Applied programs put ideas into action
The wellness team at Santa Clara, CA-based Applied Materials has done more than just talk about how to boost employee participation in fitness programs: They’ve done something about it. Two programs introduced in 1996 Shape Up Applied and Workcare have met with enthusiastic response.
Shape Up Applied, launched in May, has had about 2,000 participants out of a total North American employee population of 8,000. Its predecessor program, a spring walking campaign, typically attracted only 400 to 500. (See the chart, at right.) Follow-up surveys on the Workcare pilot program show employees who participated feel they have a greater ability to cope with stress and lead more balanced lives.
Program tailored to needs
"This program was specifically targeted to nonexercisers high-risk individuals," explains Fran Scully, MA, ACSM, a wellness coordinator at Applied. Because of the target population, activities are geared as much for health effects as they are for traditional fitness activities.
For example, employees can earn points for gardening or for doing yardwork as well as for aerobic activity or strength training.
When employees sign up, they choose their own incentives from a selection of gifts provided by the company. Then they keep track of their own progress on log sheets.
The program, like Workcare, specifically targets the three greatest health risks at Applied, as identified through health risk appraisals lack of physical activity, poor eating habits, and high levels of stress.
Despite the fact that 25% of Applied employees already have signed up, "We’re still having pretty good participation," says Scully. One of the attractions, she says, is that it is self-paced. "There’s no finite beginning and end to the program, as there are with traditional programs," she explains. "You can do it for a while, then maybe travel out of the country and come back and pick it up again."
Making fitness part of daily lives
Shape Up Applied is marketed through other programs at the company fitness center as well, "and we’re still signing people up," Scully says.
The Workcare program, which covers much more than just physical activity, helps employees integrate wellness into their daily lives. It introduces them to concepts such as stretching at your desk and "walking meetings," which involve employees taking a walk together to discuss business.
The program, which began in June, involves small group meetings of Applied managers, who then can bring in their own employees. The meetings, which have had as many as 47 participants and as few as seven, take place once a week for an hour, explains Marti Remmell, RN, a wellness coordinator. "There are three main components to the program: adding physical activity to your day, eating for performance, and stress busters," she says. "When it comes to wellness, it’s very important for management to walk their talk."
The meetings combine educational and interactive components. Participants are given printed educational materials in a binder. "But this is not an off-the-shelf’ program," Remmell explains. "We listen to what people are already doing in these three areas. Then each week before they leave, we ask them to make one commitment."
Walking refreshes, energizes
In the area of physical activity, Remmell takes her cue from the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on physical activity. "According to the CDC, it’s not necessary to do it all at once; we’re talking about health benefits versus fitness," she notes. "[The commitment] could be as simple as walking up the stairs rather than riding the elevator."
As part of the interactive component of the program, participants get "Therabands" (flexible, wide rubber bands) and are shown how to perform stretches at their desks. The participants also go out as a group, in the middle of the session, and walk for 20 minutes. "They realize they feel fresher and brighter when they get back, and that this is an allowable, acceptable thing to do because their manager is with them," Scully explains.
While the program is still quite new, Scully says she believes it already has benefited the physical health of employees. "It has made a lot of changes," she asserts. "The managers and employees have learned it’s not just a fluffy little program."
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