Posts from — May 2009

Employer Fitness Programs – A Merger

Employer fitness sounds like buzz words, but it has become an important concept in the work place. Workers in the organization world are willing to work long and difficult hours.

In exchange they expect the employer to be willing to make accommodations. A employer fitness plan is a complete program that mergers employer and employee health needs.

Taking Stock

Companies have a social responsibility. They take care of the environment, donate money to worthy causes and take part in school programs. But for many employers, the social awareness begins with their very own employees.

The employees who are fit make better employees. Research studies have shown that up to 75 percent of illness is related to lifestyle. So for a company fitness program to work it must teach employees fitness as a complete lifelong plan. Since we spend at least 1/3 of our day at work, it only makes sense to make fitness available at the workplace.

• Test for problems that could lead to major health ailments in the future, such as Blood Pressure (BP) and glucose levels
• Educate staff members on diet
• Examine stress levels as a function of work
• Make exercise equipment or courses available
• Provide adequate time for involvement in fitness programs
• Offer disease deterence programs such as immunization
• Provide incentive programs for program participation

On A Mission

There are many ways a business can implement a business fitness plan. A professional business can be hired to write a complete fitness plan. Or a professional can stimulate a business create a plan the business developed. The professional assistance can be internet based, at the workplace, or at a health center.

When a professional fitness employer is hired, employees are assessed based on their workload. Individual exercise plans are put into place and progress is monitored. Some employers hire a fitness trainer to coordinate directly with employees on an ongoing basis at the worksite.

Other corporations pay for the services of a trainer at the nearest fitness center. To read what personal fitness can do for your corporation visit this page.

There are many choices a employer can choose from. Companies frequently establish fitness plans that comprise of employee families. For example, if the employer purchased a employer fitness center membership, families of employees are given use of the facilities also.

This promotes family unity in addition to fitness. Some organizations pay for fitness plans in their entirety. Others only pay part and the employee pays the balance. There are elaborate plans that offer classes and group exercises and seminars. There are simpler plans that offer access to basic fitness facilities.

But no matter what form the organization fitness plan takes, as a minimum, the program will instruct on nutrition and provide opportunity for exercises that tone, strengthen and enhance flexibility. A organization that takes care of its employees finds that the employees will take care of the organization.

Building a Company Exercise Team From Nine-To-Five

People spend an abundance of time at their job, and work environments are full of stress. Downsizing, mergers, more production requisites and extended hours take their toll on employee health.

It can be gauged in rising absenteeism and growing health costs. It is time to reverse the trend. Growing a business exercise team could be the perfect solution. Encouraging each other to start a exercise program will reap big outcomes for the employees and the business.

Working Overtime

It is easy to find excuses to skip exercising. One of them is always ‘not sufficient time’. But 2 walks for 15 minutes each has the same health benefit as 1 walk for 30 minutes. This fact makes building company exercise group programs easy.

Most corporations hire a fitness trainer. The fitness trainer can develop a plan the organization can manage itself or let the fitness trainer implement and monitor. Either way, there are lots of ways for workers to exercise during the day.

• Take walks outside during breaks or lunch
• Go to sponsored exercise courses at an in-house fitness center or a local fitness center before or after work
• Take the stairs instead of taking the elevators, calculating the number of stairs each week
• Perform stretching exercises every hour to keep refreshed and alert

But it works even better when teamwork is added to the mix. A organization is as good as its staff members. Every organization operates on the concept of good teamwork to fulfill its mission and provide great customer service. What better way to begin that process than by building a organization exercise team?

The rapport that is created among workers working out together will carry over into the workplace itself. It is a well-known fact that group movement promote cooperation and exercise gives the perfect common activity.

All humans need to exercise to maintain fitness. With a corporation exercise program, the corporation can convey its belief in team spirit, cooperative objectives and goals and strategy development.

A local personal trainer can be hired to come onsite or the company can hire a web-based trainer. Either way, tracing the progress of each employee’s fitness level as they take part in the exercise group projects will encourage participation.

Moonlighting

There are countless types of fitness programs that can be available to benefit a workplace.

• A mixture of aerobics exercises followed by strength movements
• Circuit training at the gym
• Tai Chi Ch’uan for relaxation and stress control
• Step classes
• Body sculpting
• A series of progressive exercise classes offering steady fitness improvement
• Specialty seminars for people over 55 or for pregnant women

On this page you can discover a personal trainer who can show how building a employer exercise group programs works.

