While wellness training is most effective for younger workers who are still open to making lifestyle choices, the aging baby boomer work force can benefit, as well. Here the training needs to be focused on helping unlearn bad habits of poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise, along with stress-inducing workaholic habits of not taking breaks and lunches and generally lacking a good work/life balance.

Wellness topics, however, can be a delicate issue. As such, the training needs to be administered with great sensitivity to respect workers’ privacy and avoid offending a particular segment, say, obese workers, smokers or aging employees. However, don’t shy away from the topic just to be politically correct. If workers’ lifestyle choices are impacting the bottom line, then the business has a right to do something about it.

Why Wellness Matters
Steelcase, a global office environments manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., views wellness as an essential component in increasing worker effectiveness and productivity. In 2007, the company commissioned a Workplace Index Survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corp., which surveyed approximately 700 office workers to examine the importance of fitness in the workplace, the role companies play in encouraging fitness and the impact of fitness on productivity. “Exercise is critical to our health and well-being, and it is very easy to let fitness fall by the wayside when working in a corporate environment with demanding schedules and workloads,” said Chris Congdon, manager of corporate marketing for Steelcase.    

The survey showed that only one-third of workers have access to fitness equipment at work or work in an environment that promotes fitness. Also, 80 percent of workers said that exercise has or would have a positive impact on their overall productivity at work.    

Nike, of course, is famous for taking work force fitness to an extreme. In fact, it considers itself a sports company, not a manufacturer. Beginning with employee orientation, workers are indoctrinated into a mindset that calls managers “coaches,” and meetings, “huddles.” The company’s Beaverton, Ore., headquarters, appropriately called a “campus,” features an outdoor pool, basketball gym, tennis court, soccer field, running trails, and the renowned three-story Bo Jackson Fitness Center. It’s a great example of practically making a healthy lifestyle a job requirement.

Although few companies have the means to implement Nike-style facilities, no business is too small to encourage wellness and fitness. In fact, the smaller the firm, the easier it will be to change the culture.

Five Easy Changes
Any company can implement one or more of the following steps:

• Provide gym memberships to employees. Group discounts are often available.
• Purchase some simple fitness equipment, such as a treadmill, dumbbells, weights or an elliptical machine. It’s inexpensive and will more than pay for itself in increased productivity and more alert employees who don’t have accidents and thus don’t need to rely on workers’ compensation.
• If spending money on fitness is just not feasible, encourage employees to eat a healthy lunch, take walks during breaks and to lead a healthy and safe  lifestyle in their free time.
• Stock vending machines with juices, bottled water and low-fat snacks, not sugar-laden candies, cookies and sodas.
• Consider at-work health screenings, such as checking blood pressure and pulmonary function.

Although simple and inexpensive, these measures will send a message that wellness is important. Initially, just a few employees may participate, but eventually peer pressure will take over, and soon, the work force will be healthier and workers’ compensation costs lower.

Bryan Hornik is general manager for Summit Training Source Inc., a resource for environmental, health and safety training solutions. For further information, call 800-842-0466 or visit www.safetyontheweb.com.