How to Make Your Employees Take Part in Wellness Programmes

Corporate wellness programmes have been proven to provide positive results, both for you as an employer, and for your workers’ wellbeing. Why, then, do you struggle to get your employees to participate in the company’s health schemes? There are certain theories and employee surveys that point to several reasons why your workers might not want to participant in a wellness programme, and if you address these head-on, you might be able to encourage greater participation. Reasons why your employees don’t participate in corporate wellness programmes include:

 

• They think you’re trying to learn about their health issues to somehow use that information against them.


• They believe that Health Risk Assessments are not reported about collective workers but individually, and won’t have their name associated with their individual results.


• They don’t want to improve their health, despite knowing it’s good for them.


• They don’t need help and are already living a healthy lifestyle.


• You send mixed messages by offering wellness programmes but also having junk food available in workplace vending machines.


• You don’t participate, so your employees don’t believe it’s important.


• They know it will save you money, but don’t think there’s anything in it for them.

 

In order to tackle these issues, you and your employees need to comprehend exactly what a wellness programme entails. Barb Hendrickson, President of Visible Communication, explains, ‘Today, it can mean everything from a company gym membership to a simple smoking cessation programme offered to employees, to a full-blown, structured programme where employees can choose their areas to track, set their own goals, and have access to professional health coaches along the way. Structured programmes offer the best way to track results, especially if you start with a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) for each participant. HRAs are conducted by third-party companies and report results only in the aggregate. The more you stress this to employees, the better.’

 

As well as addressing the concerns listed above, how can you get your employees to engage in your wellness programme? Hendrickson puts her faith in two strategies: offering incentives and inserting game mechanics.

 

1. Incentives: According to Hendrickson, ‘Incentives can dramatically increase participation, as well as results. One study conducted by MED-STAT of Ann Arbor, Michigan, documents an almost 250% increase in participation with the introduction of non-cash incentives.’ So which incentives work best? Hendrickson details, ‘AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals invited employees in their Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters to participate in healthy cooking classes hosted by local celebrity chefs and to attend a health-tips seminar given by an Olympic runner.’ Other incentive ideas include:

 

• name-brand merchandise


• gift cards


• corporate-identified merchandise such as tote bags and apparel (especially when used in exchange for registration)


• gym memberships


• perks unique to the company (prime parking spots, preferred vacation times, etc.)


• formal employee recognition by management and peers


• one-on-one time with the CEO or other executives

 

2. Wellness as a Game: Making wellness more fun and engaging encourages participation, especially if you have a lot of younger workers who grew up on video games. Hendrickson notes, ‘Medical information is notoriously dry, boring, and can be confusing; the use of game components allows for the information to be broken into small bites the employee can comprehend and remember.’ To make your wellness programme more game-centred, remember the following tips:

 

• Make it simple. ‘Clear rules and a simple, point-based format that is consistent throughout the program will be easy to understand,’ says Hendrickson.


• Make it interesting. Hendrickson advises, ‘Mixing in periodic challenges or competitions will keep the participants engaged.’


• Make it social. Hendrickson recommends, ‘Provide ways that employees can socialise to compare scores, exchange tips, and encourage one another. Just the knowledge that others will see their progress provides some motivation, but support and encouragement from peers also contributes to success.’

Categories: corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, employees, employees don, Health Risk, hendrickson, include nbsp, participation, Wellness, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes

US Doctor Warns Supplements Will Only Damage Your Health

Lots of people take supplements to guard their wellbeing against various health concerns, but a US doctor has warned that you may be doing more harm than good to your wellness if you take such supplements. According to Dr Paul Offit, author of Do You Believe In Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine, there are very few supplements that benefit you in any way, and most could actually risk your health.

 

Offit noted that while many people believe that supplementing is harmless, this simply isn’t true; super-strength supplements in particular are very damaging to health, but unfortunately these are becoming increasingly popular. Offit explained, ‘When you take large quantities of vitamins – 5-fold, 10-fold – greater than the [recommended daily allowance], I think the data is clear; it increases your chances of heart disease, cancer and can shorten your life.’

 

Offit detailed a recent television advertisement in which viewers were told that they would need to drink two gallons of orange juice to get as much vitamin C as was in the supplement being promoted. According to the doctor, who is based at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, there’s probably a good reason why you can’t naturally get that much vitamin C in one hit. However, as the UK market for vitamins and supplements was estimated to be worth £385million last year, up 2.7% on the previous year, you can see why the TV ad left that part out.