A company will discover that once employees begin to feel in-shape, the fitness program will carry over into their personal life. Now that is healthy moonlighting!

Employers are expected to be responsible in every way. They protect the environment, contribute to local area projects and pay taxes. They also care about the health of their staff members.

One of the advantages of wellness programs is they give workers every opportunity to improve their quality of life both at work and after work.

Wellness is not just about doing a few exercises. It is a complete service-oriented program that considers nutrition, overall fitness and job fitness.

Advantages of Worksite Wellness Programs

The Benefits of Company Wellness Programs form a long list.

• Betteremployee productivity
• Greateremployee concentration
• Improved morale
• Reduced absenteeism

The benefits of wellness programs can’t be belittled. With one-on-one consultation and group programs, staff members learn to manage stress in a constructive manner.

This not only improves life on the job, it improves customer service and the quality of life with friends and family. Everyone who works has had those days when the stress of the job goes home with you because of the significance stress has on general wellbeing.

Stress generates a chemical that stimulates fat generation in bodies.

A wellness program enables workers to deal with stress in such a manner they 1. decrease stress caused sickness and 2. do not carry the stress of employment with them throughout non-job activities.

The benefits of a wellness program are the result of the use of exercise and nutrition planning to educate employees how to stay physically healthy.

It is much easier for the body to handle stress when the whole body is fit. employees who are not healthy directly cost the organization an abundance of money in absenteeism, better healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Employee relations can also be affected as a result of employees who feel daily stress of work.

Advantages of Worksite Health Promotion Programs – Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Advantages of wellness programs are both tangible and intangible.

• Existing chronic ailments are addressed to prevent further physical deterioration
• Preventive Worksite Wellness Programs keep medical care costs decreased over time
• Workers experience greater energy which stimulates productiveness
• Unhealthy snacking in the workplace is discussed
• Ergonomics are studied to decrease employee injury potential
• Employee flexibility is increased
• Self-image of workers is greater
• Employee cooperation developed through active programs
• Answers to health and fitness topics are given

The benefits of employer fitness programs comprise of on-Site and off-site services customized to match employer objectives and goals. Even if a program is in place, it can be modified or expanded to match the needs of the employer and its workers.

Periodic evaluations, health education, health management and health consulting services are some of the many benefits of wellness programs monitored by Corporate Wellness Program experts. Among the many choices available, a corporation program normally will offer the following as a minimum.

• Aerobics
• Core muscle building
• Muscle building
• Greater flexibility
• Dietary examination and changes

Wellness programs vary depending on the size of the employer, accessability to fitness equipment and budget. But no matter what shape the Worksite Wellness Program takes, the Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs will improve central employee satisfaction. This reaps big advantages for the employer.

Help your staff members be the very best they can be mentally and personally, by realizing the Benefits of Company Wellness Programs.

——————– Article 117 ——————————-

Life on Loan -Rewards of Workplace Health Promotion Programs

It is easy for staff members to ignore the facts about their health when they are involved in just getting the job done. One of the major benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs is they bring health to the forefront of organization awareness.

Obesity is a primary issue and getting worse every day. But it is just one issue among many. Employee health maintenance has become so expensive that it is the fastest growing component of many corporate budgets.

An effective Worksite Wellness Program can slow down the rate of increase and help workers realize they have a responsibility to themselves and their families to care for their own Health and Wellness. Each individual is given a gift of life and it is imperative that life be cared for carefully.

Benefits of Worksite Health Promotion Programs

The benefits of wellness programs comprise of the following:

• Greater awareness of detrimental conduct such as smoking
• Cut back in employee weight and subsequent problems
• Convenience of programs for company and staff members
• Tracking of employee exercise program outcomes
• Accessability of a fitness consultant

Staff Members are assessed one-on-one at the business or where there is business membership. Expert Company Health Promotion Program instructors create a custom fitted plan that insures the employee will have a exercise program that meets their current physical condition and lifestyle.

One of the major reasons that exercise program fail is because people set unrealistic expectations. They are always ‘in debt’ to their program, unable to meet the requirements. A company personal trainer can advocate each individual set realizable intention and design a program that is progressive.

The benefits of wellness programs are well documented in reports and can be seen in lower health care costs and higher productiveness.

