How to Start a Wellness Plan in the Workplace

Starting a wellness plan in the workplace doesn't have to be expensive. Even if your company is small and doesn't have an actual gym or exercise equipment, you can still develop a quality program which will help your employees to boost their energy level, build camaraderie, and help them stay healthy. This results in less absenteeism due to illness. Read on to learn how to start a wellness plan in the workplace.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Weight scale
• Large open space
• Measuring tape
• Healthy snacks
• Certificates

1. Obtain a few volunteer employees who are willing to coordinate the program or for budget monies to obtain a wellness program coordinator. Develop flyers and send out emails announcing the new wellness program. Schedule a time before or after work hours where interested employees can gather together.

2. During the first meeting explain the benefits of being healthy and distribute facts on nutrition and exercise.

3. Distribute a survey to attendees asking what type of fitness and health activities they would be willing to participate in before and after work hours, or possibly during lunch. Such as walking in and/or around the building, an aerobics class or a health fair. Also ask if participants are willing to reveal their weight to participate in a weight loss program.

4. Once you obtain feedback, designate a large space that has access to a television and VCR or DVD player so that participants can work out together, using an aerobics video or DVD. For a small donation from each participant it may be possible to attain a fitness instructor who would be willing to come to the workplace twice a week before or after work hours. Participants can also set a time to get together and walk laps around or in the building (if feasible).

5. Obtain a weight scale and weigh everyone. The wellness coordinator or committee member(s) will document the weight of all participants at the start of the program. Also weighing in should take place on a monthly basis. The wellness program coordinator and/or committee members should also document measurements in inches. If participants are willing, they can share how much they weigh and their measurements with each other and compete to see who loses the most weight and/or who loses the most inches.

6. Add a healthy mid-day snack and morning snack time for employees to participate. The company may want to get a sponsor to assist in funding snacks or talk to a company who sells healthy snacks to provide samples to the employees as a means of marketing their food products. Another option may be for employees to donate a few dollars and the wellness program committee or coordinator can be responsible for purchasing the healthy snacks for the employee mid-morning and mid-day snack times.

7. Provide participants with recommended healthy diet options, post these recommendations in the lunchroom or cafeteria. At the end of each year give out wellness plan awards and certificates to those who participated. You can also incorporate providing special wellness awards to those who lost the most weight or lost the most inches.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to get authorized permission from workplace decision-makers of the organization to start the wellness program.
• If there isn't enough space in a building to incorporate an exercise session on site, consider getting together with staff off site at a local park or community recreation facility.
• Make sure all participants sign an exercise/fitness release of liability, waiver of claims, assumption of risk form releasing the company of liability and notifying participants to consult their physician before starting any type of wellness or fitness program activities.

Resources

• Society of Human Resource Management