A healthy work environment is valued by employees – so does one insurer receiving an award for a second year in a row mean that the industry is creating a happy, healthy environment?
The Waterloo Region Healthy Workplace Awards were handed out recently, and Economical Insurance were recognized for their “strong commitment to improving the health and wellness” of their employees for a second year running.
A large part of taking gold can be attributed to the company’s wellness challenge, says Jennifer Allan, vice-president, human resources programs, with Economical.
“Our theme for this wellness challenge was Mind, Body and Soul,” says Allan. “This made it accessible for all employees and ensured that all components of personal health and wellness were captured and recognized.”
The fifth annual fall team wellness challenge included 1,574 employee participants, accounting for 82 per cent of the company’s workforce.
Employees were invited to form teams of five to 10 players and earn points by engaging in physical activity, healthy eating behaviours and stress-relieving activities. Participants were required to log a minimum of 20 minutes of physical activity per day in a comprehensive tracking database in order to earn additional bonus points.
Targeted behaviours were selected based on our biometric screening clinic results from 2012 and the main risk factors related to body composition metrics identified during the clinics.
“We had an incredible response,” says Allan. “Participants logged a total of 812,314 minutes of physical activity during the four-week challenge. They consumed 65,948 glasses of water, 112,203 servings of fruits and vegetables, and participated in 18,042 stress-buster activities!”
In a survey after the challenge, she says, 77 per cent of participants indicated they are now following Health Canada guidelines for exercise, compared to 67 per cent before the challenge began; with 91 of respondents indicated the challenge and the resources helped them achieve their goals.
