First Steps to Health & Wellness for Small Businesses How to Start Your Workplace Wellness Program 1. Make a commitment by expressing your support for workplace wellness to your employees 2. Designate a wellness leader &/or create a small wellness committee 3. Review & promote any existing worksite support or policy related to wellness 4. Seek employee opinions regarding how the company could help support a healthy lifestyle 5. Select one or more wellness activities to promote & deliver at the workplace 6. Encourage employee participation in wellness activities & be an active role model 7. Each month, ask employees for feedback on the use & effectiveness of the wellness activities 8. Each quarter, introduce additional wellness activities (see resource for additional information) Examples of Free or Low-Cost Activities to Promote Workplace Wellness Physical Activity □ Incorporate flexible schedules to allow for physical activity or schedule periodic physical activity breaks □ Encourage “walking meetings” instead of sitting at a desk or table □ Provide secure areas to lock or store bicycles □ Put up motivating signs near stairwells to encourage the use of stairs □ Create team challenges using fitness apps or activity trackers □ Create employee activity or recreation groups □ Map out walking routes inside & around the workplace (include mileage/steps) □ Contact local gyms for reduced-cost gym memberships or provide vouchers towards memberships □ Give incentives or prizes for active transportation to & from work □ Provide on-site recreation activities (Wii/Kinect, ping-pong, bocce ball, basketball hoop, etc.) Nutrition □ Provide access to clean drinking water throughout the workplace □ Make gradual changes to add healthier options & nutritional information to vending machines □ Increase the number of healthy food options provided at meetings □ Provide access to a clean refrigerator, microwave, & prep-area □ Encourage employees to bring a healthy lunch from home □ Host healthy pot-lucks or “salad bowl” lunches & share recipes □ Establish a fresh fruit & healthy snack bowl funded by employee donations □ Host healthy cooking lessons or a healthy cook-off □ Invite a registered dietitian for a lunch-n-learn session □ Establish a community supported agriculture (CSA) drop-off point near the workplace Tobacco Cessation □ Promote the use of the state or local tobacco quitline at 800-QUIT-NOW □ Encourage employees to support each other’s efforts to quit smoking □ Establish written policies for a tobacco- & nicotine-free workplace Stress Management □ Maintain a clean work environment & remove unnecessary clutter □ Offer a time management & personal organizational skills training □ Connect employees with local mental health services & support groups (parenting skills, stress management, etc.) □ Establish a quiet, softly-lit room for relaxation & meditation during work.

1. First Steps to Health & Wellness for Small Businesses
How to Start Your Workplace Wellness Program
1. Make a commitment by expressing your support for
workplace wellness to your employees
2. Designate a wellness leader &/or create a small wellness
committee
3. Review & promote any existing worksite support or policy
related to wellness
4. Seek employee opinions regarding how the company could
help support a healthy lifestyle
5. Select one or more wellness activities to promote & deliver at
the workplace
6. Encourage employee participation in wellness activities & be
an active role model
7. Each month, ask employees for feedback on the use &
effectiveness of the wellness activities
8. Each quarter, introduce additional wellness activities (see
resource for additional information)
Examples of Free or Low-Cost Activities to Promote Workplace
Wellness

2. Physical Activity
□ Incorporate flexible schedules to allow for physical activity
or schedule periodic physical activity breaks
□ Encourage “walking meetings” instead of sitting at a desk or
table
□ Provide secure areas to lock or store bicycles
□ Put up motivating signs near stairwells to encourage the use
of stairs
□ Create team challenges using fitness apps or activity trackers
□ Create employee activity or recreation groups
□ Map out walking routes inside & around the workplace
(include mileage/steps)
□ Contact local gyms for reduced-cost gym memberships or
provide vouchers towards memberships
□ Give incentives or prizes for active transportation to & from
work
□ Provide on-site recreation activities (Wii/Kinect, ping-pong,
bocce ball, basketball hoop, etc.)
Nutrition
□ Provide access to clean drinking water throughout the
workplace
□ Make gradual changes to add healthier options & nutritional
information to vending machines

