8 Chapter 8: WELLNESS AND RECRATIONAL PROGRAMS

Learning Objectives

*Understand the components of a health promotion program

*Understand the trend of health promotion

*Understand the role of health assessment in the development of fitness programs

*Understand the program planning and scheduling for recreation programs

*Understand the diversity of fitness and recreational programming

Introduction

The interest of fitness has gone from a fad to a trend since 1970s-1980s. Despite only about 20% of the Americans exercise regularly (with a minimum of 30 minutes in length at a light to moderate intensity for at least five times per week), all adults realize regular exercise is essential for their health and fitness. Unlike fitness, health promotion programming in corporate sector is a relatively new concept. Toady’s employees are much interested in involving in physical activities to change their appearance and monitoring a healthy life style. The health promotion is also uniquely dynamic, due to different needs and interests between men and women. More importantly, the escalating cost of employees’ health care and productivity loss due to the absenteeism and illness have caused the employers to re-evaluate the importance of employee wellness programs and invest more in those programs.

In 1940, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as the “state of complete physical, emotional, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (Sawyer, 2001, p. 251). The implementation of employee wellness and recreation programs is about getting employees feel good and be more productive and energized for their work. More and more companies are offering benefits for employees to stay well and health. The employee wellness programs can also promote the concept of medical self-care. When employees acquire health knowledge and ability to perform medical self-assessment and monitor potential risks and symptoms, they will have far less doctor visits and absenteeism due to sickness. Thus, there is mounting evidence that employee wellness programs are extremely cost effective. Long-term savings achieved from a wellness program would exceed its cost.

Gaining Management Support for the Programs

The Current Health Condition of the Workforce

There are a few approaches and mounting amount of statistics to convince the employers that implementing a wellness program is a good long-term investment. First, there are many alarming facts to warn us that the US workers are not in good physical condition and are in great risk of chronical illness and cardiovascular disease. According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past two decades. More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese (with a body mass index value, BMI, greater than 30). The highest rate of obesity (39.5%) was found among middle age adults (40-59 years old). Global-wise, the number of obese people has increased six-fold in last forty years (Time, 2013). Yet, the US has 12% more obese population than Russia and France. Our obese population is nearly 10 times of obese Japanese (Time, 2013). It is documented that obesity is related to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

The increasing rate of obesity also trigger the increase of health care cost. Healthcare costs in the United States doubled between 1990 and 2001 (Sawyer, 2001). They were double again prior to 2012. In 2008, the estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion. From 1990s to 2009, the adult obesity rose as high as 80%. For every 1% in BMI (body mass index), a person’s healthcare costs increase by $120 on average. (www.wellnessproposals.com/work-site 2009)The medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. According to Andreyeva, Luedicke, and Wang (2014), obesity-attributable absenteeism among American workers costs the nation an estimated $8.65 billion per year.

Table 1. Oversize Americans–High states with highest obesity rates

Benefits of a Health and Wellness Program

Numerous sources have documented the benefits of implement an employee wellness program (Sawyer, 2001). Here is a summary list of those mentioned benefits.

• Reduce healthcare costs;
• Decrease rates of illness and injuries;
• Reduce employee absenteeism (19% reduction in absenteeism) and work-related stress;
• Improve employee relations and morale;
• Increase productivity;
• Enhance recruitment and retention of healthy employees;
• Build teamwork; and
• Foster positive work attitude.

An Employee Health Promotion and Wellness Program Is a Must

Based on a survey of corporate America, about 82% of America’s business (over 50 employees) have some form of health promotion program. For most firms, 18 months is the turning point which workers’ improved health begins to cancel out the cost of sponsoring and administering the company’s wellness program. The health promotion and wellness programs are worth the cost. Recent research has shown that companies with employee wellness programs have a $3 return for every $1 spent. The primary savings come from lowers employee insurance rates.

In addition, companies can reward employees who participate in wellness programs and have satisfactory health assessments after 2014, according to the Affordable Care Act of 2010. If employees do not participate in the program or have an unsatisfactory health assessment, then as a result, companies can charge higher health coverage premiums for those individuals.

