Creating a culture of wellness in the workplace has become very common and has certainly expanded over the past decade. Employers are not only considering recommendations to assist with helping its unhealthy population become healthy but also to keep its healthy population from declining by utilizing preventative health practices.
Many factors will influence the effectiveness of workplace wellness initiatives. Dr. Curtis Fletcher of Fletcher Chiropractic says, “Fletcher Chiropractic is perfect to assist workplace wellness programs by educating employees about ergonomics in the workplace, like proper lifting techniques or the proper way to set up a computer and office. We can also provide fun and functional exercise/stretching programs to help minimize workplace injuries and prevent future injuries. Along with exercise, nutrition can also affect workplace environments and morale. We provide nutritional and weight loss counseling that can help increase productivity in the workplace and decrease illness. Chiropractic care or acupuncture can also help to relieve pain like low back pain, neck pain, headaches, or chronic muscle pain that is common in the workplace due to our posture and workplace ergonomics.” He advises, “To start a wellness program, it is important to have a good network of healthcare providers that can educate your employees on health and wellness, whether in a lunch and learn setting or a program that can help to provide to lower insurance premiums. Studies have shown that muscle and joint pain are responsible for 80% of all Workers’ Compensation claims and when workers stay on the job with persistent pain, they actually decrease production by six hours weekly as long as they are dealing with the pain. Even ensuring that your employees have a yearly physical to help check for chronic health problems is beneficial. Make sure to have your employees take their breaks and move around during the day. Research has shown that sitting all day is equivalent to smoking; so movement is imperative. This is also why chiropractic care can play a very important role in workplace wellness. We look at the body from a bio-mechanical approach, which involves looking at the relationship between muscles, joints and your movement. Furthermore, we correct the areas that have decreased movement or that are misaligned and we work on correcting and strengthening the muscle imbalances with functional exercise and myofascial release; all while educating the client on ways to prevent the problem from occurring again.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011 musculoskeletal disorders made up 33 percent of all work-related injury and illness cases. Dr. Austin Weaver of Holmes Lake Chiropractic advises that when considering the impact of proper ergonomics on workplace safety and wellness, three basic principles should be taken into account:
1) When lifting, the largest muscles in the area should perform the task. The larger the muscle or muscle group used for lifting, the lower the stress on smaller, more vulnerable muscles.
2) During any work activities, people should be able to comfortably assume a number of different postures and not remain in one position for an extended time. Muscles will fatigue and be more prone to injury when assuming a particular posture, especially a poor one (e.g., partially bent forward at the waist).
3) When performing tasks, it is important to keep the joints either in their neutral posture or approximately halfway into the range of motion. Working with your joints at the extremes of their ranges of motion for prolonged periods of time places abnormal stresses on them and can cause repetitive stress injuries.
He adds, “Our bodies are not designed to maintain the same posture for long periods of time or to repeat the same motions endlessly. Stretches and exercises can help prevent pain and injury. There are also natural, cost-effective approaches to treating pain, such as chiropractic services, that can help patients avoid unnecessary drugs or surgery. I take an individual approach to ensuring proper ergonomics are present in the workplace for the employee as well as spinal and health checks to improve bio-mechanics. This allows employees to play an active role in their own health to help improve any underlying issues and prevent possible injury in the future.