3. □ Increase the number of healthy food options provided at
meetings
□ Provide access to a clean refrigerator, microwave, & prep-
area
□ Encourage employees to bring a healthy lunch from home
□ Host healthy pot-lucks or “salad bowl” lunches & share
recipes
□ Establish a fresh fruit & healthy snack bowl funded by
employee donations
□ Host healthy cooking lessons or a healthy cook-off
□ Invite a registered dietitian for a lunch-n-learn session
□ Establish a community supported agriculture (CSA) drop-off
point near the workplace
Tobacco Cessation
□ Promote the use of the state or local tobacco quitline at 800-
QUIT-NOW
□ Encourage employees to support each other’s efforts to quit
smoking
□ Establish written policies for a tobacco- & nicotine-free
workplace
Stress Management
□ Maintain a clean work environment & remove unnecessary
clutter
□ Offer a time management & personal organizational skills

4. training
□ Connect employees with local mental health services &
support groups (parenting skills, stress management, etc.)
□ Establish a quiet, softly-lit room for relaxation & meditation
during work breaks
□ Support a work-life balance & encourage employees to
electronically disconnect after-hours
□ Take time to volunteer in the community as a group
□ Utilize available outdoor green space & create a company
garden
Additional Workplace Wellness Resources for Small Businesses
American Cancer Society
- A Tool for Planning Healthy Meetings and
Events
Guidebook to help organizations plan meetings & events with
good health in mind
http://acsworkplacesolutions.com/wpsPDFs/Meeting_Well_2513
.00_PRESS.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Website that provides information about workplace health

5. promotion & provides guidance in designing,
implementing, & evaluating effective workplace health
programs
https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion
Indiana State Department of Health
-Size Businesses
(2
nd
edition)
Toolkit that assists small- to mid-sized businesses develop
policies, support environments, & create activities to
provide employees with strategies to increase wellness in the
workplace
http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/16_Worksite%20toolkit%20web%2
0FINAL.pdf
Missouri Council for Activity & Nutrition
Toolkit that helps employers identify strengths & weaknesses of
their health promotion policies, develop an action
plan to implement or improve worksite wellness, & to provide a
payback on investment
http://extension.missouri.edu/hes/workwell/WorkWellToolkit.pd

6. f
United States Department of Agriculture
Online tools to create & track personalized nutrition & physical
activity plans with the option to create
SuperTracker groups for peer support & friendly competition
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov
Wellness Council of America
List of specific steps & activities to create a successful
employee health promotion program at a small worksite
http://fitcitysa.com/files/StartingSmallWWReferenceupdated.pd
f
l Business Criterion- Small Business Report
2-part resource that discusses how to incorporate the steps a
small business should take to create a successful
workplace wellness program
https://www.welcoa.org/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/aa_7.2_jan08_sb1.pdf (part 1)
https://www.welcoa.org/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/aa_7.3_feb08_sb2.pdf (part 2)

7. An electronic version of this document & additional resources
can be found at:
https://oshr.wustl.edu/for-employers/workplace-health-
promotion-in-small-businesses/
Contact [email protected] with any questions or to report a
broken link.
Disclaimer:
Washington University School of Medicine does not endorse or
guarantee the accuracy of information contained on websites of
non-
affiliated external sources. Read the School of Medicine’s
Policy on Links to Third-Party Websites to learn more.
Last Updated: 03/27/2017
http://acsworkplacesolutions.com/wpsPDFs/Meeting_Well_2513
.00_PRESS.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion
http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/16_Worksite%20toolkit%20web%2
0FINAL.pdf
http://extension.missouri.edu/hes/workwell/WorkWellToolkit.pd
f
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/
http://fitcitysa.com/files/StartingSmallWWReferenceupdated.pd

8. f
https://www.welcoa.org/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/aa_7.2_jan08_sb1.pdf
https://www.welcoa.org/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/aa_7.3_feb08_sb2.pdf
https://oshr.wustl.edu/for-employers/workplace-health-
promotion-in-small-businesses/
mailto:[email protected]
https://medicine.wustl.edu/policies/links-to-third-party-
websites/
After reading Chapter 9 and First Steps to Health & Wellness
for Small Businesses
and visiting the resource links provided discuss the challenges
and benefits of WHP in small businesses.