Implementing an Employee Health Promotion and Wellness Program

Program planners should make a case for a wellness program in the company. Statistics indicate that 53% of Americans who live in the city exercise three or more times per week. So it is likely the employees who live in cities are more willing to participate in the programs and engage in physical activities. Be sure to convince the management team that better employee health and job satisfaction really affect employees’ productivity. The program planning team must learn to know the enemies (i.e., individuals who may lack of interests or oppose to the ideas) and constraints (i.e., budget, location. and time). The employers must commit time, effort, and funds to make the programs work.

Making a successful wellness program is not easy. It takes perseverance to achieve the desired goals. Managers and leaders cannot just talk about the availability of the programs. They need to get employees involved and show them how to make moves to get the wellness program going. For examples, leader teams must create a mental picture, mission, and outcomes of the wellness program and educate the concepts and ideas to employees. Therefore, maintaining strong workplace wellness program communications is essential. Employers and leaders need to identify incentives and reward strategies for the wellness program to motivate employees. They must develop realistic workplace wellness program expectations and integrate workplace wellness with other benefits. They can also help organize a wellness program team and conduct a survey to learn the interests and desires of employees. (What are right programs to implement?) In most cases, the wellness programs adopt an open-door policy that allows the employees to join freely. If an onsite wellness center is planned, the organization certainly need to develop a comprehensive and strategic wellness program plan. On top of the program contents and employee participation, management, operation, and finance of the facility will be the most critical issues to be considered. The company usually need an outside firm to consult with those matters.

Employees need to see that employers and mangers believe in the wellness programs, and are obligated to their health. They will follow actions not what is told. So it may be important for the leaders and managers to practice what they have preached by involving in the programs personally. They can be a great role model by being actively engaging in physical activities and training sessions and interacting with their employees. It may cost up to a million to several tens of million dollars to build a state of the art wellness center. If in-house wellness programs are offered to the employees, there should be trained personnel taking care of fitness assessment and exercise prescription for participatory employees. When the organization decide to implement an onsite wellness center or facility, it would need a thorough wellness center blueprint. If the leadership decide to choose this route, then the company and management team will need to evaluate convenience, accessibility, and costs. A wide variety of employee wellness programs can be offered to the employees at low cost to the organization. Many organizations would subsidize the membership cost or provide free gym membership for their employees to use contracted offsite services (Gannon, 2008). Sometimes, the programs may need to be operated based on the employees’ expense, then reimbursed upon proof of attendance. A major obstacle in any wellness programs is the concern of confidentiality. When health assessments are done and collected, employees may worry if their supervisor will terminate them due to existing medical condition (or illness) or fear of driving health care coverage too high. Employees may not feel comfortable about employers monitoring the frequencies of engaging exercise or involvement of the programs, either. Here is a list of references that is useful for organizations decide to implement a wellness facility or program in-house or outsource the services to an offsite fitness agency.

*www.Fitnessusa.com

*www.Humana.com

*www.wellness-junction.com

*http://nikeinc.com/pages/benefits

*http://www.24hourfitness.com/membership/

*www.wellnessproposals.com

Contents of Health Promotion and Wellness Programs

Fitness can be simply viewed as general capacity to meet the ordinary and unusual physical demands of daily life. It can also be described as the ability to exercise safely and effectively without being overly fatigued. Typically, there are two categories of physical fitness, health-related fitness and motor skill-related fitness. Table 2 illustrates the common components under each of the fitness category.

Table 2. Physical Fitness Categories and Components

The first step of fitness assessment for the employee wellness program is to determine an employee’s readiness to participate. A simple tool that can be used to achieve that assessment is Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). The questionnaire addresses seven specific questions. A potential participant is requested to respond to any medical history related to issues such as (1) heart trouble, (2) chest pain, (3) dizziness, (4) blood pressure, (5) joint problem, (6) any good reasons not to exercise, and (7) if the age is over 65 year-old. The participatory employees of a wellness program can consult with a fitness trainer or specialists about their medical history and select the appropriate exercises or activities to engage. When the organization decides to operate an in-house wellness center or facility, certified trainers and technicians will also be hired to assist in prescribing employees’ individual program. Workshops and seminars should be given to educate and motivate employees about the benefits and methods of staying fit and living a healthy lifestyle. Readers can refer to Table 3 for ideas that encourage employees to be healthy and live an active lifestyle.

