WellSpot Benchmarks for Worksites
Healthy Employees Improve Your Workplace’s Bottom Line
Worksites are where many Louisiana residents spend the majority of their time. Because of this, employers are in the unique position to create a culture of wellness for their staff. By making healthy changes in the workplace, you can make a big impact on your employees’ health. It also benefits your organization because healthy employees are happier, more productive and use fewer sick days.
By implementing changes to improve the health of your employees through our WellSpot Designation program, organizations are equipped to play a role in positively impacting the health of the community. We support Louisiana employers by providing the resources and tools you need to encourage healthy habits like physical activity, healthy eating, stress management and quitting tobacco.
Worksites that meet certain benchmarks can be designated as a Level 1, 2 or 3 WellSpot, with Level 1 being the highest.
Level 3-
Smoke-free policy
-
Three additional benchmarks of choice
- Smoke-free policy
- Three additional benchmarks of choice
Level 2-
Tobacco-free policy
-
Five additional benchmarks of choice
- Tobacco-free policy
- Five additional benchmarks of choice
Level 1-
Tobacco-free policy
-
All benchmarks met
- Tobacco-free policy
- All benchmarks met
Health Standards for Workplaces
Well-Ahead is here to help employers be leaders by becoming a WellSpot. This helps ensure that your employees have a healthy environment to work, which can increase productivity and profits for your company. When you implement these evidence-based benchmarks, you will improve the health of your staff and move Louisiana’s health forward!
You can register to become a WellSpot. Take the assessment to begin.
Because approximately 20 percent of the nation’s adult workforce still smokes cigarettes, Well-Ahead encourages every employer to be a leader in helping Louisiana geaux tobacco free. The first step is implementing our Smoke-Free Policy benchmark. It’s an effective way you can reduce exposure to smoke at your organization and the danger it presents to your staff and volunteers. Meeting the benchmark also helps your company’s financial health through increased productivity, less absenteeism and decreased workplace maintenance costs.
A Smoke-Free Policy prohibits smoking (including the use of electronic smoking devices) on company property, including parking lots and company vehicles. For properties that are leased, the policy must cover 25 feet from each entry point of the business.
By implementing a Tobacco-Free Policy, you can reduce tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure in your workplace and improve the health of your employees.
A Tobacco-Free Policy prohibits the use of all forms of tobacco products on company property, including parking lots and company vehicles. For properties that are leased, the policy must cover 25 feet from each entry point of the business.
By providing your employees with the tools they need to geaux tobacco-free, you are helping communities across the state take a major step forward towards a healthier Louisiana.
Tobacco cessation is a preventive service, and federal guidance suggests the following coverage:
- Four sessions of individual, group and phone counseling
- 90 days of all FDA-approved smoking cessation medications
- Two quit attempts per year
- No prior authorization for treatments
- No cost-sharing
Research has shown that most smokers benefit from using counseling, medications and social support to help quit. To meet this benchmark, you are required, at a minimum, to provide coverage for counseling and smoking cessation medications.
By promoting free cessation services to your employees, you are doing your part to help fight the leading cause of preventable death and the source of many chronic diseases and conditions that cause long-term suffering.
You can promote your in-house cessation programs (if applicable) or the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline. The Quitline is a free cessation resource that links individuals who want to quit using tobacco with trained specialists through phone counseling, web support or both.
Federal law requires employers to provide breastfeeding employees with time and a space to express milk. Implementing this benchmark enables you to comply with this law. It can also lead to savings through the retention of your valued employees, reduction of sick time taken and lower healthcare and insurance costs.
Even better, providing lactation accommodations in the workplace doesn’t require many resources to implement. Employees simply need reasonable break times, a private space and employer support.
Resources:
- Sample Policies
- Federal Breastfeeding Laws
- Louisiana Breastfeeding State Laws
- Apply To Louisiana Breastfeeding Coalition
- Apply To Be A Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace
- The Business Case for Breastfeeding
- Louisiana Workplace Breastfeeding Support Program
- Benefits of Supporting Breastfeeding in the Workplace (ASPHN)
- Employer Solutions for Supporting Nursing Moms at Work
- Downloadable fact sheets for supporting nursing moms in various industries
- How Paid Sick Days Save Money and Promote Health
A worksite wellness program is an employee-centered approach to improving health outcomes, healthy behaviors, productivity and morale in the workplace. Offering wellness activities can provide your employees with the opportunity to improve their health, reduce their risk of chronic disease and lower their healthcare costs, that can lead to increased productivity and profit.
Beginning Implementation starts with management support, designating a program coordinator and completing an employee assessment.
