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Worksite Wellness for Tompkins County
Worksite environments that support good nutrition and regular physical activity

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New York State Department of Health


The Health Promotion Program, Tompkins County (NY) Health Department, developed and maintains this web site. (more...)

Running your worksite's physical activity program

Some ideas and resources to help you set up your physical activity objective.

Physical activity objective
Basic steps and ideas for implementing your program
Experienced programmers

Many worksites in our group have a physical activity objective that says they will establish a physical activity program based on personal goal setting.

Physical activity objective: an example

Establish a physical activity program at the worksite based on a model of personal goal setting. Create 2 on-site PA options. Achieve participation through 2 6-wk cycles by at least 10% of employees.
Desired outcome: Bring physical activity into everyday (work) life; increase awareness of activity options
Evaluation:
participant logs by honor system

 

Physical Activity Counts (PAC) is a physical activity program based on personal goal setting. It is designed to help participants increase their level of physical activity according to their own interests and lifestyle. The PAC program was adapted from "Move For Life," a program promoted by the NYS Physical Activity Coalition. (See below for more about MFL web site.)

The basic PAC program format demands little administrative overhead, making it ideal for smaller (<200 employees) worksites. Using the PAC scoresheet, worksites may modify PAC by adding teams, forming walking or other activity groups, or emphasizing goals and improvement.

Many large companies have registered online with the Move For Life program. Individual employees then register for MFL as a member of their company. Follow these links for more information:

New York State Physical Activity Coalition
Move For Life (MFL)
Physical Activity Counts (PAC)

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Setting up your program

Here are some basic steps for getting your program up and running, along with follow-through ideas. Review these guidelines before embarking on any of the three programs cited above. (See also the sample written objective).

Get a sense of employee interest level
How will you track achievement?
How long will you run the program?
What forms will be needed?
What displays will be needed to promote and explain?
What is your incentives program?

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Step-by Steps

Ideas

Get a sense of employee interest level

Most worksites have already done this step through employee surveys, wellness committee meetings, or informal conversation. Although this is not an essential step, it is nice to get some early feedback from your co-workers using one of these methods.

If your program is incentive based (prizes and stuff), how will you track achievement?

PAC uses a point system based on time; one point is earned for every ten (10) minutes of physical activity that is as vigorous as taking a brisk walk. Participants record their points daily, and total their score cards weekly. All reporting is on the honor system.

Completed score cards are turned in weekly. A simple way to bring the incentives in is to have the score card also be a raffle ticket. This way every week of activity means another chance to win.

You may want to state that participants must reach a minimum score to be eligible for the raffles. This way some effort is required for a chance to win a prize. Consider a minimum of 10 points.

An incentive for getting more points or for reaching personal goals is another option. A word of caution though: a system that is too complex can become cumbersome for the participant, and contentious and time consuming for the scorekeepers.

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How long will you run the program?

Since we are looking for environmental changes—things which become fixtures... part of the worksite identity and culture—consider an ongoing program.

For example, keep the PAC scoresheets posted all year long. Then once a quarter or so collect completed scoresheets over a 4-6 week period for a prize drawing. That way participants stay motivated because achievement is always in reach.

Determine what will be needed to promote and explain the program

Ideas to consider include:

  1. Emails, posters or payroll stuffers
  2. Program dates and rules
  3. PAC scoresheet displays
  4. Scoresheet collection box or envelope
  5. Incentives awarded: what and how
  6. Activity and goal ideas (could be a chart filled-in by participants)
  7. Wellness benefits from a habit of regular physical activity

Work out your incentives program

  1. Will everyone who participates receive a "prize"?
  2. How many major raffle prizes will be awarded each event?
  3. Will incentives be items or recognition pins, certificates or other displays?
  4. Will there be financial incentives tied to fringe benefits or compensation?

For more specific ideas, see the incentives page.

 

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If you have questions about setting up your physical activity program, write or call.

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