Benefits of Employee Wellness Programs

Sometimes a high interest rate can be a good thing for a employer – like when there is high employee interest in a Worksite Wellness Program.

The advantages of Worksite Wellness Programs apply to the company and the staff members.

• Fewermedical care claims as employee health improves
• Fewer cases of obesity
• Fewer cholesterol rates
• Better cardiovascular health
• Reduced incidences of high Blood Pressure (BP)
• Reduced use of sick leave
• Enhanced stress management
• Healthy workers are less likely to be injured
• Fewer disability claims

Today, you can usually find a exercise room in an office building for employee convenience. That is an indication of the level of effectiveness of a physical activity program.

The rewards of wellness programs comprise of deterence of common medical conditions that once were considered rare.

The improvement in employee health nets the employer a reduction in healthcare costs and that savings flows directly to the bottom line of the financial report. There are really no negatives to a Wellness program.

The rewards of wellness programs are so outstanding; it is hard to be aware of why any business would choose not to put together a fitness plan for their workers. Look on the web and see for yourself the world of opportunity to enhance the health of your workers and your business.

Information to evaluate your program comes from regularly collected evaluation and follow-up data of your program that look at process and outcomes of your program.

The Worker Health Program has available a computerized case-management system which includes queries that allow simple assessment of process and outcome results at any point in time.

Process Assessment

Process assessment looks at the  Worksite Wellness Program’s influence as seen at various points in time.

Information that is gathered from the various forms that wellness staff members fill out ought to supply you with the following:

• How many staff members were screened?
• How many employees who were referred to a doctor went?
• How many workers who expressed interest in health improvement programs went?
• How many workers who were referred to health improvement programs went?
• How many employees who went to health improvement programs completed them?
• How many staff members are in follow-up caseload?

You can use this sort of process evaluation to evaluate and learn about the health of your program.

Outcome Evaluation

A central goal of the program is to improve the health of employees. Information on how to judge how well your program is meeting this goal is called “outcome evaluation” because you are evaluating the end results or outcome of your program.

In wellness programs, objectives are measured by specific (outcomes) behavior changes and reductions in health risk levels. Have staff members lowered their Blood Pressure? Have they lost weight? Are they working out more? Is alcohol consumption at a safe level? For example these are the types of questions you can ask to discover if you are reaching your objectives:

• For workers with elevated Blood Pressure (BP) (140 / 90 or higher or on medication) at assessment, what percentage have it under control (below 140 / 90) a year later?
• What is the change in average Blood Pressure levels among all staff members with high Blood Pressure 1 year after assessment? Two years later?
• For workers with elevated blood cholesterol levels (above 240) at screening, what percentage has reduced their cholesterol to borderline-high levels (200-239)?
• For staff members with borderline-elevated blood cholesterol levels, what percentages have reduced their cholesterol to the desirable range (below 200)?
• What is the change in average cholesterol levels among all workers with high and borderline-high blood cholesterol levels 1 year after evaluation? Two years later?
• For workers who were overweight at evaluation, what percentage have lost 20 pounds or more a year later? Ten pounds or more? What is the average weight loss?
• For workers who were tobacco users at evaluation, what percentages have quit smoking? For at least a year?
• For employees whose level of alcohol consumption put them at-risk at screening, what percentage have quit drinking alcohol? Are consuming alcohol at levels considered safe by CDC guidelines? Have reduced their drinking, but are still at-risk?
• For employees, what percentages are exercising at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes?
• If fitness levels were measured, what percentages have improved fitness?

Set a regular time such as every 6 months to look at which workers your program is reaching and how effective it is at supporting them lower their health risks. Use this information to make new decisions about how to direct your program efforts. Then make the change you need to better your program.

Some may feel that an assessment is a frill; it is not. Assessment is a significant part of a wellness program. You will need to be aware of what is working and what is not. Decision-makers who fund the program need to be updated on the success of the program. Evaluation will provide you with significant data to maintain and expand the program and convince management to continue to support the program.

Counselors ought to follow up on workers at least every 6 months throughout the career of the employee at the workplace. The goals of follow-up are to:

• Involve workers who have health risks in treatment and risk reduction programs.
• Involve all employees in health improvement programs and worksite-wide wellness activities.
• Support employees in carrying out the risk reduction or health improvement activities they have chosen.
• Help staff members comply with their treatment regimens.
• Prevent relapse.
• Prevent staff members from dropping out.
• Help staff members maintain behavior changes.