Resources:
- Well-Ahead Louisiana Worksite Wellness Webpage
- LBGH Worksite Wellness Toolkit and Resource Guide
- CDC Workplace Health Promotion & Health Scorecard
- CDC Infographic: Healthy Workforce Statistics
- ACS Workplace Solutions
- AHA Workplace Health Solutions
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Workplace Wellness
- 101 Low-Cost Ideas for Your Wellness Program
- Video: Making the Business Case for Prevention—Worksite Wellness Benefits Small Business
Once the employee assessment phase has been completed, you can then move onto the second worksite wellness benchmark for WellSpot designation—Partial Implementation. At this stage, the assessment results will be used to develop a work plan of activities or programs to encourage healthy behaviors surrounding physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation and mental health.
Resources:
- Well-Ahead Louisiana Worksite Wellness Webpage
- LBGH Worksite Wellness Toolkit and Resource Guide
- CDC Workplace Health Promotion & Health Scorecard
- CDC Infographic: Healthy Workforce Statistics
- ACS Workplace Solutions
- AHA Workplace Health Solutions
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Workplace Wellness
- 101 Low-Cost Ideas for Your Wellness Program
- Video: Making the Business Case for Prevention—Worksite Wellness Benefits Small Business
Once you have developed a worksite wellness plan, continue to encourage and motivate your employees as you implement the plan. To meet the full implementation benchmark, perform an assessment after one year to evaluate the impact of the program.
Resources:
- Well-Ahead Louisiana Worksite Wellness Webpage
- LBGH Worksite Wellness Toolkit and Resource Guide
- CDC Workplace Health Promotion & Health Scorecard
- CDC Infographic: Healthy Workforce Statistics
- ACS Workplace Solutions
- AHA Workplace Health Solutions
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Workplace Wellness
- 101 Low-Cost Ideas for Your Wellness Program
- Video: Making the Business Case for Prevention—Worksite Wellness Benefits Small Business
5-2-1-0 is a simple message that encourages healthy eating and physical activity. It recommends the following for each day:
5 or more fruits and vegetables
2 hours or less on recreational screen time
1 hour or more of physical activity
0 soda and sweetened drinks (more water and low-fat milk).
This WellSpot benchmark is a way for you to help your employees make positive changes to improve their health and decrease their risk for chronic diseases including diabetes and obesity.
There are a number of ways you can promote the 5-2-1-0 message:
- Share the message at a staff meeting.
- Share the message in a newsletter or email update.
- Add the message to employee check stub envelopes.
- Promote the message on social media platforms.
- Display a 5-2-1-0 poster in the employee break room.
Healthy snacking is essential to promoting wellness and providing the best nutrients for health, energy and productivity. With more than 36% of Louisiana residents considered obese, accessibility to nutritious snack options that are low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium can change the way your employees snack and help improve their overall health.
You can make the healthy choice the easy choice when it comes to selecting snacks and beverages for vending machines at your facility.
In order to meet this benchmark, at least 50% of snacks and beverages you provide to employees (including each vending machine) must meet one of the approved healthy vending guidelines provided at these links:
- NANA, AHA and GSA/HHS approved vending options
- NAMA's Fit Pick Product List
- Eat Fit Vending Product List
- Pennington Vending List for Schools
- Nemours Vending Guidelines
Resources:
By promoting self-assessment tools, you can help your employees better understand their health and reduce the risk for diabetes and heart disease. As a result, your employees will miss less work due to illness or hospitalization and have lower healthcare costs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 108 million Americans have high blood pressure and more than 30 million Americans have diabetes. Encourage your employees to take the self-assessments to have a better understanding of their health.
Please note that these evidence-based self-assessments have been developed by national partners and should not be used in place of a visit to a healthcare provider.
Self-Assessment Tools for Heart Health:
My Life Check by American Heart Association
Heart Age Predictor Using BMI by CDC
Sample Communication to Promote Heart Health Self-Assessments
Self-Assessment Tools for Prediabetes:
Prediabetes Risk Test by CDC, AMA, ADA and Ad Council
Sample Communication to Promote Prediabetes Self-Assessment
The majority of people’s waking hours are spent at work, and many of those hours are spent in meetings that involve long periods of sitting. This reduces an employee’s concentration, productivity and energy level. By implementing this benchmark, you can create a culture of health through simple changes that help your employees eat well and be physically active during the workday.
In order to meet this benchmark, your organization must adopt and encourage a nutrition-based policy.
Resources:
- Sample Healthy Vending Policy
- Sample Healthy Meeting/Event Policy
- CSPI Healthy Meeting Toolkit
- AHA Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit
- ACS Meeting Well Toolkit
- CDC: Tips for Offering Healthy Workplace Meetings and Events
- 9 Ways to Make a Healthier Meeting or Conference
- Tips for Implementing Healthy Food Guidelines
Our Partners
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wellahead@la.gov | 1-844-522-4323