Michael Parkinson, M.D., is senior medical director of UPMC Health Plan and UPMC WorkPartners, which are part of the UPMC Insurance Services Division. UPMC WorkPartners provides health and productivity solutions to high-performing companies throughout the United States.
When it comes to improving a company’s health and wellness, going small is OK. Many times the small changes that an employer makes can produce major results in terms of encouraging a culture of health and wellness.
It doesn’t require major, costly changes to impact the work environment. Small, simple, but visible moves can communicate that employers are serious about improving the health, safety and well-being of their most precious asset — their employees. Because most adults spend more than half their waking hours at work, encouraging healthy behaviors there also increases the likelihood that employees will take those take those improved habits to the home and community.
Step Away From the Desk
One way to start is to encourage employees to get up and walk away from their desks more often. Cubicles are a mainstay of many workplaces, and many employees are tasked to spend much of their time in front of computers. If “sitting is the new smoking” (yes, sedentary lifestyle is a major contributor to death and disease in the United States), then getting employees up and moving more needs to be built into each workday.
Things employers can do:
- Schedule frequent “recesses” throughout the workday emphasizing stretching, walking meetings and brief walks.
- Open an attractive break room or a workplace cafeteria to encourage employees to not eat at their desks and to start moving at lunchtime.
- Offer standing workstations that have been shown to decrease musculoskeletal strain, improve concentration and increase energy expenditure.
- Consider introducing one “swing activity work station” per group of employees to get started if the expense for a total office reconfiguration is unaffordable.
Increasing Employees’ Physical Activity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that people who get adequate amounts of physical activity have reduced rates of chronic disease, are better able to maintain a healthy weight, can better manage stress and perform better at work.
Things employers can do:
- Unlock stairwells and make them more attractive.
- Encourage all executives and managers to “take a hike” multiple times throughout the day.
- Support employees who bike to work by providing safe and secure places on site for bike storage.
- Promote active means of transportation, such as mass transit, by providing transit passes.
- Encourage running, walking, biking or taking a fitness class during the day by instituting flex-time schedules.
Promote Healthy Eating, Reduced Stress, Smoking Cessation
Workplace cafeterias are an ideal place to offer and preferentially price and promote fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nonprocessed foods and sugar-free drinks. Vending machines can offer healthy alternatives to the snack food that normally dominates the offerings. Sponsoring a “new fruit and vegetable of the month” giveaways can expose employees to foods they may have rarely eaten, but are loaded with vitamins, disease-fighting antioxidants and micronutrients.
Employers of all sizes see the direct and indirect costs of anxiety, stress, depression and lack of mental focus in the medical, disability, worker’s compensation and total productivity costs. Can the office space or workflow be made less stressful? Are there unnecessary noises, interruptions, or poor lighting, which exacerbates an already challenging work environment? Are there quiet spaces or rooms for taking a break or practicing mindfulness (deep breathing with mental visualization) to relieve stress and “recharge?”
The CDC estimates that smokers cost their employers about $5,800 more than their nonsmoking co-workers. Adopting a smoke-free policy for the workplace and even extending it to the worksite property should be considered. Employers can make tobacco-cessation classes and services available, as well as educational materials that promote the benefits of living smoke-free.
For more information about UPMC WorkPartners’ health management and wellness programs, visit http://www.workpartners.com/products-services/health-wellness/.
