October 7, 2008

The Wellness Committee

Wayne Glowac

All the talk about company wellness programs has finally reached our agency, and WAVE officially has a “Wellness Committee.” So, I thought I’d share some of the things they are busy organizing to promote healthy lifestyles for our staff:

- One person on the committee send out a wellness e-mail each week focusing on “move, eat, think” healthy. It has healthy recipes, workout tips and fun activities to do, and some food-for-thought.

- Group activities: Each week the agency is scheduled to go on a group walk, and then meditate together afterwards. We also have group yoga on the schedule for later in September, which should be interesting!

- The committee asked everyone to bring in any exercise videos they don’t regularly use and are creating a “library” to share them all.

- Food: The agency now has regular “healthy lunch days” where we either each bring something to share, or are encouraged to make our own healthy lunch individually. The new rules don’t let us bring in cookies or sweets anymore as treats, only healthy foods. And, the team is coordinating a binder with area restaurants and highlighting which menu options are healthy, for going out to eat.

- Exercise: Group workouts aren’t exactly on the agenda, but the team organized a “pedometer challenge” to encourage the staff to walk 10,000 steps per day. Each week, whoever improved the most from the previous week gets a prize, such as a massage or an hour to sleep-in before coming to work. The committee also researched area fitness centers and negotiated corporate rates for anyone interested in joining a gym.

All of this just started in August, so hopefully I will report back in a month or so with some positive results!

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