Table 3. Ideas for Encouraging Employees to Be Healthy

Health risk assessments can provide useful information for either clinical or non-clinical purposes. There are four types or health assessments commonly utilized in screening participants in a health program.

(1) General assessment attempts to identify medical, family, social histories as well as lifestyle habits. Frequently obtained the information may cover: height, weight, blood pressure, heart rates, body mass index, body composition (percentage of body fat), blood sugar level, and cholesterol.

(2) Fitness assessment include aerobic capacity, muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, and body composition as well.

(3) Nutritional assessment examines the amount and types of food intake and eating patterns.

(4) Stress assessment detects the level of emotional stress and uncovers the conscious and unconscious barriers.

Trends in Health Promotion

Employees’ demographics, current health care policies, and social trends all impact the types of programs needed for health promotion and wellness. The trends should be closely examined in order to satisfy the needs of employees with a diverse background. During the implementation stage, it would be easily for people to overly emphasize physical fitness or sport-related physical activities. Today’s hectic lifestyles and enormous work pressure severely hinder the employees’ mental health. As high as 25% of population shows the symptom of depression and anxiety, and 5.3% are diagnosed with actual problems (Mental Health Foundation, 2016). About one-third of 20 and above population experience no patience, agitation, short temper and concentration, inadequate sleep (Levit, 2017). It is also noted that the rate of early onset Alzheimer’s disease is rising among working professionals (Oaklander, 2016). Substance abuse is not just an epidemic health issue within our nation, it is pervasive at the workplace as well.  About 69% of drug users are actually employed workers (Drugabuse.com, 2018). Evidently, the emotional and mental health is an area that we cannot simply overlook while addressing the wellbeing and health concerns of employees (Estes, 2018). They are also agencies located in metropolitan areas that can provide services to help individuals take control of their health and manage disease (Heflin, 2018). The organizations can definitely partner with these agencies to benefit their employees.

Many popular special programs (other than general fitness exercises and programs) offered by corporate America include:

• Yoga
• Pilate
• Cross-fit training
• Spa and massage
• Relaxation workshops
• Smoking cessation (Tobacco-free challenge)
• Stress reduction
• Substance abuse
• Weight reduction/management (pedometer step challenges, weight-loss support group, & company sports teams)
• Disease management through annual screenings
• Conflict resolution
• Time management
• Weight watcher or biggest losers (in body weight)
• Wellness Bingo (with certain incentives and rewards to reinforce actions for completing tasks)

Lastly, here are a few tips for all individuals to maintain good fitness and healthy mind. These simple lifestyle changes can also help protect one’s brain from dementia (Oaklander, 2016).

(1) Be sure to shore up by eating vegetables and cut down intake of sodium and trans-fat items;

(2) Emphasize exercise;

(3) Learn new things constantly and keep the brain working;

(4) Be social to keep a happy mood;

(5) Treat depression early; and

(6) Maintain adequate amount of good quality sleep.

Employee Recreation Programs

To a lot of physical active individuals or sports lovers, various sports activities many be viewed as the definition of recreation activities. In fact, the scope of recreation activities certainly goes beyond sports games and competitions. Recreation has been viewed as an escape from daily routines. The employee recreation programs are regularly schedule or one-time activities or events that allow all employees to participate in a task and work on a common goal other than their work responsibilities (Sawyer, 2001). They are stress reducing activities for all ages and all kinds of employees. If done correctly, these activities may also complement the employees’ job skills as well (Sawyer, 2001). Planners of the programs also need to seek support from top management to secure financial and structural stability of the programs. Recreation programs would try to achieve the similar goals as the wellness programs intend to accomplish. Surveys have revealed that sport activities and field trips are considered top choices for besting bonding activities for co-workers (Harper, 2012). If the organization’s CEO has strong passion for sports and believe in teamwork, it would easier to introduce sport-related activities and organize regular competitions or tournaments as part of the organization’s culture. Remind the employers and managers about the values of recreation programs, such as improving morale and productivity and reducing turnover. It is likely the organization’s main competitors are running these kinds of programs as well, so the organization cannot be left behind. In the following paragraphs, the authors will address the a few main objectives related to recreation programs: (1) the importance of planning, (2) scheduling concepts, (3) selection of tournament formats, and (4) the variety of programs.