Follow-up can be conducted in person, by phone, mail, and via computer if the technology is available. Most preferable is an in-person contact. Computer programs which can do case load management are available to help counselors track information and perform follow-up.

Priorities for Follow-Up

People with multiple health risks ought to be at the top of the list. People in key positions such as union leaders or department heads with health risks ought to also be contacted early so that they learn what the program is about and can share the information with others.

People who need a medical care assessment for elevated Blood Pressure or blood lipids ought to also be targeted early. Many staff members will have seen their doctors as a result of the assessment, but some will need more encouragement to do so. Those with no health risks can be followed up annually.

A follow-up counseling session can take 20 to 45 minutes. At minimum, follow-up must include those who were told to seek medical care evaluation for high Blood Pressure readings, high cholesterol readings, or borderline high blood cholesterol readings with 2 or more other risk factors.

It may include those who were identified as at-risk for one or more of the other primary risk factors: at-risk levels of alcohol consumption, being overweight, and having low HDL.

Follow-Up With Physicians

A letter (see forms) must be sent to the physician or clinic of each employee who has elevated Blood Pressure, elevated blood lipids, or is under a physician’s care.

The letter should explain the program and should include the employee’s relevant, current health measurements.

Along with the letter, send a self-addressed return envelope. Follow-up with the physician must be repeated every 6 months until it is established that the employee is under satisfactory control.

Contacting the physician is valuable for three reasons:

• The doctors receive employees’ health measurements taken at the worksite.
• You receive the Blood Pressure and blood lipid readings the doctor takes and information on the treatment the doctor prescribes. Many times the employee does not have this information or does not remember it. The information can be used when counseling the employee.
• Follow-up encourages physicians to pay closer attention to heart disease risk factors among their patients.

The menu approach offers employees a range of options to support lifestyle changes. It allows people to choose the kind of help that suits their schedules and preferences.

The four basic types of programs include:
• Classes
• Minigroups
• Guided self help
• Individual counseling

Classes

Classes (8 or more) can be an effective means of offering education and social backing for behavior change. The length of a class can vary depending on topic requirements. It is not sufficient to offer only classes at a worksite.

Many staff members are under time constraints with after work commitments and even though they may be interested they simply can’t participate because of their schedules.

workers may be very eager to start a program but because of lack of participants to meet class quotas, the program is canceled. Many national companies such as the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Weight Watchers, etc. offer classes; you ought to have little trouble in identifying a provider for class type programs.

You may want to contact your local hospital, health department, or YMCA for possible options. For selecting a vendor to support a program you may want to review the section on program structure.

Minigroups

When there is not enough interest to establish a class, those who are interested in a given health topic can be formed into a minigroup (2 to 7).

The minigroup can cover the same content as a class but do so in a less formal manner. Presentation of information and discussion is the primary format of the minigroup.

Guided Self-Help

Most workers do not want formal help in making health changes; they prefer to do it on their own. In guided self-help, the wellness counselors offer reinforcement, materials, and encouragement.

Meeting times can be arranged and contact can be made either in person, by phone, or computer. Materials can be made available at the workplace, or mailed to the individual. Some worksites now make information available via intranets or the Internet.

Individual Counseling

One of the most successful ways to help people change and improve their health status is counseling (or coaching) on a one-on-one basis.

In published research studies, wellness programs which incorporated individual counseling as part of the program process achieved significantly higher participation rates and achieved greater risk reduction/risk elimination than standard group programs. Studies have established that individual counseling is both cost effective and cost advantageous.

A wellness counselor ought to be trained in evaluation techniques, for in certain situations, they may be required to both screen individuals and counsel them. They ought to know how to do the following:

• Review employee health risks
• Contact workers who have health risks.
• Counsel employees on a one-on-one basis, helping them set goals, solve issues, and get professional help when they need it.
• Help workers follow their treatment recommendations and make lifestyle and health behavior changes.
• Recruit workers into health improvement programs, such as weight loss and smoking cessation.
• Work with employees on a one-on-one basis using guided self-help.
• Conduct classes and minigroups if necessary.
• Work with Worksite Wellness Program Committee members to plan and conduct worksite-wide wellness activities.

