Comstock's magazine 1119 - November 2019 | Page 87

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
“It’s never one thing, but a thousand
little things that add up over time,” he says.
Investing in employee health is in-
vesting in the success of the business,
and there’s a variety of wellness options
companies can implement to improve
their employees’ physical and emotional
well-being, including mandatory breaks,
fitness-center memberships, smoking-
cessation classes, healthful snacks in the
break room, walking meetings (around
the block or farther), flexible work hours,
employee-assistance programs, peer-
recognition celebrations for jobs well
done and ergonomic workstations.
One company with wellness initiatives
is Dignity Health, which employs 8,000
workers in the Sacramento region and
another 42,000 in California, Nevada and
Arizona, according to Lori Maloney, Digni-
ty’s regional director of employee health.
“We’re always looking for new ideas
to encourage health and wellness,” Malo-
ney says. “A lot of our programs allow our
employees to care for themselves, and we
see a lot of attendance. They’re a constant
reminder to care for ourselves.”
Among Dignity’s offerings are one-
on-one ergonomic workspace evaluations,
in-house yoga, employee assistance pro-
grams and a weight-loss challenge. Some
facilities have even pioneered their own
programs.
Company-wide, employees participat-
ed in a 30-day, 30-mile walking challenge,
a warm-up for the Sept. 28, Sacramento
Heart & Stroke Walk, cosponsored by Dig-
nity and the American Heart Association.
Dignity also has weekly farmers markets in
the parking lots of most of its facilities.
“We highlight seasonal fruits and
vegetables and recipes, so employees can
shop right there at their workplaces,” Ma-
loney says. “We would lose the engage-
ment of our employees without our pro-
grams, and we want to ensure them that
we’re here to support them. When we do
that, I feel like I belong to an organization
I want to be with.” n
Allen Pierleoni is a freelance writer in Sacra-
mento. He worked for The Sacramento Bee as
a writer and editor in the features department
for 30 years.
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Insurance companies vary by region. Oscar coverage will be available starting January 1, 2020.
November 2019 | comstocksmag.com
87