Planning of Recreation Programs

Like the wellness programs, in order to develop successful recreation programs, all of the activities must have clear goals and design, and meet the needs of participants. In terms of the main components of planning, planning of recreation programs covers managerial responsibilities in three key components: (1) selecting management personnel to prepare for programs (activities or events), (2) recruiting and training staff members to operate the programs, and (3) recruiting and organizing participants to utilize the programs. Therefore, leadership identification is a top priority in the planning process. There must be individuals who are willing to contribute their expertise, knowledge and time to serve as management personnel and staff members to design and direct the programs. Leaders will need to identify these willing individuals and work with them to establish the programs. Otherwise, the organization may need to search for expertise and manpower from external agencies.

Types of Recreation Activities and Events

Examples of popular recreation activities include:

• Sport programs– Team sports (basketball, flag football, softball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, etc.) and individual sports (jogging, bowling, archery, skating, badminton, tennis, golf, table tennis, billiards, etc.)
• Social programs and Family fun events—parties, barbeques, Karaoke nights, movies, concerts, theme parks, and picnics
• Outdoor adventure (Reuben, 2019)—rope courses, camping, hiking, backpacking, paintball, rock climbing, horseback riding, biking, fishing, whitewater rafting, canoeing, skeet shooting, and more
• Cultural programs—trip to theatre, museum, zoo, musical and ice shows, dance
• Summer camps for youth and adults
• Various activities for groups with special interests, such as: art, painting, chorus/band, crafts, gardening, chess, video gaming, photography, and more

Final Reminders and Additional Concerns

Since the programming process involve collaboration and management of different groups of members (management personnel, staff, and participants), the organization must provide workshops and training to help all groups execute the events and activities smoothly. Special concerns must be given to the nature of the activities and program needs, such as volunteers and staff, facility, and equipment. Scheduling of the events or activities usually are completed based on four patterns, (1) seasons (fall, winter, spring and summer), (2) blocks of time (lasting for days or weeks), (3) monthly or weekly, and (4) daily time period (early morning, after work, or evening, etc.). The most common formats for tournament operations include, single elimination, double elimination, round robin, and extended. The event planners can utilize tournament builder software programs to design the tournament schedule. Single elimination is an easy way to accommodate a large number of entries. However, if the participants are charged with a fee for playing, this format is not ideal because the participants can exit quickly. The round robin tournament is best used for league play when standings are of importance. This format guarantees the participants to play at least certain amount of games and allow them to interact with more members of opposing teams. The double elimination format is usually more complex and put a lot stress on the losing bracket for achieving to the top status.

Planners must remember the essence of recreation and leisure programs is to provide enjoyment for different age groups, different interests, and various levels of activity skills. The activities should meet the needs of a wide range of participants. So they should be appealing and attractive to the thrill seeker, as well as the sedentary couch potato.

Conclusions

There are some unique concerns when employees engaging their own leisure activities or participated in organized recreation activities. Sports tournaments can turn out to competitive and dangerous. Be sure the weekend warriors don’t exacerbate themselves by trying too hard and injure themselves. This will defeat the purpose of promoting a healthy living. The game officials have an important job to keep players emotionally calm and don’t hold grudge against each other after the game. The advancement and convenience of internet technology make participating in fantasy sports, gaming, and even online gambling so easy for employees. Managers and leaders need to find delicate balance in monitoring employees’ use of time and productivity and not intrusively invading their privacy. It is vital to prevent the possibility of employees getting addicted in viewing pornographies and engaging in social media excessively during the work hours while using the companies’ resources. The scary part is that only 20% of men and 35% of women think it is illegal to do so (Time, 2015; Vol. 187, No. 14). The use of cyber-technology for pleasuring seeking certainly has a lot of risk involved. There should be appropriate policies and regulations to address potential pitfalls of inappropriate conducts.

Quiz Questions

Q1. ______ is the best format used for league play and when standings are of importance.