When it comes to the struggle of leading a healthy lifestyle when it is so easy to do otherwise, ensuring that you are taking in all of the recommended nutrients your body needs on a daily basis can seem overwhelming or even impossible at times. Juice Plus+ offers a simple way to bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat with whole food nutrition that only takes a minute to swallow with some water and costs just as much per day as stopping at the drive-thru for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Juice Plus+ representative Lynn Bartak explains, “There are four things you need for wellness: a lot of good quality water, exercise, the right amount of sleep, and good nutrition. Good nutrition isn’t easy; it’s fairly expensive to buy fresh, healthy food and for some, it is difficult to eat this food before it spoils unless you are able to make frequent trips to the grocery store. In fact, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Diabetes Association are telling us to eat 7-13 servings of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables each day while the Center for Disease Control says that 95% of American’s won’t get this done. Everyone is looking for an economical, simple way to incorporate better nutrition into their lives and Juice Plus+ products can certainly help. All you have to do is open your mouth and pop in six capsules—you can do this in the office, in the car, at home, just about anywhere. In doing so, your body is receiving a ton of nutrition with very little sugar—phytonutrients from seven fruits, eight veggies, two grains and nine berries to be exact. The company also provides the opportunity for you to satisfy your nutritional requirements as well as those of a child over four years of age, who you can sponsor for free through their Children’s Health Study just by purchasing an individual supply of Juice Plus+ for yourself.” He adds, “I believe that any organization or workplace would see improvement in their bottom line if all they did was have their employees take Juice Plus+. Juice Plus+ helps significantly in boosting the immune system among many other proven health benefits that are backed by results from thousands of double-blind studies conducted on participants of all ages. You can find out more information by visiting www.eagle.juiceplus.com. These studies have shown two facts of interest in particular; that after a year of taking Juice Plus+, participants were taking 50% less prescription medication and recording 60% less doctor’s visits. With health insurance premiums increasing across the board, Juice Plus+ is just about the simplest way to encourage healthier employees who are more productive, take far less sick days, and who simply feel better and are much happier in general.”
Erin Pinkelman, Director of Memberships at Lincoln Racquet Club, states, “In my opinion, there are two main focuses to account for in regards to wellness programs. The first is helping employees improve their quality of life. This includes both their physical and emotional health through physical activity, a balanced diet, managing stress, a positive work environment, and so much more. The second is making it worthwhile for the employer. There must be measurable financial benefit for the program to be successful. This may include lower turnover, reduction in absenteeism, reduction in worker’s compensation, increased productivity and reduction in health care costs. The Lincoln Racquet Club prides itself on being the premiere family health and fitness facility. We fit into Workplace Wellness by creating a partnership between physical fitness and nutritional accountability for the entire family. We provide programs for employees and their families to help hold them accountable, educate, and keep fitness and nutrition on the forefront. This is done through fitness testing, nutrition consultations, fitness programs, educational material and seminars, and an amazing fitness facility that provides endless opportunities to keep moving. In addition, we offer on-site assessments and training opportunities. We understand that each company is unique and our approach is adaptable to their specific needs.” For those who are looking to start a workplace wellness program, Pinkelman advises, “Start by assessing your needs. Depending on the size of your company, this may be done through Health Risk Assessments or even a simple interest survey of potential initiatives that you are looking to implement. Design a program that addresses these initiatives and rewards the employees for success and/or involvement. It is also incredibly helpful to identify wellness champions and let them be your advocates. The hardest part in starting your wellness program will be changing the culture of your company and getting full engagement. So start with those you know are on-board and be consistent in your message. With proper incentives and consistency in marketing, you’ll eventually reach those reluctant employees.”
Tammie Collier of Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping also offers the following advice for employers who are considering offering programs to encourage their employees to exercise more:
“If an employer has the ability to help fund a portion of a gym membership to encourage employees to be healthy, or even offer a facility on-site, that is a great benefit to offer. Also, offering lunch and learns for employees regarding healthy eating is very beneficial. However, the key words here are healthy eating—NOT dieting. Dieting has a negative connotation and generally has associated start and end dates, whereas healthy eating is a lifestyle. My biggest recommendation is to talk about it! This dialogue can happen at employee meetings, in newsletters, during special events, and so on. It is important to showcase employees who have embraced a healthy lifestyle, along with information about what their program is, how they have been successful, and how it has changed their life at work and at home. Any encouragement and support that an employer can give is great. Of course, setting an example is also key—don’t just preach it, live it!” She adds, “Many things happen when you follow an exercise regimen and focus on healthy eating. Physically, the obvious changes are fat loss, muscle tone and an improvement in the overall shape of the body. Many things also happen internally, such as confidence levels improving in many areas of life which are not only confined to a stronger belief about your ability to challenge yourself more at the gym. These higher confidence levels translate into your personal and professional life as well. People tell me all the time how much better they feel about themselves at work—their job performance, productivity, and mood. People who exercise naturally have more energy, sleep better, are healthier in general, and incur fewer injuries on the job.”
