Workplace Wellness
TELUS Mobility Wellness Program

By Trina Rickert

In each issue of "Well", we include an article on workplace wellness and this issue will feature an organization that we feel is practicing high level wellness in the workplace. TELUS Mobility's National Wellness Program, has impressed us very much here at Speakwell. It is an organization whose vision of wellness extends well beyond employee fitness and nutritional counseling to include some spiritual, environmental, social, emotional and intellectual dimensions of wellness.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Linda Lewis, TELUS Mobility National Wellness Manager and Jackie Riley, National Wellness National Coordinator to learn about their program. Linda and Jackie were in Vancouver interviewing for a Regional Wellness Coordinator position as part of their "Wellness in the West" expansion. They were excited that a Wellness Centre will open in October, 2001 in Burnaby, B.C. (The Wellness Center will be located next to the fitness facility which was set up by Martin and Dr. Colin Hardie nearly 20 years ago as a flagship program of employee fitness.) The fitness center will be run by trained TELUS employees and staff volunteers.

Linda and Jackie want to share what they've done with others and encourage other organizations to embrace workplace wellness…one step at a time. They have a vision and don't always know how they’ll get there, but they keep working at it by taking small steps and continually building. This program also has had strong support from the executive and staff volunteers (high level administrative support is vital to the sustained success of any program). It has a national focus with regionalized content and it could become a model for other Canadian companies. Their programs are not incentive based (no collect and redeem points reward system here!). They believe that people don’t have to be coerced into wellness, that wellness is a value in itself. Programs are free, or nominally priced, and TELUS employees are benefiting from them. Employee feedback has been uniformly positive. The Wellness Program gives people many choices and educates them on different aspects of wellness. Their centers include health professionals such as: Registered massage therapists, naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, and chiropractors.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Three years ago the program began as a pilot initiative with Clearnet having naturopathic and massage therapy services available to staff. From there, a walking club, running club, lunch and learn sessions, and 'stress busters' (a stress management program) were added. In January, 2000 Wellness became a national education campaign and Clearnet was approached by a number of organizations wishing to benefit from their experience and to share ideas (e.g. Husky Injection Moldings). TELUS Mobility Wellness forms partnerships with local businesses related to wellness and community partners such as the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Canadian Cancer Society. They now offer health fairs, a naturopathic dispensary, on-site holistic-based clinics, classes (yoga, tai chi, martial arts, meditation, Latin dancing), bike racks, sports teams, picnics, lifestyle coaching, lending libraries, workshops, a newsletter, stop-smoking on-line program, a healthy eating cookbook, and discounted fitness memberships.

WALK-A-DOG @ LUNCH

At Speakwell, we were introduced to the TELUS Mobility Wellness Program when we learned about their "Walk-a-Dog @ Lunch program." This program is run by volunteers and was an idea from a wellness program team member. An animal shelter is located a 10 minute walk from the head office in Scarborough, Ontario. Participating employees are given a lead by the shelter, select a dog and take it for a walk. It's win-win for shelter and the TELUS employees with improved health and fitness for the employee, dogs get walked and there's even been an increased adoption rate!

WELLNESS MISSION AND VALUES

The wellness mission at TELUS Mobility is to "take a holistic approach to personal and organizational wellness" and to "encourage positive movement toward optimal well-being through opportunities for awareness, education and growth." Their values include: embracing change and initiating opportunity, believing in spirited teamwork, having the courage to innovate and having a passion for growth. The Wellness Team is helping to increase employee satisfaction, energy, coping mechanisms, productivity and overall outlook. The team helps make employees aware of lifestyle choices and change health-risk behaviors. The prevention and reduction in absenteeism and disability result in cost savings for the company. The company gains decreased health care costs and absenteeism and increased employee loyalty, retention and attraction as a company.

For more information on TELUS Mobility and their Wellness Program contact Linda Lewis, National Wellness Manager at Linda.Lewis@telus.com or Jackie Riley, National Wellness National Coordinator at jackie.riley@telus.com.