Worksite Wellness

U.S. employees spend an average of 50 hours a week at work. Since we spend the majority of our waking hours at work, worksites have a great opportunity to impact their employees’ health by creating an environment that supports healthy habits. The Plan works to help members adopt healthier lifestyle habits – including healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, and tobacco cessation. We also strive to help members with health conditions better manage their health. We encourage members to participate in their worksites’ wellness programs.

Looking to create or improve your wellness program? Below are a few tips and resources to assist you!

 

Tips and Resources

Tab/Accordion Items

  • Identify key leaders who have shown an interest in wellness. 
     
  • Present the benefits of a wellness program to leadership.  
     
  • Involve leadership in the development of program objectives and goals and encourage frequent participation in meetings and activities. 
     
  • Ask leadership to distribute a letter of support to employees. Click here for an example of a sample letter of support. 
     

  • Recruit employees from different areas of your worksite to be on your wellness committee. 
     
  • Clearly communicate the time commitment term, and responsibilities of committee members.
     
  • Meet with your wellness committee at least quarterly to create, update, or make progress towards your strategic plan.
     
  • Develop and have leadership review and sign off on a wellness committee charter that includes a plan if the wellness leader leaves. Click here for an example of a wellness committee charter.
     
  • Attend worksite wellness webinars and trainings by trusted sources

  • Complete a worksite and environmental assessment to understand your worksite culture, current policies, strengths and weakness of your worksite. Click here for more information regarding the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard.
     
  • Deliver an employee needs and interest survey.
     
  • Gather information on the health status of your workforce.
     
  • Identify what policies are supporting or hindering healthy habits of employees.
     
  • Provide regular reports to leadership on program progress.

  • Use data to identify 2-3 health focus areas for your worksite wellness efforts. 
     
  • Identify resources to improve your health focus areas.
     
  • Create an annual wellness plan to address health focus areas and have it reviewed by multiple levels of leadership. 
     
  • Talk with your leadership about what a successful program would look like at your site and create metrics to track success over time. 
     
  • Organize an activity to occur regularly, such as a weekly walking group. 
     

  • Host an onsite presentation to address a focus area—onsite presentation menu and policy.
     
  • Hold a wellness campaign or challenge to promote healthy habits.
     
  • Plan and host a health fair for employees to learn about their benefits and resources that support healthy habits.
  • Deliver a wellness update at an all-staff meeting.
     
  • Distribute and post information on healthy living around your worksite.

An example blood pressure station at the workplace
 
 
Host a healthy lunch!
 
 
Bandaids and hand sanitizer for your workplace
 
 
Take a walk at work!
 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Workplace Health Promotion

  • Use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Workplace Health Promotion website to search for actionable information to help employers launch or expand a workplace health promotion program.