5 tips to boost wellness at work

Get curious and start small.

Q Microwave employees joined a weekly walking challenge and tracked their steps for the chance to win prizes. As a leader, Nancy works with employees to help solve problems and provide support. When it comes to wellness, she takes a similar approach.

“Little steps of change make a big difference,” she says. “I try to find out what concerns [employees] have regarding their health and what their health goals might be.”

Although employees spoke different languages, they found ways to connect throughout the activity.

“One of our challenges is the language barrier, but Sharp Health Plan’s [Best Health] challenges cause people to rally, since everyone can walk and people are interested in getting healthy,” Nancy explains.

Promote prizes and health benefits to improve participation.

Boost employee participation by offering prizes and sharing health benefits — Sharp Health Plan’s Best Health 1-2-3 series is a great place to start.

“[I advertised] the prize and that walking would be beneficial, regardless [of] how much you can walk. Being in a team creates camaraderie within the teams,” she explains.

Use activities to encourage teamwork and healthy competition.

Q Microwave employees got together to walk and increase their step count.

“[Employees enjoyed] that everyone could participate at their level and it was a challenge competing against all the teams,” Nancy says.

When the activity ends, keep up the momentum.

Help employees maintain their healthy habits by sharing Best Health’s no-cost coaching sessions, learning modules and wellness webinars.

“We still do walking monthly and offer 5Ks and other hiking-type activities throughout the year,” Nancy says. “We are also encouraging [employees to use] the Best Health website for self-help and improvement in health. I try to see what [employees] are involved in and we can always pivot, changing the goals of wellness to keep it interesting and new.”

Celebrate wins.

Activities, like this walking challenge, help to support employees’ health and well-being — even after they end. Anthony S., Nancy M. and Anthony R. from Q Microwave (pictured above) went from completing their Best Health challenge to finishing in first, second and third place on their team at the Silver Strand 5K.

“Employees were saying they had lasting effects, like no more back pain, and that it helped their posture,” Nancy says. “Some were saying that they were continuing their walking daily, since it made them feel a lot better. I saw a lot of good come out of this challenge. I feel the little changes lead to the bigger ones and the ones that you can sustain are the greatest for everyone’s health.”