Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or improve upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that can help meet any wellness program budget! The Workplace Health Promotion Program ideas are divided into topic areas.
General Wellness Progam Ideas
• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Organize a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee
• Identify health plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive health care visits
• Put up pamphlets on a variety of wellness topics for employees to take
• Organize a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of topics of interest to employees
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Develop and promote periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Develop monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Put up a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Put up messages from national health observances during the month
• Post healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Develop a benefits fair
• Develop employer fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Develop employer health fairs or other on-Site programs
Nutrition Programs
• Offer free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at employer programs
• Offer information to employees about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Organize a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or snack machines (10¢ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Start a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give pamphlets available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include diet articles in employer newsletters
• Provide a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Provide educational sessions during lunch-time on a variety of diet topics of interest
• Develop an employee healthy diet cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all employees
Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs
• Provide flexible work schedules so that employees can take part in weight-loss programs
• Partially fund registration costs for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help employees who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your workplace as a resource for employees who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Offer individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight
• Offer workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating
Physical Activity Programs
• Offer flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Organize a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Organize accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage employees to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Organize a fitness center with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairwells more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Offer reduced fitness center membership fees to all employees
• Offer facilities for employees to secure bikes
• Provide 5 – ten minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund fitness center membership for employees who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or employer sports team
• Encourage stairwell use and incentives/rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Promote & support area walks or fitness programs
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Offer periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage exercise
• Provide educational sessions on fitness activities
Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs
• Organize a smoke-free grounds
• Organize a smoke-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Reimburse for tobacco replacement products
• Partially fund the cost of tobacco cessation seminars
• Offer pamphlets and information on health effects from tobacco use and tobacco cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to excite employees to try to quit tobacco use
• Provide workplace tobacco cessation seminars
Employee Health Screening
• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or decrease co-payments for employees who take part in screenings and who take part in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure monitoring equipment
• Offer flu shots for employees and family members
• Offer Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Offer periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for blood lipids, blood glucose, body composition, etc.
Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs
• Offer flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and promote an EAP
• Offer information on substance abuse prevention
• Offer pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Offer pamphlets and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Offer supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, employer stressors, etc.
• Evaluate employer policies and work schedules to identify employer stressors
• Evaluate the EAP to make sure it is meeting the needs of the employees and employer
• Provide educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Provide seminars on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance topics
