How to engage employees with mindful wellness

Stantec Inc.
An Evolving Wellness Blueprint

When Stantec Inc. first adopted its wellness program eight years ago in the U.S., the original goal was to curb spiralling healthcare costs. The Edmonton-based planning, engineering and consulting company introduced the same comprehensive incentive-based program focusing on exercise and nutrition, as well as annual biometric screening, for its Canadian employees a couple of years later.

Today, the company—which has grown to 13,000 employees in 200 locations around the world—sees the program as a critical element of its staff recruitment and retention efforts. Employees are attracted to the company’s focus on keeping its employees healthy, including a few friendly fitness competitions. Employees can earn points for improving their health in various ways, including wearing a KAM (kinetic activity monitor), taking health quizzes, getting regular checkups and participating in other challenges throughout the year. Employees can earn incentive points that translate into money, which they can then choose to have deposited into their healthcare spending account (which can be used to cover the unpaid portions of glasses, dental, massage, prescriptions, etc.) or their personal wellness spending account, which can be used for health classes such as yoga or Pilates or for gym memberships.

In addition, the company holds an annual draw for the employees who have earned more than 200 points. Thirty names are drawn randomly, and winners receive a $20 prepaid Visa card. The top five point earners in both the U.S. and Canada also earn a $500 prepaid Visa card.

“Really, what we want to do is to get people to move,” said Trudi Hampel, Stantec’s HR manager. “We all know healthy employees are good for business…at Stantec, wellness has become part of the culture.”

This year, more than half (53%) of its Canadian employees participated in the wellness program—which, Hampel said, is the highest participation rate the company has seen since the program’s inception.

Stantec communicates the program annually in a wellness guide, as well as through a monthly newsletter and a quarterly update for employees on their point status.

Internal Stantec data show that the program is producing healthier employees and saving money, Hampel said. For example, the company said biometric results have improved, and pharmacy costs—as well as sick time and disability costs—are lower for program participants versus non-participants.

But, Hampel added, it’s not just about the money Stantec saves on healthcare costs. Employees also get a lot out of the program. “It’s not about what we’re getting back but what people are getting out of it. We want to continue to help people make health their habit.”

University of British Columbia
Creating a Web of Well-being: Leading to the Unexpected

When most people hear about mindfulness—the practice of being in and appreciating the moment—they think of a calming exercise that takes place off the clock, at weekend retreats or local yoga studios. However, the University of British Columbia (UBC) is one of a growing number of organizations that are looking at the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace.

The university hired a mindfulness expert last year and introduced the practice on campus through a series of one- to three-hour workshops for employees, work units and managers. It also hosted some mindfulness drop-in groups.

Natasha Malloff, UBC’s senior manager of health, well-being and benefits, said there was so much interest in these events that the university decided to expand the program while also conducting research on the impact of mindfulness on workplace performance. It partnered with UBC’s Sauder School of Business to see whether mindfulness could help its employees to better focus on their work, develop stronger emotional intelligence and enhance creativity.

The program included 84 participants who took part in mindfulness exercises for two hours a week over five weeks, as well as a one-day retreat. Of those in the program, 65% participated in the research study.

When the program was complete, participants were asked to report how they were able to translate what they learned into their daily work. Malloff said the results were encouraging.

“A lot of the self-report feedback we got was examples of how the employee was able to remain calmer in conflict situations— whether it was with a colleague, in a meeting or with a student,” she explained.

Participants reported being less emotionally reactive and said they became better listeners. Many also reported having increased clarity and focus on their work.

“For us, this was a win-win,” said Malloff. “We were able to support research while impacting health outcomes.”

Preliminary results from the research study are expected this fall. UBC hopes the research results will lead to more mindfulness offerings as part of its wellness programs in the future.