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Welcome to the Child and Family Learning Network Webinar

Wellness in the Workplace

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Additional Webinar Resources:Wellness in the Workplace

https://learn.extension.org/events/1617

Wellness in the Workplace

Kathleen MorganFamily & Community Health Sciences Department Chair,

Rutgers Cooperative Extensionmorgan@njaes.rutgers.edu

Joanne KinseyRutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic/Ocean Counties

jkinsey@njaes.rutgers.edu

Adults/Employees are not healthy!

The Burden of Heart Disease & Stroke

Know your state and local data to report to potential partners and employers. Compare it to national data to tell the story.

According to 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in NJ reported the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:

– 28.2% had high blood pressure– 38.6% of those screened reported having high blood

cholesterol– 9.2% had diabetes– 17.1% were current smokers– 62.3% were overweight or obese (BMI greater than or

equal to 25.0)– 51.9% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days– 72.5% ate fruit and vegetables less than 5 times a day

Risk Factor New Jersey Nationwide (States and D.C.)

Eat fruits & vegetables less than 5 times/day

72.5 75.6

Overweight or obese 62.3 62.9

No moderate or vigorous physical activity

51.9 50.5

High total blood cholesterol

38.6 37.6

High blood cholesterol

28.2 27.8

Cigarette smoking 17.1 19.8

Diabetes 9.2 8.0

Workplace Wellness…Why Should We Care?

Healthier Individuals = lower co-pays & out-of-pocket costs, improved quality of life

Healthier Workplace = lower premiums, higher morale, improved productivity, fewer employee sick days & absence

Healthier Communities = improved quality of life, increased volunteerism

Employers are wise to invest in worksite health promotion:

Improve employers’ health, productivity & contribute to an improved quality of life.

Reduce missed workdays due to chronic illness related to heart disease & stroke – reducing the cost to employers for downtime & temporary help.

Decrease absenteeism, employer turnover & health-care costs.

May reduce the management of health-care & the cost of benefits & insurance.

Create a culture of wellness in the work environment.

Developing a Culture of Wellness in the Workplace

A Culture of Wellness:

Does not happen overnight, because it

Is a cultural shift in an organization, and is

More than a few haphazard activities, and

Is sustainable!

What are the barriers?

Busy employees

No budget

Confusion- where do we start?

Lack of participation

What does a culture of wellness look like on the worksite?

Opportunities for employees to learn about

healthy lifestyle behavior:

Nutrition

Increased physical activity

Tobacco free living

Nutrition information

Provide information about healthy food choices

Avoiding diet trends

Healthy choices identified in vending machines

Healthy options in the cafeteria

Supportive opportunities and encouragement to become more physically active…

community eventswalking programs incentives for gym membershipswalking stations/paths on-site

Tobacco Free Living

Provide informational sessions about smoking

Provide smoking cessation programs

Emotional Health

Provide information about: stress management anxiety depression

Strategies for reducing the above

Preventative care

Healthcare system encourages engagement in preventative care:

annual physicalsage-appropriate screenings

Gaining the Support of Management

The most important factor in worksite wellness success may be the support of senior-level

management.

Be prepared to answer these questions:

•How will this initiative improve our workplace?•How much will it cost to run this program or bring about this change?•How can we persuade workers to participate?•How will we know if this was a meaningful use of time and resources?

Tailor program strategies to meet the goals/mission of the organization.

Consider this:

Does senior management believe in health promotion programs at the worksite?

Does senior management participate in wellness activities or practice healthy lifestyle habits?

A few quick tips

Share health claims data

Talk about the Return on Investment (ROI) on worksite wellness programs (increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, decreased health care costs, improved morale).

Look for cost-free or low-cost programs to get started.

Remember this!

A healthy workforce is more productive, less likely to be absent from the job, has improved morale, and has the need for LESS dollars spent on health care claims.

Create a Wellness Committee

The Wellness Committee plays a large role in the worksite’s health promotion activities, although the

committee can be small in numbers.

Be sure to convene interested or experienced employees as role models.

Step One

Design the committee with a cross-section of employee representation from:

ManagementSupervisionHuman ResourcesOther Wellness Champions

Step Two

Convene a meeting to:

Discuss the results of the Employer Needs Assessmentand the Employee Behavior & Interest Survey

Discuss other worksite data collected about wellness issues (example - health claims data)

Develop a realistic Work Plan for the committee that will show an impact on the work environment.

Choose a starting point!

Prioritize the needs and work of the wellness committee

Community Based Efforts-

Main Street Projects, Business Districts, Industrial Areas: What can

they do?

• Better walking paths• Bike riding to work: purchasing bike racks• Working with famer’s markets to provide coupons• Walking club• Community wellness initiatives

Assessments

Employer Needs Assessment

Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) help employers and their wellness committees identify:

Strengths in their programming

Gaps and areas of need

Begin the conversation about wellness at the worksite

Employer Needs Assessment

Employee Baseline Behavior & Interest Survey

Information about employee healthy lifestyle behaviors

Information about health topics of interest and how employees want the information delivered

Data reported back to the employer

Low, Medium, and High Cost Resources

How much time & money are you willing to invest to develop

a Culture of Wellness in your organization?

Low-Cost Resources

Create a wellness committee

Promote and encourage employee participation in:

Nutrition educationPhysical activity/fitness

Low-Cost Resources

Provide health promotion via:NewslettersWebsites

EmailOther internal communications

Medium-Cost Resources

Arrange wellness committee meetings on a regular basis

Offer wellness topic presentations

Host a health fair

Medium-Cost Resources

Conduct wellness screenings (BMI, blood pressure, diabetes)

Provide health risk assessments

On-site weight management programs

High-Cost Resources

Develop a budget for health promotion

Provide healthcare coverage for employees & their families for prevention & treatment of

chronic disease

High-Cost Resources

Provide wellness programing to employee family members

Provide on-site fitness facilities for employees

Every program starts with a first step!

Kathleen MorganFamily & Community Health Sciences Department Chair,

Rutgers Cooperative Extensionmorgan@njaes.rutgers.edu

Joanne KinseyRutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic/Ocean Counties

jkinsey@njaes.rutgers.edu