On-Site Classes, Fairs Bring Awareness to Health and Wellness Programs for Employees

Health and wellness programs are important to the culture of any business. They are not only an investment in the health and overall well-being of employees, which contributes to a better work product for customers, but they also help reduce healthcare costs. We think it’s crucial to engage and inform employees to promote awareness of the resources available.

That’s why a number of our facilities have hosted on-site health fairs over the past month as part of our BetterU wellness program. Local vendors provided healthy snacks, information and special discounts while a few of our friends from our healthcare insurer, Medica, were available to answer questions about health coaching and other wellness programs for employees interested in adopting a healthier lifestyle. These programs provide personalized support, tools and other resources to help employees make positive health changes such as losing weight or quitting smoking. Participants are also coached to know their numbers – blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels – as they are key indicators of health and can help in identifying future problems. Here’s a good chart from the American Heart Association on what those numbers mean and what healthy ranges are.

But that’s not all. Our headquarters in Chanhassen recently re-energized existing walking and biking groups, as well as sponsored an on-site self-defense class. While these groups have started small, we’re hoping to improve our numbers as both excitement and awareness grow. Group support and motivation are invaluable resources when starting any fitness or self-defense program.

We’re excited to see the continued progress toward improved company-wide health and wellness – an ongoing effort that’s important to all of us at IWCO Direct. After all, healthy employees create a healthy company.

Dana Ohnsorg
Manager, Benefits/HRMS