Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces

Spokane Regional Health District – 2014 SME Winners

Posted on by Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces

Living Well Worksite Wellness Program
12th May 2014

The goal is to create a culture of wellness at SRHD using a comprehensive, best practice approach supported by leadership, policies, systems and workplace environment. The program aligns with the World Health Organization’s Worksite Wellness model to support employee health and safety.

Leadership engagement is one critical component to the program. Leaders in the agency model healthy and safe behaviors as well as support staff time to plan and participate in wellness activities including researching what works best, tracking success and challenges and evaluating impact. The leadership team designates a small line item budget to support creating healthy environments as health and safety are part of the agency’s foundational principles.

Workers are engaged in wellness activities through participation on committees, sub-committees and focus groups. Committees represent all divisions within the agency and all levels of staffing from executive leaders to front line staff. Staff feedback is solicited through annual health risk assessments and satisfaction surveys.

Living Well follows a continuous quality improvement cycle by using aggregate data from surveys, screenings and risk assessments to create annual work plans with defined goals. Goals focus on sustainable changes to implement best practice approaches to improving wellness. Addressing diversity in the workplace is important as we consider varying levels of physical conditioning, work environments, work schedules and other differences in program planning.

Providing a safe and healthy environment to support healthy behaviors is a key component. SRHD supports a non-smoking campus and condition of hire, provides ergonomic assessments, offers standing work stations to reduce the risks of sitting for prolonged periods and provides various safety trainings and inspections.

SRHD offers various personal health resources to make the healthy choice, the easy choice. Some of these resources include; on-site physical activity classes, discounted gym memberships, shower facilities, on-site preventative health screenings and immunizations, treadmill work stations, and access to healthy foods through a farmer’s market and healthy vending machine.

SRHD strives to provide a work/life balance for employees. Various policies and systems are in place to encourage this such as; infants in the workplace policy, breastfeeding rooms, flexible scheduling and telework options, Employee Assistance Program, and multiple social events to encourage connectivity amongst employees.

SRHD’s programs promote health in our community by sponsoring teams for local events, provide walking maps of various trails, and reducing our carbon footprint by encouraging recycling and participating in a commute trip reduction program. Free bus passes, secure bike room and incentives are provided to encourage alternate methods of transportation. SRHD encourages businesses within the community to implement worksite wellness programs and has created a worksite wellness toolkit on the SRHD website www.srhd.org. Enter Worksite Wellness in the search bar to find the kit. This toolkit contains examples of local companies who have implemented creative and sustainable approaches to worksite wellness.

SRHD is able to sustain this program with minimal resources by utilizing various partnerships in our community. Insurance and financial institutions provide educational opportunities and incentives to support our programs. Students from college health programs assist in program planning, and provide educational sessions and screening events free of charge. SRHD taps into existing community resources to support employee health. Various staff take the initiative to coordinate health and wellness activities and are willing to share in the cost of some of the programs.

SRHD was recently recognized as one of the three best workplaces supporting employee health in the world at the Global Healthy Workplace Award Summit in Shanghai April, 2014. SRHD Health Officer Dr. Joel McCullough, “Truly, the health district’s most valuable asset is its employees, they are at the heart of why we make such a tangible commitment to wellness at work.”

To view SRHD’s Winning Keynote Presentation, click here!

Visit Spokane Regional Health District’s website, click here!

Watch SRHD feature on KXYL TV, watch here!

Buck Consultants Global Wellness Survey

Posted on by Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces

WORKING WELL: A Global Survey of Health Promotion, Workplace Wellness, and Productivity Strategies

+ Click here to take the survey!
+ Survey closes 15th April 2014

This survey, which is supported by the Global Healthy Workplace Awards and Summit is intended to measure strategies and practices related to health promotion, wellness, and productivity. These employer-sponsored initiatives focus on improving employee health and organizational performance by preventing sickness, chronic disease, and injuries. They do so by addressing behaviors and risk factors such as poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, excessive stress, and smoking. These factors can lead to serious and expensive health problems and impact workforce productivity.

Employer-sponsored strategies to reduce these risk factors may include raising awareness, educating, and encouraging employees and their families to adopt healthier lifestyles through various programs and incentives. They also may include creating a workplace environment that promotes health, wellness, and performance.

