It’s time for that weekly staff meeting which can range from one to many hours of conversation, reporting, strategizing - and most importantly - a lot of sitting.  Deciding to become a wellness champion, you suggest a “Moving Meeting” to get some physical activity, which may also increase natural vitamin D and spark creativity with coworkers.  In addition to providing more movement throughout the workday, you have also helped to lower your coworkers’ risk of cardiovascular disease and other causes of mortality by reducing their sedentary time.

Moving Meetings, among many other wellness strategies, can become a part of your worksite’s culture.  Employee wellness programs are gaining speed in corporate America, providing benefits to employers (e.g. reduced health insurance costs), and to employees, (e.g. increasing access to necessary health screenings).  The latest data shows an employer’s Return on Investment (ROI) to be $6 for every $1 spent on workplace wellness.  In a recent research report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and conducted by RAND Health, it was noted that almost half of employers in the U.S. are offering wellness program initiatives.  The report also noted that meaningful improvements were seen in exercise frequency, smoking, and weight control for wellness program participants compared to nonparticipants. 

Within the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employee wellness programs are supported as a means of reducing chronic illness by improving health and controlling health care costs while protecting consumers from unfair practices.  Final rules regarding employee wellness programs, which support and further outline guidelines for two types of wellness programs, were released in May 2013 and become effective in January 2014.  These include participatory wellness programs that are available to all employees without requirement to meet a health-related standard and health-contingent wellness programs where a reward is offered to individuals who meet a health-related standard.  The final rules go further for health-contingent wellness programs outlining five additional requirements to limit health status discrimination.  Click to read the entire final rules regarding employee-based wellness programs.

In regards to providing wellness for all employees the final rules consist of terminology such as “reasonably designed”, “uniform availability”, and “reasonable alternative standards.”  These phrases protect consumers from being discriminated against in relation to health status, and allow employees with medical conditions, which may or may not include employees with disabilities, to equally receive wellness-related rewards.  It is also important to note that the final rules do not override other laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires reasonable accommodations for employees with known disabilities to allow them to participate.  Employees with disabilities are more likely than their coworkers to have secondary health conditions; therefore adding a level of inclusion to worksite wellness programs is both the smart and right choice.    

Here are some tips to get you started:

• Include employees with disabilities in wellness program planning either on the wellness committee or working closely with the wellness coordinator to ensure program activities are accessible and meet the needs of all employees.
• Create inclusive marketing materials by using images of people with and without disabilities, person-first language, and inclusive terminology such as “Moving Meeting” and “Run.Walk.Roll 5k”.
• Ensure accessibility of marketing materials by providing a variety of formats such as audio, picture-based, large print and accessible electronic formats.
• Provide relevant incentives for employees with a variety of abilities.   
• Create accommodations when appropriate.  For example, a walking program encouraging 10,000 steps a day may not be appropriate for all employees.  Instead allow employees to track steps or movement throughout the day and encourage an increase in activity.
• Provide a map of accessible routes to increase physical activity throughout your worksite’s campus instead of only promoting the stairs.
• Consider a smoke-free workplace policy which will impact all employees, but especially employees with disabilities, since they are more likely to smoke cigarettes (25.4% vs. 17.3%). 
• Include healthy options in vending machines and ensure they are accessible to employees who may use a wheelchair.

The culture of a worksite can make or break participation in employee wellness programs.  To reap the benefits both for employers and employees, consider creating a culture of inclusion, welcoming all employees to improve their health. 

Additional Resources:

• Deskercise!  20 Ways to Get Moving While you Work  
• Retaining Employees in your Worksite Wellness Program toolkit

This week we would like to spotlight Healthy & Fit on the Go, a program designed to inspire behavior change by providing tips and tools for self-care, healthy eating and physical activity for University of Minnesota Extension staff.

The Program Basics

Healthy & Fit on the Go is a program designed to inspire behavior change by providing tips and tools for self-care, healthy eating and physical activity for Extension staff who spend a great deal of their work day in the car. The Physical Activity Guidelines are used as the basis for materials development. A review of the research in behavior change, nutrition and physical activity resulted in this series of 10 how-to tip cards packaged in a take-along kit with a lunch bag, water bottle and exercise band.

This program is designed as a worksite wellness initiative; a pilot was conducted with staff that included an education session featuring the materials in the kit: an insulated lunch bag with re-freezable ice pack, a medium-resistance exercise band, a BPA-free water bottle and 4 how-to tip cards for healthy eating choices and physical activity ideas.

Components of the kit were distributed and demonstrated at the Annual Conference of Extension Educators during October 2010.

Measuring Success

Betsy Johnson and her colleagues conduct end-of-conference surveys at the close of each annual conference where distribution, education and demonstration occur. In addition, kit-specific online surveys are sent at 3-month and 6-month intervals following the conferences. Online surveys include a request for input regarding the usefulness of the kit contents as well as suggestions for tip card topics.

Initial results indicated a strong motivation for changing behavior upon receipt of the portable kit with actual changes exceeding 40 percent for recipients after the first year.

Challenges

Johnson mentioned three main challenges for the program:

• Institutionalization: “It was relatively easy the first year to ensure all staff received the kit and participated in the education/demonstration. In years 2 and 3 we are experiencing some issues around distribution and education to new staff as well as distributing and educating staff about new tip cards.”

• Individual motivation: “Kit recipients are motivated to use the materials immediately following the conference as evidenced in post-conference surveys. But motivation decreases as time passes. The 3-month and 6-month surveys indicate less actual use/behavior change the further away from the conference. But, each survey does serve as a reminder about the kit and some become motivated by that reminder.”

• Cost: “As we expand to the staff in more program areas within Extension (and are faced with state budget crises) we are testing components of the kit for usefulness and cost-effectiveness as a way to motivate behavior change at a lower cost.”

Implementing a Similar Program in Your Community

Try using the following suggestions when implementing a program like this in your community:

As we’ve heard with other programs, get leadership buy-in. With upper management support for the effort, it will more likely be integrated into the planning for a conference or program; without that support, all expense and effort could be wasted.

Develop a systematic reminder system to maintain the motivation for behavior change that follows the education sessions.

Respond to suggestions for improvements, changes or additional tips and materials; it must be relevant to the user or it won’t be used.

If materials and education are distributed once a year at a conference, plan for 3-5 years worth of new materials to keep it fresh and to create the expectation that this wellness program is part of the conference culture.

This week we would like to spotlight the Arkansas State University – Beebe Wellness Program, a recently developed wellness program struggling through the difficulties associated with building a successful program with limited resources.

The Program Basics

The Arkansas State University – Beebe Wellness Program (ASUB Wellness) is entering its second year of existence.  Upon initiation of the program, they received a copy of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Toolkit.  Since then, they have followed many of the guidelines in their programs and especially in wellness coaching sessions with individual employees. They have established an incentive program entitled “Step by Step” focusing on walking and “Walking Wednesdays” to promote physical activity. Be Active Your Way materials are freely distributed to the employees who show interest in physical activity.