1. The round robin tournament
2. Double elimination
3. Single elimination
4. None of the above

Q2. Youth sport programs, parties during key holidays, and summer picnics are examples of:

1. Age group programs
2. Sport programs
3. Family programs
4. Adventure programs

Q3. _______ developed a comprehensive definition of health in the 1940s, describing health as the “state of complete physical, emotional, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

1. The Surgeon General
2. ACSM
3. AAHPERD
4. World Health Organization

Q4. Employees involved in the NASA fitness program had significantly more positive attitudes toward work and less job stress. True/False

Q5. According to the survey of Health Enhancement Systems, the number one health and lifestyle interest is:

1. self-care
2. exercise more
3. eating healthier foods
4. financial planning

Q6. What is the third step for motivating employees to participate in a wellness program?

1. Informing employees about diet and nutrition
2. Awareness and education
3. Encouraging a lifestyle change
4. All of the above

Q7. Which of the following is a common tool to determine an individual’s readiness for physical activity?

1. VO2max
2. PAR-Q
3. RPE
4. EKG

Q8. Which type of the following assessments tests aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and flexibility?

1. General health assessment
2. Fitness assessment
3. Stress assessment
4. Nutritional assessment

Q9. Popular special wellness program may include:

1. Stress reduction
2. Smoking Cessation
3. Disease management
4. All of the above

Q10. The major obstacle in any wellness program is the matter of confidentiality. True/False

Brainstorming Activity

Fathead State University Athletic Department employs 85 full-time employees including administrators, staffs, and coaches of all ages ranging from 24 to 65. The administrators and staff will easily work over 50 hours per week to cover their required duties and assigned athletic events. Sport coaches also work in a quite inconsistent schedule during the season and off-season that is filled with tasks such as traveling, scouting, film analyzing, practicing, and community engaging works. As the athletic director of the department, you sense that your employees are quite stressed out and not dinning properly (with some members visibly gaining significant weights). What types of actions would you take to enhance the wellbeing of your employees?

Suggested Answers: (1) monitor coaches’ workload and schedules, (2) allow time break, (3) offer healthy food, (4) encourage coaches to use wellness and recreation program, and (5) more.

Useful websites and References

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/coaches-health-keys-for-sleep-exercise-and-mental-health/

https://learn.truesport.org/why-the-best-coaches-leaders-are-fit/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-things-you-can-do-to-keep-your-employees-healthy_b_14148212

https://www.bbfp.com.au/latest-articles/how-exercise-improves-productivity-and-your-brain-function#:~:text=Increased%20productivity%20is%20noticeable%20within,at%20all%20tasks%20in%20life.

https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/exercise-increases-productivity/

https://hbr.org/2014/10/regular-exercise-is-part-of-your-job

Johansson, A. (2018). 5 things you can do to keep your employees healthy. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-things-you-can-do-to-keep-your-employees-healthy_b_14148212

Onate, J. (2016). Coaches’ health: Keys for sleep, exercise and mental health.  https://www.nfhs.org/articles/coaches-health-keys-for-sleep-exercise-and-mental-health/

Dhora, M. (2017, February 27). 9 Ways employees can stay healthy at work. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/282351#:~:text=9%20Ways%20Employees%20Can%20Stay%20Healthy%20at%20Work,get%20to%20us%20from%20time%20to%20time.%20

References

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Harper, J. (2012). The 5 best bonding outings for co-workers.          http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2012/08/23/the-5-best-bonding-outings-         for-co-workers?page=2

Heflin, J. (2018). Program helps Kentuckians take control of health and manage disease.  https://www.lanereport.com/103169/2018/07/program-helps-kentuckians-take-control-of-health-and-manage-disease/?utm_source=Faster%20Lane%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=

KEAS (2013). The ten commandments of the employee wellness. https://www.slideshare.net/keashealth/keas-10commandments-16658183

Levit, A. (2017). France is forcing its employees to power down: will it work?  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/france-forcing-its-employees-power-down-work-alexandra-levit?midToken=AQFvzeMLA3mrwg&fromEmail=fromEmail

Mental Health Foundation. (2016). Fundamental facts about mental health 2016. Mental Health Foundation: London.

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