Support from those who surround you is often crucial to the success of wellness programs, whether in the workplace or elsewhere. Collier states, “Most people who have a workout partner are more likely to succeed with an exercise routine. They are less likely to skip a workout—when you have someone counting on you to be there and workout together, you’re not going to skip out on them. Accountability is a huge factor with regard to success! The same can easily be true for co-workers. If you surround yourself with people who are active and eat well, there’s a good chance you’re going to do the same.”
The environment of the workplace contributes just as much to your overall wellness as programming and initiatives. If you are not working in a healthy environment, it is very difficult to see an improvement in other areas.
ServiceMaster Professional Building Maintenance offers a complete line-up of professional cleaning services that will not only leave your business looking spotless, but also will enhance the work environment for employees as well as anyone else who walks through the doors. Jon Paolini of ServiceMaster PBM explains, “Often times wellness in the office is just as much mental as physical. The right cleaning company will keep your workplace clean and help employees feel a sense of comfort and ‘well’ while they are at work. Conversely, a dirty workplace can lead to employees feeling ‘unwell’ by working in conditions that they don’t feel are sanitary. Additionally, there are studies that show indoor air quality is linked to certain kinds of illness. ServiceMaster developed a cleaning program that reduces particulates in the air inside a building as well as products that eliminate VOC’s which contribute to indoor air pollutants. Having the right cleaning company has a big effect on the general air quality year-round in a building.” He adds, “We also work with our customers to help when illness strikes in the workplace. If we know a ‘bug’ is traveling around the office we will do extra sanitizing of ‘touch points’ like switch plates, door knobs, etc.to help reduce the spread of the illness. In fact, ServiceMaster developed a whole protocol for this type of increased sanitizing in case the avian flu or something like it was to strike. We use parts of this protocol when a customer lets us know they are battling a flu/cold bug in their office.”
J4K Cleaning owner Jeff Fillmore also emphasizes the importance of eliminating health concerns by maintaining a clean and sanitary workplace. He states, “Keeping your office or facility in a clean, sanitary condition will contribute to the prevention of illness, which is important to sustaining a healthy, productive staff. In addition, eliminating clutter around the workplace prevents slips, trips, and falls.
People in the workplace can be easily exposed to diseases like the common cold, flu virus, and E. coli, staphylococcus among many others. Proper cleaning and disinfecting is vital to the overall health and well-being of everyone in your office. We clean and disinfect areas, such as restrooms or break rooms, to keep them clean, sanitary, and odor free. If a restroom is not properly disinfected it may look clean but it can still harbor germs and bacteria that can spread illness and infection. We use color coded micro fiber towels to prevent cross contamination of surfaces. We also pay special attention to touch points throughout the work place. Cleaning and disinfecting touch points such as door knobs, faucet handles, phones and so on helps to eliminate the transfer of germs and keeps your staff healthy.
Another way we support the preservation of a healthy work environment is to use green seal approved chemicals whenever we can. Green cleaning chemicals reduce exposure of those in the workplace to toxic and highly irritating chemicals while also reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At J4K Cleaning, we work to make sure our cleaning programs have as little environmental impact as possible while providing the safest environment for all.”
Daniel Cox of Oreck Clean Home Care agrees that indoor air quality should be a major concern in the workplace, as it impacts not only the workers’ comfort but their health as well. He says, “Airborne dust, allergens, smoke, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or chemical fumes and other odors maybe present due to poor air circulation or as a result of what is being produced in the facility. These particles are so microscopic and lightweight that they can remain suspended in the air for hours. Symptoms can include fatigue, headaches, irritation of the nose, throat, and lungs…even trouble concentrating. Oreck’s patented Truman Cell captures dust and allergens from the air that passes through it; pulling them out of the air like a magnet. At the same time, the odor filter consisting of UV lights is working to reduce odors as well as VOCs, fumes such as paint smells, the gases put off from new rugs and furniture, aerosol vapors and cleaning supply odors from the air that passes through its filter. The Truman Cell never needs to be replaced, simply wash with soap and water, rinse clean and let dry. The odor filter, what we call the Helios Shield®, is permanent as well (it doesn’t even come out of the unit) and does not require any maintenance. So not only do you get cleaner air, you get to feel good about making a less wasteful choice than throw-away HEPA filters. As with all of our Oreck products you have a 30 day risk free trial.” Furthermore, Oreck has a long history of supporting wellness in the workplace through their products. “The Oreck Company would not exist today if not for the founder David Oreck embracing workplace wellness in the hotel industry. When David Oreck started the Oreck Company in 1963 he found success by designing a lightweight yet powerful vacuum that replaced the very heavy machines used by hotel housekeepers. The idea proved so successful that today 50,000 hotels throughout the world use our commercial vacuums. Our store in Lincoln sells the nine pound Oreck upright to churches, schools, bars and restaurants, office and retail and professional cleaning companies to name a few. The Oreck U2000 Series lightweight upright is our most popular model and moves easily from carpet to hard surfaces without adjustment through MicroSweep™ technology. The Helping Hand® Handle eliminates squeezing of the hand, bending and twisting of the wrist and has fingertip-controlled on/off switch for easy operation. At the Oreck Clean Home Center our lightweight, easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain products are reliable and durable; resulting in cleaner air and a cleaner working environment for our customers.”