Wellness counselors are health generalists; they must have basic knowledge about a wide range of health topics and health risks.

Counselors must be able to talk with employees about their medical issues and the treatments prescribed by their doctors. They must have a great overview of nutrition, exercise physiology, pathophysiology of disease, pharmacology, psychology, and behavior modification skills.

The educational program should include approaches to stress awareness/reduction at the environmental level and at the individual level.

Social, physical, and employer stressors must be explained and methods to ease or elevate stressors must be presented. At the individual level how changes in attitudes and behaviors help one to cope with stressors; learning techniques to minimize stress response, such as meditation, relaxation response, and exercise.

Content of the program ought to provide the following:
• Identifying sources of stress
• Relationship of stress to health
• How the individual experiences stress, personal, family, work
• Solutions for coping and managing stress
• Techniques for decreasing stress
• Value of stress, both harmful and positive
• Practical steps of incorporating stress reduction into lifestyle

Personnel delivering stress management programs must have training in psychology, behavioral sciences, or related disciplines such as mental health professionals, counselors, health educators, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Training in a reputable program on how to instruct the stress management course including group process skills is a must.

A nutrition education program must include a nutritional needs assessment, education counseling, and referral as crucial.

Educational sessions and materials should include the following information:

• The relationship of diet and chronic diseases
• Improving eating patterns
• Relationship of diet and proper weight maintenance
• Exercise
• Stress
• Blood Pressure (BP)
• Cholesterol
• Diabetes and other chronic diseases.
• Nutritionally accurate information regarding the relationship of health to diet, including cholesterol, fats, fiber, alcohol, carbohydrates, salt, sugar, and vitamin/mineral supplementation.

Methods for identifying healthier foods and incorporating low-calorie, high nutrient foods into eating habits. Guidelines for improving eating habits must be based on or consistent with national recommendations such as The Food Guide Pyramid.

Instructor ought to be a registered dietitian, registered nurse, or have a baccalaureate degree or higher in health education with training in nutrition. If an allied health professional instructs the program, a consultation and review of the program design by a registered dietitian is recommended.

It is recommended that tobacco cessation programs subscribe to the Code Of Practice for Tobacco Cessation Programs.

Smoking cessation programs must be multi-component with a focus on skills to build positive voluntary behavior modification practices. Useful techniques include instituting reasons for quitting, understanding the smoking habit, various techniques for stopping and remaining a non-smoker, overcoming the problems of quitting, short-term goal setting, weight control, stress management, effect of exercise, relationship of alcohol consumption to urges to use tobacco. Use no aversive or scare tactics.

In programs that use aids such as the “patch” or medications such as “Zyban” appropriate consultation must be available on the usage of these aids.

The instructor ought to have formal training in tobacco cessation from a nationally recognized business such as American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, or a nationally recognized commercial program such as Smoke Enders.

Assessment of success is sometimes very dubious in smoking cessation programs. Measurement of success must include participation rate, including the number starting the program, the number completing the program, and the average number per session. Also included, number and percent who stopped smoking at the end of the program, and the number and percent who had not resumed smoking by the end of one year.

Participatory fitness programs ought to include education on benefits of regular exercise and risks of a sedentary lifestyle, its impact on cardiovascular health and diseases, its relationship with weight control and stress management, and aerobic exercise options. Discussion and practice of safe principles of exercise – warm up, cool down, frequency, intensity, duration, flexibility and strength components. The program follows instructions by the American College Of Sports Medicine.

Safety precautions should include the following:

• Informed consent prior to implementing exercise with clear and complete written and verbal ground rules of possible risk, purpose of exercise, exercise format to be followed, opportunity for questions, and a signed informed consent with date.
• A screening/evaluation of participants to determine if healthcare evaluation is significant for exercise such as the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q, see forms).
• Measurements of Blood Pressure and resting heart rate are useful assessment information to determine exercise readiness.
• Participants who fail screening are medically referred and ought to obtain a written clearance from their physician to exercise.
• The basic content of an aerobic fitness program ought to include:

Warm up   5 – 10 minutes
Aerobic exercise   20 – 40 minutes
Cool down   5 – 10 minutes

Exercise instructors ought to have education and training in exercise physiology, physical education, physical therapy or comparable discipline, or possess a current certification by a nationally recognized sports medicine or exercise association, and be CPR certified.