Why Workplace Wellness is Important
Roughly one third of our day is spent at work, another third is spent sleeping, and the final third is spent on the things in life that NEED to get done and the things in life that you WANT to do. And your workout and dedicated time to be physically active goes where?
The CDC recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week. Are we supposed to save that all for the weekend? Roughly 75 minutes of physical activity on Saturday AND Sunday.
Sure. Sounds reasonable. Let’s add that to the weekend Honey-Do List.
Enter Workplace Wellness. How are we supposed to be able to reach the recommended CDC physical activity time if we aren’t breaking that goal down into smaller bites, like 30 minutes, five days a week. Even 30 minutes in one chunk can feel daunting. How about if your workplace offered paid movement breaks, three 10-minute breaks or 2 fifteen-minute breaks during work to be physically active? I don’t think it sounds too crazy. Smoke-breaks, anyone?
Here’s some compelling research to support my call for movement breaks during work.
1. Micro-Breaks Boost Energy, Focus & Mental Stamina.
A systematic review of research regarding healthcare workers showed that “micro‑breaks” of just 5–10 minutes can reduce fatigue and significantly improve cognitive functions like attention and executive control.
TIME magazine summarized 22 studies (2,335 participants), finding that micro‑breaks increase feelings of vigor by ~60% and improve work quality.
2. Structured Booster Breaks Increased Wellness & Job Satisfaction
“Booster Break” programs—short, group‑focused activity breaks—have been shown to:
- Improve physical and psychosocial health
- Enhance job satisfaction
- Sustain or increase productivity
3. Strong Return on Investment
Comprehensive workplace wellness (including movement breaks) typically yields:
- ~$3 in reduced medical costs for every $1 spent
- ~$2.70 in lower absenteeism costs per $1 spent
- Up to 5–6× ROI via reduced absenteeism, healthcare, and productivity gains
Organizations like Johnson & Johnson and Capital Metro have realized savings in the hundreds of millions through such programs.
4. Reduced Health Risks & Burnout
Frequent movement interrupts sedentary behavior linked to metabolic and cardiovascular disease and improves mental health. A meta‑analysis linked increased physical activity to a 23% drop in hypertension, 31% reduction in depression, and 14% improvement in performance.
The above mentioned TIME article reported that micro‑breaks reduce stress, headaches, back pain, and eye strain.
So, now that we all agree WHY workplace wellness is so important, let’s look at some West Virginia businesses that committed to wellness this year by applying for and receiving Active Southern West Virginia’s Capacity Building Grant for FY2024-5.
Active SWV - Capacity Building Grant FY2024-25
SnapShot
During the 2024-2025 grant cycle, Active SWV funded 12 projects, one of which was a 2-year pilot grant, across West Virginia to promote workplace wellness. Grantees received a total of $19,500 of which $1,774.88 was spent locally on goods and services in West Virginia. The projects reached a total of 767 individuals, uncounted family, friends, and extended community members.
Project Activities
Active SWV grant recipients completed a total of 41 project activities (89%) of 46 proposed activities. The completed activities focused on promoting physical activity and healthy eating by providing equipment, facilities, educational programming, and wellness challenges.
PSE Changes
Policy, systems, and environment changes made up 85% of all completed activities. The 35 PSE changes consisted of 11 policy changes (31%), 14 systems changes (40%), and 10 environmental changes (29%). The other 6 activities were individual-level changes that were not PSE changes.
Categorize by Organization Successes
- Cabell-Huntington Health Department – Sustained robust programing
- FamilyCare – Multiple sites with health food snack carts and physical activity areas, and NEW Wellness logo design/t-shirt
- HealthNet Aeromedical Services – Location sites across state, CEO and employee buy-in
- Lewis County Health Department – Beginning program
- Liberty High School (Raleigh County) – On-site physical activity employee area, increased employee moral
- Pace Analytical – Wooded trail on-site for employee use AND new policy allowing walking breaks
- Region 1 Workforce Development Board – Continued growth and expansion of wellness program
- WVU Tech – NEW 2-year pilot; President buy-in and additional financial support
Categorize by Policy, System, and Environment Changes
Here’s a run down of all the Policy, System, and Environment changes from this year.
Policy Changes
- Pledge to Improve Access to physical activity to reduce sedentary behavior
- Staff activity
- Revitalize the healthy meeting plan to include offering healthy options at staff meetings. The Health Department Resiliency Policy was revised to include ‘healthy options will be included at staff meetings (i.e. water, fruit, vegetables, etc.)’
- We are implementing a new policy in our workplace to support employees as they deal with the psychological or physical effects of a traumatic event.
- We implemented a policy to increase the annual OneTeam Wellness participation bonus to $200.
- Local company policy was developed and approved by General Manager to allow two paid 15-minute walking breaks during the work day. Policy has been provided to Pace employees and hung on the Culture Committee board.
- Creation of a policy to encourage physical activity at the workplace
System Changes
- Presented Produce of the Month
- Lunch and learns
- Use employee feedback to determine three topics of needs/interest; Assess needs/interests through Microsoft Forms interest survey. Schedule/plan out Employee Wellness opportunities for January – June.
- We implemented a critical incident stress debrief program to support employees dealing with psychological and physical effects of a traumatic event.
- We encouraged healthy eating by promoting nearby (to each worksite) farmers’ market and / or “you picks” where fresh fruits and vegetables are sold via monthly challenges and activities.
- We held monthly wellness challenges based on our wholistic wellness plan model.
- We implemented some educational programming (DPP, financial burden stress reduction)) to some employees upon their request.
- Incentives will be rewarded to the 20 most active walkers at the End of Year when the trail closes.
- Offer fitness classes at sites to encourage employees to be more active.
- Provide a healthy snack cart to encourage employees to eat healthier as well as increase healthy food options at work
- We plan to offer quarterly educational lunch and learn opportunities to educate employees on healthy lifestyles. Our first was a lunch and learn on the topic of Burnout.
- Please provide a description of the environment change using the box below.
Environment Changes
- Presented Produce of the Month every month.
- provided exercise equipment with in the building for staff usage.
- Expanding Employee Wellness Room for staff – relocation to the basement for additional space. Ideal for hosting on-site physical activity classes for employees throughout the year.; 1. Utilize the annual interest survey for staff to assess group class opportunities. 2. Track Employee Wellness Room usage with a sign-in sheet monthly.
- Posting of information communicating new Critical Incident Stress Debrief Program
- Posting of notices promoting farmer’s markets and / or “you picks”
- Provide onsite physical activity equipment to associates.
Hope these PSE Change examples inspired you to expand your definition of wellness at work.
Closing
If you are interested in workplace wellness but not sure where to begin, why not come and check out the 2025 WV Workplace Wellness Conference & Awards! Join us Friday, September 19 at the New River Convention Center for a full day of fresh ideas, inspiring speakers, hands-on strategies, and celebration of organizations leading the way in workplace health.
Why attend?
- Learn how to boost employee well-being and productivity
- Connect with workplace wellness leaders across West Virginia
- Get access to free resources, evidence-based programs, and $1,500 wellness grants.
Spots are limited—don’t wait!
Register today and help make your workplace a healthier, happier place to be.
Thanks for hanging out and taking the time to read this article. Hope to see you at the 2025 WV Workplace Wellness Conference.
Stay Active!
Kelly Fox
Workplace Wellness Director
Active Southern West Virginia