For thirty years, businesses in Nebraska have been engaging in this evidence-based strategy to establish comprehensive worksite wellness efforts that help to enhance the health behaviors and reduce the burden of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and associated risk factors of all employees. The increasing cost of health insurance has reduced the profitability of businesses. To reduce the burden of higher costs and improve the health and productivity of their workers, many businesses have implemented employee wellness programs. Worksite Wellness focus on creating an organizational culture of wellness that improves productivity, changes health behaviors and reduces absenteeism. It also focuses on the implementation of policy and environmental changes that have broad impact across the worksite. Nebraska businesses have been the leaders in worksite wellness for years and have received national awards. Many businesses have been recognized by the former Governor Dave Heineman with the Nebraska Wellness Award.

Nebraskans spend an average of nearly nine hours a day at work—more awake hours than any other place. With increasing costs related to health care, workers compensation, turnover and productivity, employers are reaching for sustainable solutions to manage a growing workforce. Since employees are an organization’s greatest asset, and much of the financial burden lands on the employers, it makes good business sense to strive to develop a worksite environment that helps employees to stay or become healthy. Creating a worksite wellness program is a wise investment for the organization that will yield long-term dividends. These benefits are not only monetary but also relate to the quality of life for employees, their families, the organization and ultimately, the community.

An increase in chronic health conditions among employees can have a profound impact on the productivity and profitability of a business. However, measures that promote healthy employees can help reduce health care costs, increase productivity and decrease absenteeism, and ultimately contribute to the growth of their industry. The promotion of healthy lifestyles among employees can be achieved through implementation of policy and environmental interventions, such as improving access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities, providing a tobacco-free environment, promoting employee safety, and providing programs such as health screenings/assessments, health insurance and educational opportunities for employees.

• Twenty percent (20%) of worksites had a health promotion or wellness committee and a coordinator that was responsible for employee health promotion or wellness.
• Among health issues which employers noted as having a negative impact on the worksite, stress was listed as the top issue, affecting more than half of the worksites. The next two commonly reported issues were obesity and lack of physical activity/exercise/fitness among employees.
• Almost seventy-five percent (75%) of worksites reported in 2013 that they provided health insurance for employees and of those, more than seventy-five percent had a plan that covered general health and physical screening every year at low or no cost to the employee.
• Blood pressure checks were the most common type of screening and health assessment offered to employees in 2013 and fourteen percent (14%) of worksites had permanent on-site access for an employee to check their blood pressure.
• In 2013, slightly more than a quarter of worksites (27%) had adopted a smoke-free policy for their entire worksite campus. Among worksites which do not have an entirely smoke-free campus, seventy-one percent (71%) had restricted smoking allowing it only in certain places and just over half prohibited it within a certain distance from the entrance of the building.
• Less than twenty percent of worksites had policies or guidelines that encourage healthful food options to be served at staff meetings or company-sponsored events (19% and 17%, respectively).
• Thirty-nine percent (39%) of worksites provided a private, secure lactation room on-site that is not a bathroom and eighteen percent (18%) of worksites had a written policy supporting breastfeeding.
• Almost fifteen percent (15%) of worksites have one or more designated walking routes though only three percent (3%) utilized signage to promote the use of walking routes.
• Fifty percent (50%) of worksites had a policy that prohibited talking on cellular phones while driving a vehicle on duty, an increase from forty-two percent (42%) in 2010.

Nebraska SHIP Priorities 1 & 2: Nebraskans will have reduced heart disease, stroke and cancer mortality, morbidity and associated risk factors.

This SHIP goal includes several activities that were planned for implementation:

• Develop a statewide strategic approach for worksite wellness programs.
• Develop a worksite wellness toolkit and website.
• Establish a worksite wellness council that meets routinely and hosts a collective impact conference.
• Provide professional development and technical assistance opportunities for local businesses to support worksite wellness programs.

