Company Wellness in Bellingham

Small businesses in Bellingham are starting to catch on that providing ‘fitness & yoga at work’ really means something to their employees. A handful of businesses in Whatcom County already have some form of Wellness built into their company structure, but the trend is likely to increase in the very near future. A recent article from the American Council on Exercise reported that Obama’s new health care reform legislation will allow small businesses to apply for grants to cover up to 50% of their incurred costs of employee wellness. This is a huge step forward for businesses, employees and wellness consultants (like myself).

Yoga helps prevent low back pain through exercises like these.

Some organizations in Whatcom County who provide a Wellness program to employees are: British Petroleum in Blaine, Western Washington University (I helped start that one in 2007), ALCOA, Trident Seafoods, Marlys Bourm CPA, ValuPak and others. If you have a business who is offering some form of employee wellness at your workplace, please comment below! You deserve credit for being ahead of the curve.

Employee Wellness Programs come in all shapes and sizes depending on the amount of funding available, the employee demographic, the company culture, the wellness program structure, etc. Typically, large corporations are interested in saving money on their health insurance premiums by implementing some form of prevention program through wellness. They often have employees complete a health risk analysis (HRA), which helps categorize high risk employees. A really pro-active company may then provide a financial incentive for those folks who take it upon themselves to improve their health, specifically by improving BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels (an indicator of type II diabetes). Other companies will have a weight loss challenge once a year or have an occasional wellness seminar to help employees learn healthy habits. The cheapest and most effective way to improve employee health is through improved nutrition and proper exercise – but everyone knows that already, right? So the next question is how do we get those two vital things into the company culture?

One of the most important ways that you can  improve your employees’ health is by providing an actual fitness class as part of their work day. Even if it is just yoga twice a week, you know that they are actually participating in the activity and getting the benefits of it. Another option is to hire a wellness consultant (like myself) who can help you structure a program that fits your company’s needs. As a personal trainer and wellness consultant, I often provide fitness assessments and wellness plans for corporate clients.

Corporate Wellness is really making headway because it is such a win-win solution for both employees and business owners. Employees feel more valued, the get an outlet for stress, they get a workout in without having to take away from their personal time and it helps keep their body healthy. Business owners can benefit with increased employee productivity, boosted employee morale, decreased absenteeism and a more sustainable business model. If you would like to learn more about corporate wellness in a free consultation, please don’t hesitate to call Summer at (360)927-2710 or contact her via email. She has a very strong background in corporate wellness, and another great resource is WELCOA (Wellness Councils of America).