Wellness in the Workplace

In this activity, you will analyze the factors that should be considered to enhance the workplace wellness programs of two case scenarios.

Step 1. Review

Review these two case scenarios:

• ACE employs more than 200 full-time, year-round employees and contracts with thousands of seasonal employees to harvest and package carrots. It has been a repeated observation that most workers do not practice proper handwashing and sanitation before eating meals. As such, the company decided to launch a “Hygiene in the Workplace'' wellness program in partnership with a local health institute to ensure the employees adopt proper handwashing and sanitation. The hygiene in the workplace wellness program faced some challenges due to cultural and religious practices. Some believed that soap should not be used to cleanse their hands as it is composed of animal fat. To address this, the workplace wellness program applied educational strategies that included focus groups to allow employees to raise their concerns openly regarding the use of alcohol-based hand rubs, help them to understand the scientific evidence underlying this recommendation, and identify possible solutions to overcome obstacles together.

• .Due to the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in the transportation industry and the risks that accompany obesity, a health and wellness (H&W) program at a leading car service was initiated to reduce obesity and its associated risks such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. The local health system and gym worked with the company to offer health and wellness programs, ergonomic and injury prevention services, on-site physical therapy and health screens, and overall wellness coaching every Saturday morning to approximately 20,000 company-insured employees. Some of the challenges faced by the wellness program were disengaged employees who primarily did not feel the need to lose weight anymore and time-schedule conflicts as the employees were working in different shifts, thus making it hard to collaborate together as a “community” program. 

Step 2. Analyze

Analyze the goal of the two workplace wellness programs, and provide your thoughts on:

• How appropriate the measures to accomplish the program’s goals are

• Your recommendations for adjustments or additions to the strategy to achieve a comprehensive workplace wellness program

• How the actions taken are related to the determinants of health and the population health promotion model

Step 3. Respond

Respond by writing a 200-400 word discussion post that articulates the factors that affect the success and outcome of the two workplace wellness programs. Make sure to include the focus areas in Step 2 in your discussion.

Step 4: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will reflect on the best practices to promote workplace wellness, focusing on the concept of “built environment.”

Step 1. Review

Review the learning resources for this lesson, specifically how a “built environment” is designed. 

Step 2. Draw and Describe

Using the knowledge gained about the built environment, draw two models of the built environment: an ideal built environment workplace and a poorly built environment workplace in the boxes provided below. Describe each of your drawings.

Step 3. Explain

Based on your drawings, discuss in 200-600 words how the built environment affects the workplace and the people within the workplace, highlighting the following points:

• How the built environment influences an employee’s level of physical activity
• How the built environment leads to sedentary habits and behavior
• How the built environment contributes to poor health outcomes

Step 4: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will explore the characteristics of a specific workforce or organization and discuss the need for workplace wellness.

Step 1. Reflect

Think of your current institution (either your university or work environment) or any institution you have access to. Examine the demographic and characteristic components of your selected institution. Reflect on the following:

• Population 
• Age
• Education levels
• Ethnicity
• Others

Step 2. Fill-in 

Use this needs assessment template or any other template of your preference. Then, fill it in with necessary information based on your current knowledge about your institution. For this assignment, you can fill in the template yourself. Optionally, you can ask one or more staff members to fill it in for you.

This is not a comprehensive exercise, but it will help you practice how to perform a needs assessment.

Step 3. Respond

Write a 300-600 word post that explains the results of your needs assessment as well as other recommendations and potential solutions to address the needs of your institution based on its current demographics.

Step 4: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will reflect on the best practices to promote workplace wellness to address workplace conflict.

Step 1. Review

Review the learning resources for this lesson, especially some of the best practices used to promote workplace wellness.

Step 2. Study

Study the case scenario below:

For the last quarter, the middle-management managers of different divisions of an advertising company have reported cases of disruptive behavior observed from some of the employees. This disruptive behavior includes unnecessary shouting and unreasonable offensive and demeaning remarks. One reported incident was an employee demanding rudely in a loud voice that they drop whatever they were working on and help him with his project. Another report involves employees asking a female supervisor for advice on a topic in her area of expertise, where she responded quite rudely, telling them to use their common sense. As the learning and development manager, you are asked to design a training program to address workplace conflict. 

