Taking a Step Toward Workplace Wellness:

Low and No Cost Resources

Jane Ellery, PhDGina Edghill, MS,CHESRhonda Murr, MA

Contact Information:

E-mail: jellery@bsu.edu

Phone: 765-285-8259

Website: www.bsu.edu/wellness/wwrt

http://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/wwrt/WORLD_SHARED/ECIHRJune08

Definition of Wellness

Functioning optimally in your current environment

Helping find a “Sense of Coherence”– Meaningful– Manageable– Understandable

Moving beyond “physical health” and considering current culture

Competitive Attitude – Red Zone

Competitive Short term Defensive Seeks to win – Self only Feels like war Reactive - Rigid

Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Jim Tamm, 2004

Thumb Wrestling

Objective – Win Points Select a partner No talking 1 point per thumb pin Start and stop by my signal Keep count of your points

Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Jim Tamm, 2004

Collaborative Attitude – Green Zone

Collaborative Long-term Seeks mutual gains Sees others as partners Seeks solutions not blame Open to influence – Flexible Seeks understanding

Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Jim Tamm, 2004

Thumb Wrestling

Objective – Win Points Select a partner No talking 1 point per thumb pin Start and stop by my signal Keep count of your points

Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Jim Tamm, 2004

Red Zone Green Zone

Low trust-high blame Threats and fear Guardedness Hostility Withholding energy Risk avoidance Attitude of entitlement Cynicism and suspicion Work is painful External motivation

High trust-low blame Mutual support Dialogue and shared vision Honesty and openness Cooperation Risk taking Sense of Contribution Sincerity and optimism Work is pleasurable Internal motivation

Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Jim Tamm, 2004

Partnerships make a difference…

Suggestions for Success

Focus on the advantages of collaborating

Think laterally to find win-win projects

Develop shared values Integrate goals and

strive for balance

Build relationships Prepare to encounter

talent, temperament, and personality differences among partners

“Grow” together and plan for changes/transitions

Develop a communication plan

Potential Partners

Professional Organizations Local Chamber of Commerce Health Plans Benefit Brokers Hospitals Schools Other Area Businesses Health Product Vendors Community Agencies Universities and Colleges

State-level Initiatives

Wellness Council of Indiana

Key needs when starting a workplace wellness program:

Top Management Support Planning by a Wellness Team Needs Assessment and Analysis Program Goals Linked to Business Goals Formal Operating Plan for Program Promotion/Communication Plan Incentive Program Safety Initiatives Evaluation of Planning and Activities Supportive Environment

www.wellnessin.org

www.wellnessin.org

www.smokefreeindiana.org

www.indianatobaccoquitline.net/

www.in.gov/inshape

www.in.gov/isdh/19944.htm

Oops…

http://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/wwrt/WORLD_SHARED/WCPWWR.pps

Important note:

Long name… and long download time!

Local Resources

www.bsu.edu/wellness/wwrt

www.bsu.edu/bbc

Ball State University – Health Fellows Initiative

Workplace Wellness Minor

New “minor” to help students receiving HR, Communication/PR, Psychological Science, and Allied Health degrees have an advantage as they are looking for a job

Education Redefined – learning by doing Interdisciplinary look at workplace

wellness/occupational health and safety

Resources to Support an Aging Workforce – United Way, Fisher Institute and others!

For more information:Charity BishopUnited Way of Delaware County500 N. WalnutMuncie, IN  47305Phone: 765.288.5586 ext. 232www.uwdcin.org

Other Resources You Can Use!

Spark PeopleEmployee Wellness Program

By starting a free employee wellness program for your company you'll receive the following benefits:

– A personalized, online health and wellness program for each employee and their dependants over 18 years of age

– Ideas and promotional materials to help you market the program internally

– A simple platform for offering incentives or rewards to participating employees

– Motivating opportunities to compete with other participating organizations

http://sparkpeople.com/employeehealth/home.asp

www.sparkpeople.com

Major Components of SparkPeople Wellness Program

SparkPoints:– Encourages you to perform activities and tasks that are

proven to help reach your goals tracking foods, reading articles, writing on message boards

SparkTeams:– SparkTeams lets you work with or against other members

of your office– Set SparkTeam goals and have friendly competitions

Custom Team homepage:– Upload an image or logo on the team homepage (and link

that image to your company’s website) Team Message Boards:

– Activity tracking – see the level of activity among team members with the team

Other SparkPeople Highlights

SparkPoints leaderboard: – Use as a platform for a rewards or incentives

program SparkMail:

– Team leader has the ability to easily communicate with all members of their team

For communicating any team challenges or rewards/ incentive programs

Automatic joining:– When someone who is not a member of

SparkPeople clicks on a link to your team page, then joins SparkPeople, they are automatically placed in your team after joining

Free Promotional Resources to Help Engage Employees

Email Template Promotional Flyer Incentive Quick-Start Guide

www.smallstep.gov/

www.welcoa.org

www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/hwi/index.htm

http://medlineplus.gov

Using the Resources

http://www.healthfinder.gov/library/nho/– Monthly Observances provide great

wellness ideas to inform and involve your workplace

– You can link to websites for each health observance event

– FREE printable information and ideas to use for new wellness ideas throughout the year

Featured Sites for Monthly Observances

April is National Donate Life Month

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

June is Home Safety Month

Month at a GlanceApril is National Humor Month

National Humor Month– Have a comedian come to your office

– During a lunch period, set aside time to share funny stories or tell jokes

– Have each employee put their best joke in a box and read a new joke at each meeting.

www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf

Share Your Favorite ResourceDiscuss Ideas

So, what is my next step?

Becoming an Internal Champion

Show the connection between health and productivity Expand the definition of productivity Highlight current organizational expenditures directed

at health and productivity management programs Compare yourself to norms and best practices Dig deeper – identify health and productivity conditions

that most affect your bottom line Commit to collaborate Implement solutions Measure, measure, and measure some more

Goetzel, et al., 2001, 2005

Recruiting an Internal Team

Looking to one person to answer an organization’s problems is a waste of time

Collective wisdom… groups’ decisions will consistently be a better choice than individual decisions

The larger the group, the more reliable its judgment

Do not underestimate the wisdom of a group!James Surowiecki – The Wisdom of Crowds

Involve Key Players…

Occupational Health Safety Coordinator Training Specialists Operating/Manufacturing

Representatives EAP Counselors

Management Representatives

Human resources MIS Enthusiasts Detractors

Work to capture the diversity of your population recruiting independent thinkers to your team

Ensure responsibilities of health promotion are uniformly and strategically disseminated throughout the organization

Taking a Step Toward Workplace Wellness:

Low and No Cost Resources

Jane Ellery, PhDGina Edghill, MSRhonda Murr, MS

Contact Information:

E-mail: jellery@bsu.edu

Phone: 765-285-8259

Website: www.bsu.edu/wellness/wwrt