Wellness Advocate Program
Since we spend most of our waking hours at work, wellness is an important part of the workplace. Wellness Advocates are employees from across campus advocating for the physical and mental wellbeing of employees and the creation of a healthy workplace. The goal of the Wellness Advocate Program is to contribute to a supportive workplace environment and encourage positive health behaviors. The Wellness Advocate Program is composed of two groups: wellness committees and wellness advocates. This page is intended to be a guide for all wellness advocates. It contains valuable tools and resources to help you implement and promote wellness initiatives in your faculty or unit.
If you are interested in starting up a wellness committee or becoming a Wellness Advocate, our toolkit will give you the information you need to be successful:
- Wellness Advocate Program - Outlines the goals of the Wellness Advocate Program, the benefits of this program for the university, the program's life cycle and strategies for successful implementation.
- Strategic Planning Document - Designed to assist Wellness Committees and Advocates in developing a vision, mission and SMART goals during the strategic planning process.
- Initiative Planning Document - Designed to assist Wellness Committees and Advocates in planning upcoming initiatives.
- Summary Template - This document is for distribution to employees within your faculty or department after the Health Needs Assessment (HNA) and Strategic Planning Document are completed. This will inform employees of the results of the HNA and the strategic planning process.
- Evaluation Template - This template can be used to develop an annual summary report and can be completely customized based on the needs of the Wellness Committee. Contact [email protected] for a Microsoft Word version.
Utilize EFAP Resources
As a Wellness Advocate, the Employee and Family Assistance Program is a great resource for you to access. You can download articles on a variety of health and wellness topics to share with your colleagues and print and share the monthly posters and quarterly newsletters.
Promote Existing Wellness Initiatives
Learn about the variety of wellness initiatives on campus throughout the year including Health Checks, Active Living programs, wellness lunch and learn sessions, wellness fairs, and more.
Outdoor Lunchtime Activities
Host outdoor activities like lawn games such as a frisbee or bocce tournament. These types of activities require little planning and a nominal budget.
Promote Fitness Classes
Promote the existing fitness classes offered through Active Living.
On-site Fitness Classes
Work with the Coordinator, WellBeing and WorkLife to bring fitness classes like yoga or group personal training to the employees in your area.
Step Challenges
A four to eight week step challenge is a way to get you and your coworkers to be more active at work and at home. Friendly competition is one of the most successful factors for a successful and sustainable challenge. Provide the group with regular updates on the total steps walked and give out prizes at the end to keep them motivated.
- Workplace Walk for Wellness Challenge: Toolkit
- UWALK - a free website for individuals or groups to track steps and activity
Walking Meetings
A great way to get outside, exercise, and be productive while at work. Walking meetings can be more stimulating than a typical board room meeting as walking tends to keep people more alert as opposed to sitting. Further, the changes in scenery can promote creative ideas, and the informal structure can encourage equality between coworkers which in turn creates a more supportive atmosphere.
Support
Like-minded Coworkers
Recruit coworkers who are also interested in wellness to help brainstorm wellness initiatives, communicate with the department, and encourage participation in wellness initiatives by making them more social events.
Meeting With Other Wellness Advocates
WellBeing and WorkLife will set up annual meetings with other Wellness Advocates. This will provide an opportunity to gain new ideas for educating coworkers about wellness resources available to them as well as new wellness initiatives to implement within your own department from the perspective of other Wellness Advocates, who may face similar challenges.
Mentorship From Other Wellness Advocates
Existing wellness committee members and Wellness Advocates can be resources to you by providing insight and tips gained from previous experience in connecting coworkers with resources and creating wellness initiatives.
WellBeing and WorkLife
Contact WellBeing and WorkLife for support in creating, implementing, and evaluating wellness initiatives within your department at 403.220.2918 or [email protected].
If you are interested in becoming a Wellness Advocate or creating a Wellness Committee, you can sign up to our mailing list to receive our Wellness Newsletter and information on how to expand your wellness program by contacting Wellbeing and Worklife, [email protected]