Uniting Care Wesley Country SA
"Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters" ACH Group Case Study
This Healthy Workers Healthy Futures case study showcases wellbeing activities at ACH Group.
Fruit N Veg Month Challenge (February 2014)
Good nutrition is essential throughout life to promote health and prevent chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Australian Dietary Guidelines for healthy eating recommend we eat 2 services of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables a day, however most Australian’s eat only half this amount. Given we spend about a third of our lives at work, having a supportive healthy eating environment where healthy food and drink options are available in the workplace is particularly important.
The Workplace Fruit N Veg Challenge was a joint initiative of SACOSS, the Australian Services Union and Aged and Community Services SA & NT. Workplaces from the non-government health, aged care and community services sector took on the challenge to promote Fruit N Veg in the workplace during February.
We had a fantastic response and some great initiatives including, replacing the biscuit tin with a fruit bowl, shared staff lunches, recipe swaps, and cookbooks. Congratulations to the Central Domestic Violence Service who won the first prize of $500 to go towards their next healthy workplace initiative and Sammy D Foundation who won second prize of $100 worth of fruit delivered to the workplace.
Central Domestic Violence Service AlphaFruitAbles - 1st prize winner
The AlphaFruitAbles project was open to all staff at the Western Adelaide Domestic Violence Service with the goals to increase staff intake of fruit and veg in the workplace through shared lunches, increase staff awareness of a wide variety of fruit and veg and to provide staff (and clients) with access to new, creative and healthy recipes incorporating different fruits and vegetables.
The staff of 10 were divided into two teams. Each Wednesday (to coincide with team meetings) the teams alternated responsibility for providing a shared lunch. Each team member created a dish with the main ingredient being a ‘HERO’ fruit or vegetable starting with A in week 1, B in week 2, and so forth. Staff lunches were held weekly during February and the team have committed to continuing the challenge fortnightly until they reach the letter “z.” During the challenge staff brought in their recipes and took photos of the meals to put together in a healthy recipe book that would be made available to all staff and clients. Additionally staff incorporated weekly juice days, where each staff brought in a fruit to be added to the blender to make juice to share.
Staff particularly enjoyed the team and social aspects of coming together to plan, prepare and share a weekly meal together. A great deal of effort went into planning to ensure the dishes prepared were complimentary and into table presentation. The Central Domestic Violence Service have committed to continuing the AlphaFruitAbles project to the end of the year. The prize money will go towards equipping the kitchen when they move into their new premises.
Sammy D Foundation Fabulous 2&5 February - 2nd prize winner
The goals of the Sammy D Foundation’s “Fabulous 5&2 February” were to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables in the workplace and promote healthier lunch choices by making fresh fruit and vegetables readily available for staff.
Using the staff kitty they had implemented during the Healthy Workers Workplace Physical Activity Challenge in October 2013, to purchase ingredients, including fruit for snacks and salad and vegetable ingredients for shared healthy lunches, the team created daily lunch menus using recipes from the Heart Foundation website. A staff roster was developed to nominate a responsible person to purchase ingredients each week. A leader board was created to record the number of servings of fruit and vegetables staff were eating. Posters promoting the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables were displayed.
All office staff participated and looked forward to the new recipes each day. The leader board was a great way to record how staff were tracking and support each other to get enough serves each day. Sammy D Foundation are continuing their kitty and shopping roster for shared lunches and fruit.
Workplace Physical Activity Challenge (October 2013)
The Workplace Physical Activity Challenge was a joint initiative of SACOSS and the Australian Services Union. Workplaces from the non-government health and community services sector took on the challenge to promote physical activity in the workplace during the month of October.
We had a fantastic response and some great initiatives, including, workplaces taking part in Ride to Work Day; lunch time walking; pedometer challenges; a table tennis challenge; and encouragement for desk based staff to take breaks from sitting.
Congratulations to Red Cross who won the first prize of $500 towards their next healthy workplace initiative and Neami National Seacliff Branch who won the second prize of $100 worth of fruit delivered to the workplace.
Red Cross 2013 Table Tennis Championship - 1st prize winner
The 2013 Red Cross Table Tennis Championships were open to all staff and volunteers at the Red Cross Head Office. The goals of the challenge were to increase physical activity, social engagement, connectedness and to have fun!
The Championships ran over three weeks during lunchtime with separate categories of Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. A staff member with experience playing competitive table tennis volunteered to umpire and staff self-nominated and formed teams. A leader board was kept on the café window and the games were publicised daily to encourage others to come and watch during their lunch break. An award ceremony was held on the final day of the competition, and the Executive Director presented the trophies to the winning teams.
Attendance at the trophy presentation was so high that the group only just fitted in the new Café named Encounter Bay – a testament to the fun and mateship shown through the competition. This was an incredibly successful and engaging staff wellbeing initiative. Sixty two people entered the competition and staff decided to keep the competition going. The competition was great fun and created interaction across teams.
Red Cross has committed to an ongoing focus on staff health and wellbeing including development of a comprehensive wellbeing plan for 2014 that will be developed by the social and wellbeing committee.
Neami Seacliff National Team Walking Group - 2nd Prize Winner
The Neami Team Walking Group was open to all staff located at the Seacliff worksite. The goals of the project were to increase staff physical activity and raise awareness of the benefits of regular activity.
All staff were involved from the planning stage and half an hour was allocated every week after the team meeting for the team to walk to the beach and back. Time was provided at the end of each meeting to prepare for the walk including changing into appropriate shoes and applying sunscreen. The team discussed the walk at each team meeting and majority of staff chose to take part.
The team walks have been incredibly successful with staff enjoying the benefits of incorporating physical activity into their workday, getting fresh air and taking a break from work. It has also proven to be a great opportunity for team building and a chance to role model healthy behaviours within the team and to the clients they support. Staff have committed to continuing their weekly walks long term.