Worksite Wellness is the Road to Good Health

Worksite Wellness is an important subject right now, considering the that over 60% of U.S. adults do not get the recommended amount of exercise and about 25% of adults are not active at all, according to the Wellness Council of America. Between 1977 and 1995, adult daily walking trips decreased by 40% and are continuing in a downward trend, according to the Wellness Council of America. Plus, 30% of adults in Missouri are obese and sedentary work is the number one reason for weight gain among employed adults. Lack of physical activity is a significant problem that could be a factor for many health problems. Prevalent chronic diseases in Missouri include heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, asthma, and arthritis (MO DHSS).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults should strive to engage in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes on five days per week or engage in vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes on three days per week. Physical activity is moderately intense if your breathing and heart rate is noticeably faster but you can still carry on a conversation. Vigorous physical activity is when your heart rate is increased substantially and you are breathing too hard and fast to have a conversation.

The recommended physical activity does not always have to be done in a 20 or 30 minute session. There are many small ways that working adults can fit in physical activity at work during the day. Walking is the key to getting exercise at work. Every half hour of walking burns 140 calories (Wellness Council of America). Employees can walk to coworkers’ offices instead of calling them, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and walk during lunch breaks. To see if you are getting enough physical activity from walking more at work, you can use a pedometer to measure how many steps you walk each day. 10,000 steps per day would meet the recommended amount of physical activity (walkinginfo.org). 

           Encourage coworkers to start walking more with you; social support makes physical activity seem easier. Post reminders and motivational sayings in the hallways and by elevators. Some ways to encourage stair use are posting signage and maps to locate stairs, making stairs easily accessible, increasing the positive visual appeal of the stairwell including new paint, lighting, carpet, artwork, adding music to stairwells, and making sure there is good lighting and air quality. Start a walking group for lunch time and ask your employer for activity breaks during long meetings. Some ideas for incorporating physical activity breaks include having a stretching break between agenda items, add a physical activity section as an agenda item, conduct a “walking meeting“ if possible, start the meeting with a 10 minute walk, or end the meeting with a 10 minute walk (eatbettermovemore.org). People will be better able to pay attention to the rest of the meeting after a brief activity break. Also, having a casual dress code allows people to move around more freely during the work day. The CDC found that creating and improving places to be active can result in a 25% increase in the percentage of employees who exercise at least three times a week.

Participating in regular physical activity has many benefits. Benefits related to work include greater productivity, less absenteeism, better fitness and health, and providing a social opportunity and source of support at work. Increasing physical activity can improve a person’s health in many ways. Physical activity helps reduce high blood pressure, arthritis pain and related disability, the risk for osteoporosis and falls, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and several forms of cancer. Additionally, worksite health promotion programs can lower levels of stress, increase well-being and self-esteem, increase stamina, and cause weight reduction (Wellness Council of America).       

There are also benefits for employers. Enhanced employee productivity, decreased rates of illness and injuries, reduced employee absenteeism, reduced employee turnover, and reduced health care costs would benefit employers. The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (MO DHSS) found that currently over 81% of American businesses with 50 or more employees report some form of health promotion program. It is estimated that health promotion worksite programs result in overall, benefit-to-cost ratios of $3.48 in reduced health care costs and $5.82 in lower absenteeism costs per dollar invested. Medical expenses for obese employees are estimated to be 42% higher than for a person with a healthy weight, according to the CDC. Plus, worksite health programs can improve employee satisfaction, demonstrate concern for employees, and improve morale in the workplace. Furthermore, worksite health programs benefit the community as a whole, because these benefits to the employers and employees will make the community more competitive in the global market place (Wellness Council of America & CDC).

Starting a wellness program at your worksite will benefit everyone. You can talk to your employer about it; there are many low-cost ways to implement a program and it will save money in the end. Also, there are many small changes individuals can make so they can get more physical activity at work. Taking the stairs and daily walks don’t need to be an institutional program to become a trend! 

Links for related information:

o                http://health.mo.gov

o                http://www.cdc.gov/leanworks/

o                http://eatbettermovemore.org

o                http://www.welcoa.org/wellworkplace/

For more information contact Pat Simmons at the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services:

                        Email: Pat.Simmons@dhss.mo.gov

                        Phone: 573-522-2820