory Wellness (flu and pneumonia) – Pfizer
   • Men’s and Women’s Health – Pfizer
• Local gyms/personal trainers/YMCA – can discuss walking safety, benefits of walking, swimming and aerobics.
• Yoga and/or Pilates instructors
• Running, cycling club representatives
• Local hospital nutritionists
• Stamp Out Smoking – Tobacco Coalition representatives

Topics for Wellness Seminars / Lunch and Learn Programs

• Bicycling – benefits and opportunities for cycling
• Nutrition and health (Heart Healthy lunch for all attendees)
• Cardiovascular health
• Women’s health issues
• How to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke
• National Employee Fitness Day within the office setting – Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness representatives can reward event
• Exercise tolerance and healthy heart problems
• Beginning an physical activity program – include the significance of seeing the doctor before beginning of any new physical activity program
• Self-defense
• Domestic violence
• Safety in general
• Exercise safety
• Walking/running benefits and safety tips Tobacco dangers and avoidance