Wellness Program Ideas -  Safety and Wellness.

Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of worker safety and injury prevention. Wellness activities are a natural partner to many other HR, worker motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which may  be coordinated together.

• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains -  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of medical insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Wellness and safety efforts can focus on -

• Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they may begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

• the wellness committee may consider contracting a fitness professional to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for worker groups throughout the year.

• Offer body mechanics training on an annual basis or more frequently if possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

• Partner with your corporation’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which may help staff members work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Make certain to encourage employees to report safety and/or injury concerns. Make certain to help management to establish policy to recognize and reward employees who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

• Partner with management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

• the ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These individuals can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

• It’s often more effective to have an observer evaluate staff members for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it is for individuals to assess themselves.

• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make large comfort changes.

• Partner with the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to help develop ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.