After studying how to create a health promotion program, I wanted to see how I could incorporate that into the workplace. Owning a business has given me the opportunity to see every level of employment. From the traditional laborer, to the “Big Wig” boss, to even the accountant. I wanted to see what I could do to help our company build a better work environment for all of the employees and bosses. This is just a template of what I would do in a workplace wellness program. However, you could take this into almost any work environment. I hope you enjoy the read, and the possibility of putting a workplace wellness program in your very own workplace.
Workplace wellness is something that is a must in almost every occupation. Some people use work as a source of revenue, which is mainly the reason everyone needs to work. However, if people would look at work as a way to better themselves, then they will enjoy what they do even more. Providing people with occupational wellness has so many more benefits than one may think. Though, with a wellness program, there must be an effort from both sides, the employee and employer. Health needs assessments need to be done, along with funding offers, objectives and outcomes, and finally the implementation/intervention process of the program. In order for it to work effectively, the goals must be attainable, and easy enough to follow.
Health needs assessments need to be determined though a variety of means, that are provided from the target population, the employee. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.), workplace influence factors consist of environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and most importantly, individual factors. With the employee being the important aspect of workplace wellness, their influence will be of most importance. Conducting written questionnaires where the employee can be anonymous, will bring more honesty to their answers. Site visits, employee surveys, health benefits, healthcare and pharmaceutical claims, and other data sources such as previous injuries are all great assessments that need to be done with each employee individually (CDC, n.d.). This will give each employee its own proprietary needs assessment since one employee’s needs will be different than the next.
Diet and fitness will be the focus of the wellness program since that is such a universal aspect, and all other health promotion will come from a solid foundation. The right diet will make people feel better each day and reduce things like gastrointestinal problems and inflammation. A solid workout regimen can build cardiovascular health, reduce risk of diabetes, help reduce body fat, and most importantly, your mental health. Exercise can promote one’s confidence in all aspects of life. When an employee has more confidence, they will tend to put forth more of an effort in nearly everything they do, including at work.
It also can be a great influence for the people around them, such as their children, spouse, and friends within their personal life. Influencing our younger generation to conduct healthier lifestyles will bring that into their future, which then will influence their acquaintances. An adolescent takes whatever they learn in their younger years, into their future adulthood years. If they are surrounded with unhealthy lifestyles, or not being cognizant of their health, then they will take that into adulthood. While also not conducting some kind of physical activity, then obesity could potentially be in their future. Of course, there are outliers that have amazing metabolism and can eat almost anything and never become overweight. However, the aspect of mental health comes back into account, which exercise can assist in, even in small amounts. It must start at a young age.
The role of leadership within the wellness program lies on my business partner and I. Since we are the owners of the business, our employees will try to emulate us and our qualities both in the shop, along with external influences. After the 90-day period, where we know that the individual is serious about working with us long-term, then that is when the assessments begin. This will also give us time to get to know the person better as well. At this point, we will provide them with the applicable health insurance, and provide the details of the wellness program to them. Modeling around each employee will have its own proprietary influences. One thing that will be universal in the wellness program, is the quarterly bonus, the incentive program, the gym membership, and frequent diet coaching courses. If one employee wants to put on some muscle weight, then they will have their own program that will be different from someone that is trying to lose weight. And most importantly, my business partner and I must be the influences that our employees want to see.
Having a mission statement will be the first quality to establish. “From the inception of High Caliber Inspection, we have always strived to provide the highest quality of inspection on the market. Along with that high quality inspection, we also promote a higher quality of living for our employees. In order to complete the first goal, we must work harder on the second. Providing means of healthier lifestyle habits for our employees, will provide our customers with an even better level of inspection”. We understand that in order to provide quality work, we must have quality employees. And what better than physical activity, and proper diet to help assist in that goal. Healthy individuals work harder in our environment and building a culture around those traits will benefit the company, employees, and our customers.
According to Open Sourced Workplace (n.d.), a well-made wellness program helps in prevention of injuries/illnesses while also reducing absent employees and health costs, as well as increasing productivity from healthier individuals. Some objectives for High Calibers wellness program would be to provide gym memberships, provide healthy food choices, and create wellness challenges as part of the incentive objective. Providing our employees with a free gym membership will give them the ability to attend the gym whenever possible. Furthermore, having healthy snacks throughout the day, and a solid, protein rich lunch each day work is performed. This will get them into the habit of healthier food choices which they can take home to their families. Finally, having wellness challenges each weekly, monthly, or even quarterly will provide employees an active, yet fun incentive to performing healthy objectives. Our goals will be made proprietary to each employee, which is molded specifically to what their goals are. Mainly, just getting in the habit of eating healthy and attending the gym. Other big goals are increasing productivity between the different shops, while also boosting our employee’s loyalty and dedication to our environment.