Step 3. Reflect

Reflect on some of the best practices that can be adopted in designing a training program tailored to fit the needs of the workplace described in the scenario. Reflect on their significance to program planning.

Step 4. Respond

Respond by writing a 200-600 word reflective essay that addresses the following questions:

• Which best practices from other successful programs can be adopted to solve the workplace problem?
• How can these practices be adapted to the specific workplace dynamics described in the scenario?
• Aside from the existing practices, what other strategies and opportunities can be implemented in designing a training program to address the problem?
• How significant are these practices in planning the training program?

Step 5: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 6: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will study the different types of workplace wellness programs and explain how branding and communication strategies can be applied for each.

Step 1. Examine

Examine these different types of workplace wellness programs:

• Smoking cessation program - consists of lifestyle coaching, as well as pharmacological assistance, to their team members to help employees quit smoking.
• Healthy eating program - this includes extended fitness lunch to team members - enough time to play a sport, hit the gym, or head home for a healthy homemade lunch.
• Transit program - encouraging alternative methods of transportation, such as bike-sharing or public transit incentives, by reimbursing employees for their transit passes.
• Wellness adventure program - optional wellness adventures for employees with the goal of getting away from their desks for a little while. This includes a one-hour golf lesson or even laser tag. The wellness adventures are kept broad to appeal to a wide range of people and, most importantly, are focused on having fun.

Step 2. Reflect

Reflect on branding and communication strategies that can be used to improve engagement for each workplace wellness program in Step 1. More specifically, reflect on the following aspects:

• The type of branding and communication strategies suitable for the workplace wellness program
• The importance of branding and communication strategies to improve the outcome for each of the workplace wellness programs
• Best practices to implement these strategies to improve each workplace wellness program

Step 3. Respond

Respond by writing a 200-600 word discussion post that addresses all of the bulleted points in Step 2.

Step 4: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will select a workplace wellness program and discuss how available tools can be used to evaluate its success.

Step 1. Review

Review the learning resources for this lesson.

Step 2. Research and Analyze

Research a sample workplace wellness program. Gather as much information as possible for the selected program, i.e., type of audience, target goals, intervention and strategies used, and outcomes. Analyze all the data collected.

Step 3. Select

After analyzing the data collected, select the appropriate tool from those described in this lesson’s learning resources that can be used to evaluate the program’s success and report the evaluation findings.

Step 4. Discuss

Discuss how the selected evaluation tool can be used to:

• Provide a clear and meaningful picture of participation and engagement
• Identify the quality of the program, the participant’s experience, what aspects of the program were effective and possible areas for improvement
• Assess for change in attitudes and intent to change behavior 
• Report specific evaluation findings 

Step 5. Respond

Respond by writing a 300-700 word discussion post that addresses all the bulleted points in Step 4.

Step 6: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 7: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”

In this activity, you will propose a workplace wellness plan for an individual based on the case scenario.

Step 1. Study 

Examine and study this case scenario:

Joey is an architect in a large architectural firm. Not long after he was recruited, he became unwell, suffering from depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, particularly when he was asked to work at locations other than the office. His performance was unsatisfactory. He was noticed to have strange and inconsistent behavior. His assistant eventually reported to management that Joey had been regularly drinking coffee spiked with alcohol. Joey’s supervisor and the HR manager decided to have a dialogue with Joey, to which Joey confessed that this was his coping mechanism for his anxiety. The supervisor and the HR manager have become aware of the situation but are unsure how to handle it. As such, they’ve allowed Joey to continue with this working pattern. They are seeking your help as a medical professional. 

Step 2. Analyze

Analyze the case scenario above. Reflect on the potential strategies, actions, and policies that can be applied to manage Joey’s situation. 

Step 3. Respond

Write a 200-500 word workplace wellness plan for Joey. Include the following points in your plan:

• The problem/s
• Target goals that are aligned with the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-limited)
• Interventions, strategies, policies that are applicable to the company, the employee, and the employee’s support networks
• Possible challenges that may impede the achievement of the target goals
• Other recommendations

Step 4: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to the forum.”