Healthy Workplaces

Group of business workers stretching arms in relax time standing at the office.

Approximately 130 million full-time American workers spend over one-third of their day, five days per week engaged with their place of employment. [1,2] Due to the number of people reached and the amount time spent in these settings, creating healthy worksite programs, policies, and environments have the potential to positively impact workers’ health. [3,4]

Diet-related chronic diseases are among the health conditions that contribute to direct medical costs and lost productivity to U.S. employers, including heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. [3] Worksite wellness programs primarily focus on improving health, increasing productivity, and reducing insurance costs. [4]

What about remote and hybrid workers?

The number of people physically located in their workplace has decreased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic because more people are working from home. One survey from spring 2022 found that 58% of Americans reported having the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week; 35% reported having the option to work from home five days a week. [5] Nevertheless, effective workplace programs and policies utilizing a multidisciplinary approach can help reduce health risks and improve the quality of life for their employees. [3]

Worksite Wellness Programs

Worksite wellness programs have used a variety of mechanisms to promote health. Programs can be offered to the entire workplace, or specifically targeted to high-risk individuals.

Best practices for worksite wellness

Employers offer multifaceted nutrition and physical activity programs and initiatives. [2,4,6] Programs would include components such as:
- Employee steering committees
- Nutrition classes and seminars
- Promotional and educational materials
- Health risk assessments
- Goal setting and lifestyle skills
- Group exercise sessions
- Signage to promote stair use
- Increased availability of healthy foods and nutrition labeling in worksite cafeterias

Employers offer nutrition counseling to help individuals learn skills and gain support needed to improve eating and food preparation habits. Counseling includes self-monitoring, overcoming barriers to selecting healthy foods, goal setting, shopping and food preparation, and social support. [2,7]

Healthy Work Environments

Additional best practices for creating healthy eating and physical activity environments in the workplace

Utilize pricing and point-of-purchase strategies to promote healthier choices in cafeterias and vending machines. [8-15]
Development of healthy food and beverage procurement policies for cafeterias, vending machines, concessions stands, and/or for food provided at meetings, conferences and other organizational events. [2,8-10,16]
Create initiate incentive-based walking programs for employees. [8,9]
Initiate employee wellness programs that includes promoting use of stairs and walking trails, and targeting healthy eating. [8,9]

Related resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Workplace Health Resource Center (WHRC) provides tools and products that employers can use to create tailored health promotion programs to meet their specific workplace needs.
Harvard’s Sustainable Meeting and Event Guide is an example resource that offers guidance for ordering sustainable and healthful catered meals, incorporating movement, reducing waste, and designing meetings that are inclusive.

References

Statista Research Department. Number of full-time employees in the United States from 1990 to 2021. Published 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Workplace Health Promotion. Published 2019. Accessed August 30, 2022.
Goetzel RZ, Hawkins K, Ozminkowski RJ, Wang S. The health and productivity cost burden of the “top 10” physical and mental health conditions affecting six large US employers in 1999. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine. 2003 Jan 1;45(1):5-14.
Afshin A, Penalvo J, Del Gobbo L, Kashaf M, Micha R, Morrish K, Pearson-Stuttard J, Rehm C, Shangguan S, Smith JD, Mozaffarian D. CVD prevention through policy: a review of mass media, food/menu labeling, taxation/subsidies, built environment, school procurement, worksite wellness, and marketing standards to improve diet. Current cardiology reports. 2015 Nov;17:1-2.
McKinsey Institute. The American Opportunity Survey illuminates how many people are offered the option to work from home, who works flexibly, and how they feel about it. Published 2022.
Mozaffarian D, Afshin A, Benowitz NL, Bittner V, Daniels SR, Franch HA, Jacobs Jr DR, Kraus WE, Kris-Etherton PM, Krummel DA, Popkin BM. Population approaches to improve diet, physical activity, and smoking habits: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012 Sep 18;126(12):1514-63.
Pignone MP, Ammerman A, Fernandez L, Orleans CT, Pender N, Woolf S, Lohr KN, Sutton S. Counseling to promote a healthy diet in adults: a summary of the evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force. American journal of preventive medicine. 2003 Jan 1;24(1):75-92.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strategies to Prevent and Manage Obesity: Healthy Hospitals. Accessed January 3, 2022.
Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Preventions; Food and Nutrition Board; Institute of Medicine. Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation. (Glickman D, Parker L, Sim LJ, Del Valle Cook H, Miller EA, eds.). National Academies Press; 2012.
Gardner CD, Whitsel LP, Thorndike AN, Marrow MW, Otten JJ, Foster GD, Carson JA, Johnson RK. Food-and-beverage environment and procurement policies for healthier work environments. Nutrition reviews. 2014 Jun 1;72(6):390-410.
Block JP, Chandra A, McManus KD, Willett WC. Point-of-purchase price and education intervention to reduce consumption of sugary soft drinks. American journal of public health. 2010 Aug;100(8):1427-33.
Hartigan P, Patton-Ku D, Fidler C, Boutelle KN. Rethink your drink: reducing sugar-sweetened beverage sales in a children’s hospital. Health promotion practice. 2017 Mar;18(2):238-44.
Blake MR, Peeters A, Lancsar E, Boelsen-Robinson T, Corben K, Stevenson CE, Palermo C, Backholer K. Retailer-led sugar-sweetened beverage price increase reduces purchases in a hospital convenience store in Melbourne, Australia: a mixed methods evaluation. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2018 Jun 1;118(6):1027-36.
Thorndike AN, Gelsomin ED, McCurley JL, Levy DE. Calories purchased by hospital employees after implementation of a cafeteria traffic light–labeling and choice architecture program. JAMA Network Open. 2019 Jul 3;2(7):e196789-.
Grech A, Allman‐Farinelli M. A systematic literature review of nutrition interventions in vending machines that encourage consumers to make healthier choices. Obesity reviews. 2015 Dec;16(12):1030-41.
Jilcott Pitts SB, Graham J, Mojica A, Stewart L, Walter M, Schille C, McGinty J, Pearsall M, Whitt O, Mihas P, Bradley A. Implementing healthier foodservice guidelines in hospital and federal worksite cafeterias: barriers, facilitators and keys to success. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics. 2016 Dec;29(6):677-86.

Last reviewed January 2022

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