A theory that is our go-to, would be the five stages of change theory. I have used this theory in the past with my fitness clients, and it gives us reachable goal limits, and noticeably changing behavior. One intervention activity will consist of PT tests each quarter to help track progress of physical fitness. This will include two-minutes of pushups, two-minutes of sit-ups, and a timed two-mile run. Of course, we will account for the different ages groups and adapt to them culturally as well. Keeping our challenges diverse will provide every employee the ability to adapt to their own needs. Another intervention would be monitoring their gym activity and seeing how many times a month they check-in at the gym. Of course, culturally, if they have a day of rest on Sunday, or are doing other tasks throughout the week, then that will be put into consideration. The final intervention will be the incentive’s that we will provide for each milestone our employees meet. If they are trying to lose weight, they will receive incentives every ten pounds they lose. Again, all depending on the proprietary employee.
Budget line items will be quite easily assessed for this wellness program. Since we are a small business, we will not be having more than five employees. As the company progresses in size, new budget lines will need to be assessed and considered. As of right now, providing a gym membership for 35 dollars a month, we will need at least 175 a month for memberships. If we provide 50 dollars a day for lunch items, we will need 250 dollars a week, and 1,000 dollars a month. Adding in some snacks for the time in between lunch we will add another 200 dollars while buying in bulk. Depending on the quarterly incentives, we will give our selves a 5,000-dollar wiggle room for all employees. This will be our biggest expense, which will meet that amount, or even less. 1,375 dollars a month is our basic expenditure, while every three months adding up to 4,125 dollars. Adding that to the potential expense of 5,000 for the incentives, we could potentially spend up to 9,125 each quarter. Of course, every goal each quarter won’t always be met, so the amount left over after a down quarter will just be transferred into a separate account for future wellness objectives.
Roles of my business partner and I will have the biggest weight in the company. With both of us already being big on fitness and healthy eating habits, it will just be second nature for us. The other stake holders will be the employee and their role in the program. These first three employees will be our foundation of our wellness program, so they will be considered middle management when it comes to the wellness program. The possibility of bringing in new customers, and one of these three employees taking a new employee with them to the new shop is there. This gives them the culture competency to transfer into the new employee. If we get to the point of being that busy, we will still have our weekly meetings, but we must rely on our middle management to relay the culture of High Caliber. Finally, our preferred doctors and therapists that we refer will also have key responsibilities to provide them with good services.
| Evaluation Question | Corresponding Program Objective(s) or Goals | Indicator(s) | Data Source | Collection Method | Data Collection Timeframe |
| Are you allergic to any type of food? | Providing a healthier lunch and snacks throughout the day. | What foods to avoid so cross contamination doesn’t happen. | The data will be collected from the employee. | Pre-employment paperwork | Within the time being hired onto the company. |
| What are your fitness goals (e.g., lose weight, build muscle mass, etc..) | Helping them reach these SMART goals. | Which proprietary workout regimen needs to be created for each employee. | Collected from the employees. | Pre-employment paperwork. | When being hired, and after 90-day probationary period |
In conclusion, High Caliber Inspections Wellness Program is something that will start off small with our minimum number of employees. However, this is a solid foundation for future improvements within the company. Overall, employee productivity and loyalty will be increased not only for us owners, but for our whole team. When everyone works together with a clear mind, tensions will lower, and their will be less differences. Building the budget line and incorporating the theory of change into our wellness program is established and workable. And finally, having needs assessments and evaluations questions will keep us up to date on how truly happy our employees are. Great companies are built on the foundation of their founders, along with their employees in the field relaying a good demeanor. Providing our employees with the best possible environment will do just that.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Center For Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Workplace Health Promotion: Assessment. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/assessment/index.html
Open Sourced Workplace. (n.d.). What Are Workplace Wellness Objectives? (13 Objectives and 6 Goals of Wellness Programs in the Workplace). Retrieved from: https://opensourcedworkplace.com/news/what-are-workplace-wellness-objectives-13-objectives-and-6-goals-of-wellness-programs-in-the-workplace#:~:text=The%20main%20purpose%20of%20a,more%20energy%20and%20improved%20concentration.
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