BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM WORKPLACE WELLNESS

National Employee Health and Fitness Day Set for May 19

(FORT WORTH) —The Small Business Wellness Initiative encourages area businesses to do something beneficial for employees and for their bottom line on May 19—National Employee Health and Fitness Day.

Always the third Wednesday in May, National Employee Health and Fitness Day celebrates the importance of a healthy workplace. Studies have shown that businesses that promote wellness in the workplace not only benefit from a healthier workforce, but they also benefit from enhanced recruitment and retention of employees, improved health care costs, decreased rates of illness and injuries and reduced employee absenteeism.

“Employee health and wellness can have a significant impact on a business' bottom line,” says SBWI project director Kelly Heath . “Workplace wellness is an avenue that any size business cannot afford to ignore.”

Whether a business has 5 or 500 employees, there are many ways to promote National Employee Health and Fitness Day. The Small Business Wellness Initiative offers several suggestions for any size business to promote health and fitness in the workplace:

• Host a health brown bag or lunch ‘n learn workshop
• Offer a stress management training or workshop
• Sponsor free health screenings (i.e. high blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose)
• Promote health and fitness in your employee newsletters or check stubs
• Collaborate with community organizations to offer health programs or services
• Implement a workplace wellness or exercise program
• Provide and promote an employee assistance program (EAP)
• Host an on-site wellness or health fair
• Offer smoking cessation programs to employees
• Support healthy choices through catering at meetings and vending machines

The Small Business Wellness Initiative offers a variety of brown bag trainings to help a business become a healthier, more productive environment. Training topics include: Active Lifestyle, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Family Connection, Healthy Eating, Managing Stress, Safety and Moderation, Team Building/Communication, Time and Presence. For more information, contact Beth Mivedor at (817) 332-6329 ext. 258.

Businesses interested in learning how wellness programs can affect their bottom line or for additional resources on promoting health and fitness in the workplace, visit www.sbwi.org .

About the Small Business Wellness Initiative

The Small Business Wellness Initiative is a community collaborative project funded by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of the Small Business Wellness Initiative is to enhance the health, productivity and quality of work life for small business leaders, their employees and their communities. Community partners include Tarrant Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, the North Texas Small Business Development Center and Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems.

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