Creating a healthy environment at work has its payoffs
By Linda Dums
For The Post-Crescent
Posted December 29, 2007
Heather Schulze knows her co-workers at Great Northern Corp. are taking health and wellness matters seriously.
Three weeks ago, she was teased for choosing chocolate milk as her beverage of choice.
"At the time I felt it was the healthiest choice" in the vending machine, Schulze said.
But a couple co-workers clued her in to just how healthy that low-fat chocolate milk really was.
"Needless to say, I felt guilty drinking (it)," she said.
Schulze, a human resources coordinator at GNC in Appleton, helps promote health and wellness programs and information within the company. So getting caught with that milk - much less by co-workers participating in the company's biggest loser program - was also proof positive that GNC employees are paying attention and holding fellow co-workers accountable to health and wellness choices.
"Everybody is watching everybody," she said.
The workplace is not often associated with health and wellness. But given that people spend one-third or more of their day at work, it just makes sense to address health risks and provide encouragement and opportunity for a healthy lifestyle, said Dr. Sandra Buseman, medical director of personal health and occupational health physician at Ingenuity First, a division of ThedaCare.
"Workers do not leave their personal health risks such as smoking, poor diet or uncontrolled blood pressure at the doorsteps of their homes when they leave for work every day," she said.
Creating a healthier workplace benefits everyone, she said. Workers will enjoy a better quality of life while employers receive an economic benefit through reduced healthcare costs and higher levels of productivity," Buseman said.
Buseman said a recent article in Medical Affairs reported that between 1991 and 2004, healthcare spending in Wisconsin more than doubled from $2,539 to $5,670 per person.
"Healthcare is becoming more and more unaffordable," she said. "At the same time, in many ways, good health seems to become more and more unattainable because we live in a society where it is far too easy to make unhealthy choices and practice unhealthy behaviors."
Patty Leiker, corporate health and wellness manager at Miller Electric in Appleton, agreed. By promoting health and wellness programs, Miller Electric is showing its employees that it cares, Leiker said.
"We wouldn't be putting in as much investment if we did not care," she said.
Buseman said a healthy work environment can include things like fewer safety hazards, no smoking on site, healthy food in the cafeteria and vending machines, exercise opportunities, ergonomic workstations and more.
Schulze said health and wellness efforts at GNC have boosted morale.
"You are the family working on it together," she said. "It's just a neat atmosphere, a neat culture. We're still head over heels to do more."
Creating a healthy workplace could be a daunting task given the individual needs of workers. But using questionnaires such as health risk assessments or a wellness committee could help a company tailor programs to the needs of its employees, Buseman said.
Many companies also offer an on-site health coach or on-site nurse to assist employees by providing education and guidance toward positive health changes, she said.
At GNC, Mary Cramer, an on-site nurse contracted through ThedaCare, devotes most of her time to health and wellness efforts. And that is time well spent, she said.
"Overall, everyone's awareness and willingness to work on their health has really improved," said Cramer, noting that employees are talking about programs, even encouraging others to stay healthy.
"It's always fun to be able to see that success and build on that," she said.
The road to a healthy work environment is not without challenges, said Buseman, adding that change will not happen overnight and will require serious investment of time, money and energy.
"Studies have shown considerable return on investment rates when health promotion program participation rates are high, tailored to the workforce needs and accessible over the long-term," Buseman said.
Also, advocates have to remain committed and get support from the company so they can face any resistance to change.
"The downstream effects of prioritizing health in the workplace are too great to ignore," Buseman said. "It is hard to imagine any downside at all to building a corporate culture of wellness."
Linda Dums: pcfeatures@postcrescent.com
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/APC0404/712290473/1428
[+] Top
|
