Recognize Employee’s Health and Fitness on May 16

If you love your job and love what you do, you’re going to be happier. It makes sense, doesn’t it? But how can employers motivate the unmotivated, and keep the motivated going in the right direction? With good individual health awareness and a workplace that cares about employee health, many companies are seeing positive changes happening.

Per the Centers for Disease Control, Workplace Health Programs “are a coordinated and comprehensive set of health promotion and protection strategies implemented at the worksite that includes programs, policies, benefits, environmental supports, and links to the surrounding community designed to encourage the health and safety of all employees.”

When Workplace Health Programs first came to be, many only focused on quitting smoking or weight loss. Now you see much more emphasis on worker engagement, and programs that go beyond just the physical part of health. Alan Kohll at Forbes says wellness goals and career development are being combined to create a more positive work environment and more successful employees.

By shifting the focus to include collective well-being, it will help keep current workers happy and draw new talent. It is also important to note that workplace health and wellness isn’t a one size fits all answer. Alan at Forbes goes on to say that, “wellness initiatives that are important

to one employee might not be as important to another. Every employee’s journey to a healthier life is unique, and it should be treated as such.”

The American Heart Association also reviewed the benefits of Workplace Health Programs and how it can help total health and cut cardiovascular risk. Per the American Heart Association, “experience has shown that workplace wellness programs are an important strategy to prevent the major shared risk factors for CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) and stroke, including cigarette smoking, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, physical inactivity, and diabetes. An estimated 25 to 30 percent of companies’ health care costs per year are spent on employees with the major risk factors listed above.”

Start positive health changes in the workplace by having your company take part in National Employee Health and Fitness Day on May 16. Sheboygan County has been participating in National Employee Health and Fitness Day for more than 20 years.


Join us in recognizing it by taking part in at least 20 minutes of physical activity! More information can be found at : nationalemployeehealthandfitnessday 2018.com/sign_up Christine Nitsch is the healthy living director at the Sheboygan County YMCA and a member of the Sheboygan County Activity and Nutrition Coalition.