Initiatives include diverse health programs, fitness challenges
Every year, Brian Bentz, president and CEO of PowerStream, rides his bike for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer all the way from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ont., over a two-day span, covering more than 200 kilometres.
“As leaders of the organization, I really want to underscore that it is really important for us to believe in the concept of health and wellness and have our staff see that we actually believe it and live it every day,” said Bentz. “We have to be living examples of it.”
PowerStream, which has 570 employees, is a Vaughan, Ont.-based energy company that serves communities immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario.
Bentz and other senior leaders in the organization participate in many of the wellness initiatives developed by PowerStream’s wellness committee. There is a hockey team, a semi-formal soccer team, a fitness benefit program and a bicycle team.
Last year PowerStream launched an eight-week healthy eating challenge. Staff is provided with ongoing support through weekly emails, recipes, tips, shopping lists and 24-7 external support.
“It really taught them how to make healthy eating a lifestyle,” said Daniella Cogliano, organizational improvement co-ordinator.
The on-site cafeteria also partnered with the wellness committee on this initiative, offering employees a challenge-friendly breakfast and lunch options throughout the eight weeks.
One of the areas of promotion for this challenge is the effect healthy eating can have for those with Type II diabetes or as a diabetes preventative.
“We have a multigenerational workforce and employees are dealing with Type II diabetes, high cholesterol and heart health issues, so as an organization we see value in encouraging a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating to help prevent or mitigate such issues,” said Cogliano.
The initiative was so successful that many staff members continue to sleep better and lose weight.
The organization’s fitness program is structured to be inclusive and open to allow employees to pick their own type of fitness plan. The employee simply has to present proof of payment to receive a reimbursement for physical activity packages or lessons. “So it could be a swimming lesson or a golf lesson or mine happens to be a GoodLife membership,” said Carrie Sally, conservation and demand management marketing co-ordinator and a wellness committee member.
Besides the eight-week challenge and fitness program, PowerStream has a farmers market, a healthy workplace month, apple-a-day campaign, and walk-to-work challenge.
Another successful initiative is the stretching program. In the past two years PowerStream developed and distributed mouse pads with six different stretches that can be done at the office.
Ergonomics assessment of the office space is also assessed and optimized for every new employee with special needs and conditions taken into account.
The organization also makes certain to keep wellness top of mind for employees by sending out a daily email with relevant wellness topics.
While staying healthy in an office environment is certainly a challenge that PowerStream has taken measures to address, the organization has not forgotten about its many employees working out in the field.
“They are working on the roads and they are working with high voltages. There are a number of hazards to deal with on a day-to-day basis,” said Stanton Sheogobind, director lines at PowerStream.
The hazards affect employees’ wellness and special attention has to be given to these workers, who often feel disconnected from what is going on in the satellite office, he says.
Bringing in a nutritionist is one way that the PowerStream tries to help its workers in the field. Stanton says the nutritionist is able to give tips on how to pack a nutritious and filling lunch while considering that the workers have to be active all day with a great deal of physical labour involved. The type of nutritious lunch needed for a labour-intensive work day may be very different from a lunch of an office worker.
“Work-life balance, employee engagement, employee wellness in all forms really makes the company a better place for everyone — our customers, our shareholders, employees, staff, management, unions,” said Sally.
As part of the commitment to work-life balance, mental health has become an important factor to address this year and will be one of the main focus areas in the coming year, says Sally.
“If it’s not themselves it is family members or friends, we’ve all been exposed to someone with a mental wellness issue.”
Also, PowerStream hopes to develop technology-savvy solutions to help staff with their financial health management.
“We feel like financial, health tools, tips and resources need to be communicated in our monthly newsletters and available through our benefits provider,” said Sally, who hopes to see a bigger focus on financial health in the near future.
The plethora of wellness options at the company has not only helped keep the workforce healthy but also happy.
“Employee engagement is exceptionally high here… above 95 per cent,” said Bentz. “We know that is because we place high priority on our staff and we know that our staff is cared for.”