Maintaining a sanitary work or learning environment is not only more conducive to a higher level of comfort and better productivity, it could also lead to fewer employee illnesses and sick days which again affects any business’ bottom line. Sniferz owner Jim Hunt explains, “Sniferz purchased BioSweep of Nebraska in 2013 with two goals in mind. First, the BioSweep Surface Defense System is the most highly advanced process in the world today which improved our decontamination effectiveness immensely. Second, our system goes one step further with an antimicrobial solution that ensures surfaces remain sanitary for up to a year after application which provides long lasting peace of mind for our customers. Many businesses have a janitorial service or well established daily protocol for their own sanitizing efforts. However, I urge businesses to also consider a yearly or bi-annual deodorization and decontamination of the buildings’ interior along with durable antimicrobial protection for the most commonly used surfaces. Besides a cleaner, fresher smelling office, clinic or workout facility, the air handling system is completely freed of any kind of mold, mildew or other malodor. We live in a world of rapidly advancing medical technology but the fact is germs and microbes are quickly changing as well and many are becoming immune to our best antibiotics. Any business, school, church etc. with a high traffic flow should consider adding these treatments to their workplace cleaning and sanitizing program. Sniferz uses the BioSweep Surface Defense System to instill confidence that your business is clean smelling, sanitary and has long lasting protection from infectious breakouts. Call Sniferz at (402) 429-9984 or visit Sniferz.com for more information about how we can help you maintain a healthy workplace.”
Safety is another major factor that contributes to improved wellness in the workplace. According to the Nebraska Safety Council, a work environment that encourages safe work practices or provides a strong safety program provides for the overall health and well-being of the employee through education on self-care and self-safety practices. Tonya Vyhlidal, WorkWell Program Director and a representative of the Nebraska Safety Council, explains, “A clean work environment, personal hygiene, a work environment that is free from hazards to a person’s health or physical ability is incredibly important to the overall well-being of the individual because in keeps them healthy, productive, and engaged while at work reducing the overall stress and strain of the job. I recommend that organizations who are looking into developing wellness programs reach out to their local wellness councils for guidance and support. We have three wellness councils in Nebraska providing support to organizations looking to begin. These wellness councils include: 1) WELCOM (based out of Omaha), 2) WorkWell (based out of Lincoln), and 3) Panhandle Wellness Council (based out of Gering/Scottsbluff). These councils provide support, education, consultation, and guidance for organizations at any level of programming.
As we progress and move past Obamacare, it will be important for organizations to begin to shift their paradigm from results-based wellness and how it effects the Return On Investment (ROI) and move to evaluating the effect that wellness has on the total worker and their overall wellbeing. We will need to remind ourselves that the ROI can go well beyond dollars and transcend into work/life balance, improved emotional health, improved employee engagement and performance, talent acquisition, retention, organizational performance, and much more. ROI should be adjusted to encompass all of the factors of the return on the program and not just the financial ones.”
Wellness initiatives in the workplace are designed to support healthy behavior while at work as well as encouraging the same outside of the workplace, and provide valuable education to employees that enables them to make better or more informed decisions regarding their health in order to improve health outcomes overall. There are many local resources that would be happy to assist you with making the necessary changes, as small or large as they may be, so that everyone in your workplace can enjoy the benefits of being healthy.