Americans spend more than one-third of their day at work. Take the steps towards becoming a healthier workplace by developing worksite wellness policies. Worksite wellness policies reduce chronic disease and improve the quality of life for employees. Healthy employees are more productive and have lower absenteeism. Health costs, retention, and employee morale are all positively impacted by workplace health policies as well.
Consider creating a healthy workplace by:
- Limiting secondhand smoke exposure by developing smoke-free/tobacco-free policies
- Getting employees more active by joining the Walk Cobb or Walk Douglas challenge
- Keeping employees informed by providing health education
- Supporting healthy behaviors by including healthy items in the vending machine
- Becoming a breastfeeding friendly worksite
In 2019, Cobb & Douglas Public Health was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Healthiest Employers. We are fully committed to the health and wellness of our employees and have implemented numerous worksite wellness policies and initiatives. Some of these policies include being a smoke-free/tobacco-free campus, promoting physical activity during work hours, healthy meetings and vending, and providing breastfeeding support. Our worksite wellness program provides health education and resources focused on healthy eating, physical activity, stress reduction, work-life balance, chronic disease prevention, mental wellness and more. We acknowledge that employees can experience work fatigue and in efforts to reduce musculoskeletal injuries, we offer an adjustable sit-to-stand desk program.
Interested in improving the health initiatives at your worksite? Contact the Chronic Disease Prevention section at 770-432-7937 to speak with a member of our wellness team.
Additional Resources:
- Work Healthy Georgia Toolkit: Use this helpful tool to start or enhance your wellness program.
- Working on Health: “Take the pledge” online to promote physical activity, create a healthy eating environment, support breastfeeding, and/or become a tobacco free worksite in Georgia.
- CDC Work@Health: This training is for U.S. employers to learn how to use evidence-based strategies to reduce chronic disease from the worksite.
- CDC’s Worksite Health ScoreCard: Use this tool to assess what areas in your worksite need improvement.
- CDC’s Workplace Health Resource: Check out this one stop shop for resources on common health topics employees want to know more about.
- American Heart Association Workplace Health Playbook: Learn how to make the case for workplace health.
Cobb2020 Sharing Spaces for Health
Sharing Spaces for Health uses joint-use and open declaration agreements to link schools, non-profits, businesses, and faith-based groups that have space conducive for physical activity with those that need it. These partnerships increase the amount of safe, accessible, and affordable places for children and their families to exercise and play. Additionally, the program informs Cobb County residents of local physical activity environments already established in the community that may be utilized for free or at a low cost. The concept is simple: Let’s share resources to get the community healthier. Visit cobb2020.com/sharingspaces to find out places in the community where you and your family can be active through this initiative.
For Sharing Spaces for Health to continue to be successful, Cobb2020 needs more community organizations to get involved. 35% of children between the ages 10-17 are overweight or obese per the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children’s Health and only 71% of children in Cobb County are within the Healthy Fitness Zone for aerobic capacity. Adult physical inactivity is also high with 23.6% of Georgian reporting not participating in any physical activity during the past month according to the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. This level of inactivity may greatly contribute to the reported 58% of adults in Cobb County who are overweight or obese according to the Cobb & Douglas Public Health 2012 Community Health Assessment.
Check out cobb2020.com/sharingspaces to find out how you can become a Sharing Spaces Partner and serve as a resource for physical activity in the community. Together we can transform neighborhoods and improve physical activity.
Visit the Sharing Spaces web page for policy examples and additional resources.