Worksite wellness in Nebraska is grounded in the evidence-based process to implement effective practices to impact the employer from a financial standpoint, improve the health outcomes of individuals and families, and create a culture of wellness within local communities. Businesses who implement the evidence-based process move through a five step approach to build support, assess the data to justify the why, plan an approach the fits the organization, implement effective practices and then evaluate the outcomes to show success.

The Nebraska Worksite Wellness Toolkit is a critical resources that was created to help guide businesses through the evidence-based process. In addition, the Toolkit helps to connect local and state-based partners and resources to assist businesses in this comprehensive approach. Through a training and technical assistance based approach, businesses will be able to create a comprehensive structure to better address chronic diseases and other health-related issues. The evidence-based approach will help to facilitate effective strategies identified through data to implement primary and secondary prevention initiatives that impact the well-being of employers and employees.

To carry on the tradition of effective practices to prevent and control chronic disease, the Nebraska Worksite Wellness Toolkit has been created. Its purpose is to assist businesses that are interested in promoting and implementing worksite wellness programs and policies focused on making it easier for Nebraskans to reach, maintain, and lead healthier lives. The Nebraska Worksite Wellness Toolkit provides a step-by-step process for worksite wellness designed to: build the foundation to support your program, assess needs and interests, plan the objectives you will address, implement activities and policies to help you achieve your objectives, and evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts. Following this guide will help you develop a comprehensive approach with a focus on prevention and wellness resulting in higher productivity, increased employee satisfaction, and greater control over health care costs in your organization.

Learn more at: http://dhhs.ne.gov/publichealth/workplacewellnesst...

Although many businesses promote employee wellness, many businesses lack a comprehensive worksite wellness program. Worksites remain one of the major areas where health promotion and disease prevention interventions can achieve widespread impact. The Nebraska Worksite Wellness Survey was conducted in 2010 to provide information on worksite wellness policies and practices being implemented in businesses across the state. A follow-up survey was sent out in 2013 to determine current worksite wellness policies and practices and also determine what changes have occurred since 2010. This information will help to identify areas of need related to developing a comprehensive worksite wellness program for Nebraska businesses. A total of 582 small businesses, 510 medium businesses and 260 large businesses participated in the 2013 survey. Respondents represent a wide variety of sectors across the state.

WorkWell:

WorkWell is a Nebraska Worksite Wellness Council that is a division of the Nebraska Safety Council. Their purpose is to provide wellness expertise to promote a healthy and productive workforce for their member companies.

Please visit the following website for more information on this partner - http://www.workwell.com/

WELLCOM:

WELLCOM continues its mission of elevating workplace wellness and serves hundreds of employers throughout the Midwest. We offer programs and events in Iowa and Nebraska and have a dedicated leadership team ready to help our members.

Our Mission: WELLCOM partners with employers to deliver wellness programs that impact employee wellbeing and wellness, strengthen the culture and drive business results.

Please visit the following website for more information on this partner - http://www.elevatingwellness.org/

Panhandle Worksite Wellness Council:

Panhandle Worksite Wellness Council is coordinated by Panhandle Public Health District in partnership with Scotts Bluff County Health Department. The council's mission is to build employer capacity to create a culture of wellness for employees through environmental and policy changes by providing evidence-based training, resources, and ongoing health promotion initiatives.

Please visit the following website for more information on this partner - https://panhandleworksitewellnesscouncil.wildapric...

Nebraska Office of the Governor - Governor's Wellness Award:

The Governor’s Wellness Award was created eight years ago to recognize Nebraska employers who dedicate leadership, resources and time to wellness efforts in the workplace. The Governor’s Wellness award process is a rigorous one. Each applicant must provide information in the areas of leadership support, data collection, intervention strategies, communication planning, policy support, and evaluation and health outcomes. The Governor’s Wellness Award has two categories. The Sower Award recognizes workplaces that have established quality wellness programs; the Grower Award takes it to the next level, and honors businesses and organizations demonstrating significant improvement in employee health behaviors.

Nebraska employers can apply for the Governor’s Wellness Award online at www.nebraska.gov/wellness.

Click here to learn more about the 2015 Governor Wellness Award recipients: https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/gov-ricketts-h...