Throughout this survey questionnaire, we will use the term “health promotion and wellness” to refer to any and all of the aforementioned programs. We invite you to participate in this survey if you are responsible for wellness strategy at your company, either globally or at a country-specific level. If wellness strategy is handled country-by-country in your organization, we encourage you to invite your colleagues in other countries to also respond to the survey on behalf of their area of responsibility.

The survey closes 15th April 2014. Click here to take the survey!

Finalists Named in Global Healthy Workplace Awards

Posted on by Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces

The finalists will be showcased in Shanghai at the 2nd Global Summit April 9-10, 2014
Bloomfield, Shanghai, London, 19th March 2014

Six employers named as Global Healthy Workplace Award finalists will present their programs on a world stage at the second Global Healthy Workplace Awards and Summit (GHWAwards) taking place April 9-10 at the Andaz Hotel, Shanghai, China. GE, while not a global finalist, will be recognized among China applicants for its outstanding wellness program.

Employers from 33 countries vied for the distinction of being considered among the world’s healthiest workplaces. GHWAwards submissions were reviewed by an international panel of health and wellness experts from five continents who judged the programs. Judges remarked that this year’s award applicants distinguished themselves in leadership and innovation.

A highlight of the Summit will be the presentations by the six finalists, whose programs represent the best of the international business community’s ability to successfully promote good health among their employees and the communities they serve. The Summit will attract 150 leaders from business, public health, academia, government and non-government organizations (NGOs), united in the belief that employers can serve as the entry point to better health for the worldwide workforce.

The three winning employers will be announced at the close of the Summit. A draft agenda can be found at http://www.globalhealthyworkplace.com/summit-shanghai-2014.html

Here are the finalists:

Multi-national Employers

IBM (USA)
IBM has a long-standing tradition in creating healthy workplaces throughout the world and continues to drive an integrated approach to workplace health. IBM has established 10 global priorities for health promotion, which are applied to its many employees globally. For example, IBM uses social analytics technology to capture “Mini Pulse” feedback from employees as they interact with health programs.

Unilever (Netherlands/United Kingdom)
Unilever calculated a return on investment with its Lamplighter program in mature countries of 3.14 Euros for every Euro spent. Of note is Unilever’s Global Mental Health Standard, which evaluates sources of employee pressure, enhances personal resilience and provides counseling and employee referrals where needed.

Large Employers

Telefônica do Brasil (Brazil)
Telefônica was a semi-finalist last year and reapplied with a stronger program. Telefônica has developed its own self-managed health insurance plan, with broad coverage all over Brazil. One of the outcomes of the comprehensive “BEM PERTO” program is that health insurance fees are only 7.8 percent of monthly payroll, whereas the average among other Brazilian enterprises is 15 percent of payroll.

Vanderbilt University (USA)
Vanderbilt’s program was the first of its kind at U.S. academic medical centers, and elements of the program have been expanded into other institutions across the United States. Ongoing tracking and improvement systems are used, including a dashboard using the Health Enhancement Research Organization’s modifiable lifestyle risks and the Centers for Disease Control’s Healthy People 2020 targets and milestones.

Small and Mid-Sized Employers

Spokane Regional Health District (USA)
Spokane is a local public health agency with 250 employees who serve a population of more than 400,000 in Spokane County, Washington. The Living Well Program has a 15-year history and enjoys strong leadership support and active involvement. Spokane has developed policies, system and environmental changes that have greatly enhanced the way employees embrace safe and healthy choices.

Technica International (Lebanon)
Technica International, a repeat finalist and a family business of 140 employees, incorporated all of its health, safety and environment initiatives under its Employee Satisfaction Program. Technica continues to excel in its efforts to share its experience and expertise with other companies as well as the community-at-large in Lebanon.

Cigna and the Cigna Foundation are sponsors of the GHWAwards, hosted by International Health Consulting and the i-genius world community of social entrepreneurs. The GHWAwards and Cigna also are the exclusive sponsors of the 2014 Buck Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies, which will be unveiled at the Shanghai Summit.

For more information contact info@globalhealthyworkplace.org and visit www.globalhealthyworkplace.com