 

Although it is not really known whether or not multivitamins actually do any good, Offit did allow that multivitamins would not do any harm. However, when it came to nutritional pills he would recommend, Offit came up with four cases:

 

1. Pregnant mothers. You should take folic acid to prevent your babies developing spina bifida, a condition in which the spine becomes deformed.

 

2. Babies. You should give your babies vitamin D, particularly if you are breastfeeding exclusively or your baby does not get much exposure to sunlight.

 

3. Elderly women. You should take calcium and vitamin D to help prevent you bones thinning.

 

4. Those at risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acid oils might be beneficial to heart health, but Offit noted that current studies are inconclusive.

Categories: Health Risk, New Book, vitamin c

Electronic cigarettes: What do you need to know?

While electronic cigarettes may have been well received by those looking for an alternative to patches or gum, there has been something of a debate about his anti-smoking device of late. Some professionals have questioned just how safe these products are, and what they really add to the plethora of smoking cessation tools. Research suggests that while there is no evidence to claim that they damage your heath, there isn’t any to suggest they’re safe either. Real cigarettes pose a significant health risk, with nearly 4000 chemicals which re produces from the burning tobacco, but nicotine is a medically graded chemical which is considered a strong poison in liquid form. In electronic cigarettes, this dose is far higher than what is found in patches and gums.

Electronic cigarettes pose a health risk because they’re not regulated. There are numerous websites offering low quality liquids and devices, compared to nicotine patches which have to be provided through a pharmacy in most countries. According to most health professionals, electronic devices aren’t considered quitting aids, so they aren’t monitored in the same way. Many people also claim that the only reason behind the lack of support for legalising e-cigarettes is that high duty tax can’t be added to the prices, so the government misses out on additional income.

There are some safety tips which are worth remembering when it comes to electronic cigarettes. Firstly, it has been proven that some people are allergic to polypropylene glycol, or PG, which is used to delude liquid nicotine. This food grade substance is used in preserved meals, but it can lead to allergies and asthma attacks. There is a vegetable glycerin alternative which can be used. Also, when you’re refilling the cartridges, be sure to wear protective gloves to avoid the nicotine being absorbed through the skin, which can lead to an overdose.

Electronic cigarettes: What do you need to know?

Categories: cigarettes, cigarettes pose, E-Cigarettes, electronic, electronic cigarettes, health, Health Risk, nicotine, patches, Smoking

Electronic cigarettes: What do you need to know?

While electronic cigarettes may have been well received by those looking for an alternative to patches or gum, there has been something of a debate about his anti-smoking device of late. Some professionals have questioned just how safe these products are, and what they really add to the plethora of smoking cessation tools. Research suggests that while there is no evidence to claim that they damage your heath, there isn’t any to suggest they’re safe either. Real cigarettes pose a significant health risk, with nearly 4000 chemicals which re produces from the burning tobacco, but nicotine is a medically graded chemical which is considered a strong poison in liquid form. In electronic cigarettes, this dose is far higher than what is found in patches and gums.

Electronic cigarettes pose a health risk because they’re not regulated. There are numerous websites offering low quality liquids and devices, compared to nicotine patches which have to be provided through a pharmacy in most countries. According to most health professionals, electronic devices aren’t considered quitting aids, so they aren’t monitored in the same way. Many people also claim that the only reason behind the lack of support for legalising e-cigarettes is that high duty tax can’t be added to the prices, so the government misses out on additional income.

There are some safety tips which are worth remembering when it comes to electronic cigarettes. Firstly, it has been proven that some people are allergic to polypropylene glycol, or PG, which is used to delude liquid nicotine. This food grade substance is used in preserved meals, but it can lead to allergies and asthma attacks. There is a vegetable glycerin alternative which can be used. Also, when you’re refilling the cartridges, be sure to wear protective gloves to avoid the nicotine being absorbed through the skin, which can lead to an overdose.

Electronic cigarettes: What do you need to know?

Categories: cigarettes, cigarettes pose, E-Cigarettes, electronic, electronic cigarettes, health, Health Risk, nicotine, patches, Smoking