Believing that a healthy workforce will reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and decrease health care costs, many Milwaukee employers are working to change their employees' behavior and beliefs toward living a healthier lifestyle.
Employer members of Well City Milwaukee, a workplace wellness focused coalition of local employers, led by the City of Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, have implemented programs ranging from lunch hour walking groups to holiday weight management programs to preventative health workshops, which have already produced positive results and favorable feedback among employees.
Here’s a sample of a few local wellness initiatives that can serve as models and inspiration for us all:
Medical College of Wisconsin - With winter well underway, everyone is looking for ways to stay healthy and fit, especially over the holiday season. While it may be too cold to brave the outdoors, MCW has developed a "Step By Step" campaign to help employees fit walking into their daily exercise routine - without even having to leave work. Over 1,200 employees walk through heated underground tunnels connecting campus buildings during their lunch hours. In the first two weeks alone, participants walked more than 55 million steps, which equates to a collective 28,000 miles.
M&I Bank - More than 1,500 employees weigh in every Monday morning in an effort to avoid holiday weight gain. Participants receive encouragement for making healthy food choices, fitting in exercise to prevent holiday weight gain and managing time, sleep and stress. The goal is to gain less than two pounds, stay the same or lose weight during this holiday season.
These programs are just a few of the many important things happening in Milwaukee to help encourage workplace wellness and work towards a broader goal of creating a more vibrant and productive workforce. For more information about Well City Milwaukee or becoming an employer member, please visit www.wellcitymilwaukee.org.
Janet McMahon is the executive director of Well City Milwaukee, an initiative of the Wellness Councils of America, which challenges local businesses to work together toward building healthier communities, starting in the workplace.
2 Comments
I believe that Janet,and all of the organizations involved in HELPING employees gain a more improved life style, through physical fitness, is important. I believe that employers also have to realize that the bottom line is achieved by the employees and a good process of management with respect, for and by all.
A salary does not necessarily include the respect of the person receiving it. Gaining a healthy life style is as much involved with the mind as the body. For those employers that only allow the physical exercise off the clock, it will be just a matter of time for the continuation of these programs. The simple process of giving to get has unrestricted rewards in both the work site and family life.
Marv Stein L.C.S.W.
Innovative employers who think strategically are realizing that there is a business case in health improvement. The rising costs of medical claims and lower productivity from preventable illness are not sustainable, and employers have exhausted their ability to cost-shift to employees. The new Kaiser Foundation report showing that even Americans with health insurance are deferring care due to expensive deductibles and co-pays makes the case resoundingly. Since many workers spend the majority of their time at work, the workplace becomes the single-best place to deliver prevention programs. Years of practicing primary care medicine have convinced me the most effective form of health reform needs to be a renewed respect for, and commitment to, prevention.