THE WORLD OF WELLNESS: A WINDOW FOR EVERYONE
Focusing on all types of wellness programming in 2022
When you hear the word “wellness,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Exercise? Eating healthy? Drinking enough water?
While these activities are all a form of wellness, our GatorCare Wellness team tells us there are several other factors worth considering.
“There are nine windows to wellness, which include cultural, emotional, social, spiritual, environmental, financial, occupational, physical and intellectual,” said Katie Olson, care management coordinator for GatorCare at UF Health.
The purpose of our wellness programming is to provide resources, initiatives and tools for people to practice wellness in all different dimensions. When people are healthier, they’re less sick, more productive at work and their overall morale is higher.
On the GatorCare Wellness website, users can click on each window and view webinars, participate in hands-on activities, find volunteer opportunities and more. These tools will help broaden your scope of what wellness is.
Currently, the wellness theme is “Get up and Go!” focusing on physical and financial wellness — high-priority topics for many people during the first quarter of the year.
“The overall theme for 2022 is reminding people to find small moments of joy each day,” said Mallory Rubek, wellness manager for GatorCare at UF Health.
Wellness doesn’t have to be just exercising or eating healthy, but can be focused on spirituality, cultural learning or environmental impact.
“Spiritual wellness is one of the newer areas of focus,” Rubek said. “So, we’re going to build upon that and hopefully create a workshop series about this topic.”
Another window the team is looking to bolster is cultural wellness. Resources like a Diversity & Inclusion toolkit and challenges like the 21-Day Racial and Equity challenge exist, but the key is adding in educational variety.
“People need variety and stimulation, and we’re trying to develop programming to meet those needs,” Olson said.
The focus of creating new activities is to make them easy, fun and convenient for people to participate in. Wellness has done text-based communication in the past, and they are continuing with their “Everyday Empowerment” campaign, a text-based campaign with inspirational messages, activities and more.
“We’re really shifting toward text-based programming,” Olson said. “Everyone is flooded with emails, so this isn’t a preferred method of communication anymore.”
Traditionally, it has been easier to engage employees in physical wellness activities, like the walking challenges that are present for each quarter. Employees love the challenge of being competitive with their co-workers and getting their steps in every day.
The walking challenges fit the 2022 Wellness theme of easy, fun and tangible. The Fall 2021 walking challenge saw nearly 3,000 employees participating and Wellness hopes to see that number grow in 2022.
Another program the team thinks will be impactful to employees is one-on-one virtual health coaching. The aim is to help members hone in on their wellness goals, making sure they are specific and achievable while also brainstorming obstacles that might arise and resources available to combat this.
When creating wellness programs for each quarter, the wellness team first puts together a program plan and determines goals. Then, they conduct a pre- and post-survey to gain feedback from participating employees.
Conducting research about what works and what doesn’t in these surveys is helpful for future planning. Even when the team thinks a program will launch effortlessly, it might not gain the traction as expected.
“I think the bottom line is people are not going to make actual behavioral changes unless they truly intrinsically want to,” Rubek said.
Interested in current programs and resources? Sign up for their weekly newsletter by visiting the GatorCare Wellness website. The newsletter is the easiest way to stay up to date about wellness programs happening right now.
“Wellness shouldn’t feel like work,” Rubek said. “Some people like to go to the gym five times a week and some people just want to focus on their sleep. That’s all wellness and we all have different needs. Find things that work for you.”
Visit the GatorCare Wellness website to see all of the Wellness programs and resources.
The nine Windows to Wellness:
| Cultural | Cultural wellness refers to our awareness and understanding of and intrinsic respect for our own identities and background as well as the diversity and richness present in the cultural backgrounds and identities of others. |
| Emotional | Our emotional wellness manifests in our ability to meet the world with optimism, trust and a sturdy sense of self-esteem. |
| Social | With more than 50,000 employees combined, the UF and UF Health community is practically a city unto itself! Find support and interact with like-minded people to enhance your social wellness. |
| Spiritual | Our spiritual life is an often-overlooked aspect of wellness, but our guiding beliefs, principles and values provide us with deeper meaning and purpose. |
| Environmental | Interdependence with our surroundings and the natural world make the environment an important aspect of our overall well-being. |
| Financial | Adopting smart fiscal management practices and preparing for short- and long-term expenses can help ensure we are “fiscally fit.” |
| Occupational | Our day-to-day work provides personal fulfillment that maximizes our talents. Finding the ability to achieve a balance between work and leisure in a way that promotes health is an important component to wellness. |
| Physical | Proper nutrition, exercise and disease prevention all add up to a healthier you. |
| Intellectual | As lifetime learners, our intellect is fed by an openness to new ideas, our capacity to think and to question, and our willingness to master new skills. |
*Definitions courtesy of gatorcare.org/wellness
