Take a Look Inside Consolidated’s Wellness Program

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Written by: CSS Marketing Team

Workplace wellness programs: Are they worth the hype?

If we look at the data, all signs point to “yes.” Research shows that of employees who participate in their company’s wellness program:

  • 83% enjoy their work more,
  • 84% are likely to recommend their workplace to colleagues,
  • 91% are less likely to leave, and
  • 84% are more loyal to their teams

As compelling as these metrics are from a business perspective, the most important outcome of any workplace wellness program is that it helps employees feel happier, more balanced, better supported, and more connected to the people around them.

This is the driving motivation behind Consolidated Sterilizer Systems’ wellness program: to offer educational resources and group activities that empower the incredible people who work here to achieve their personal fitness goals.

Incredible people such as Monica Johnstone and Paul Piantedosi.

Monica, who runs Accounts Receivable, and Paul, a Shop Supervisor, are two of the founding members of Consolidated’s wellness committee, along with President and CEO Arthur Trapotsis and Human Resources Manager Lissa Davidson. Although Consolidated’s wellness program has existed since 2015, Monica, Paul, Arthur, and Lissa redesigned the program in 2021, creating a monthly cadence of wellness events and activities to help employees achieve a better work/life balance and dedicate more time to personal wellness.

In this interview, Monica and Paul shared their thoughts on what it’s been like to both lead and participate in the program.

Note: Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: How did the wellness program and committee come to be?

Paul Piantedosi: Arthur reached out to us, most likely because we both try on a daily basis to live a healthy lifestyle — exercise, eat right, and so on.

Monica Johnstone: The whole program began with these 15-minute meditation classes, which Lissa initiated, where we just take a meditation break sometime during the day, usually before lunch. I think they asked Paul and I to be committee members because even though we have busy schedules and families, we still try to make time for fitness. For example, I try to run as much as I can — I even go running with Arthur during our lunch break. The program gives us that extra initiative to do something good, to break up our routines and take a little time for ourselves. It makes it so that we’re not only working, but also taking care of ourselves and our mental and physical health.

PP: It’s also easier to be consistent when you have a workout partner.

MJ: That’s true, too.

PP: If one person isn’t feeling it, the other can say, “Hey, come on, let’s get this done; you’ll feel better after.” Having a company-wide wellness program is great because we’re accountable to ourselves and each other.

 

Q: What are some examples of recent events you’ve held?

MJ: Last month we did a juice cleanse; we had a lot of participants for that. We ordered a bunch of juices and picked a day to do a cleanse. I couldn’t do the cleanse on the day we chose, so I did it on a different day and one of my colleagues waited for me so we could do it together. It was my first time doing it, and it was tough, but it felt good to do something good for myself.

PP: Arthur was the one who brought up the juice cleanse because he’s done one in the past and really enjoyed it. I had always wanted to try it, and with the company offering to pay for a one-day cleanse for everyone, it seemed like a great opportunity.

 

Q: What’s the general process for organizing these events? How do your personal lives and interests inspire ideas for events?

PP: I’ve been into doing strength and conditioning workouts for about seven years now and through many coaches, I’ve learned all sorts of different exercises and ways to hit parts of the body that really help with overall mobility. I like to bring that stuff to the table and share it with others.

I’m also big into only buying or growing organic produce for my family, so I’m really into gardening. That gave us the idea to talk about how people can create a home garden and grow their own food — it’s super cheap to start and easy to get into, and anyone can do it. Even if you live in an apartment, all you need are some containers, dirt, and seeds to get started. So that gave us the idea to host a lunch-and-learn home gardening seminar, where Monica’s husband showed us examples of their garden, taught us how to make our own compost, and so on.

MJ: My husband and I try to prepare healthy meals for our kids throughout the week and our garden is a big part of that; I rarely buy fresh produce in the summer because we’re able to grow so much of it at home. It was really nice to be able to have my husband share those tips with everyone at the lunch-and-learn, which a lot of people in the office attended. In terms of healthy eating, we’re also looking at making a cooking video in the next month or so that teaches people how to make healthier meals.

 

Q: What kind of feedback have you received from people participating in this program?

MJ: It’s been positive; the feedback to the gardening seminar was especially positive. Some things are a little hit or miss, such as meditation — some people do it, some people don’t. We also do little things, like having fresh fruit in the office, which I often see people eating.

PP: Yeah, it’s much easier when things are readily available — people are less likely to go looking for a bag of chips and are just like, “Oh, let me grab a banana instead.” It’s helpful encouragement to make healthier choices.

MJ: We’re actually doing a walking challenge this month, where we break into teams and try to walk as many miles as we can. I’ll just grab my colleague, Karen, who’s in the Parts department, and we’ll go for a walk around the block after lunch and get a mile in. It’s really nice. We’ve been doing the walking challenge for a few years now — I think this is our third or fourth year doing one.

PP: Yeah, it’ll be our third year. The team that wins gets Amazon gift cards. Although the gift cards are encouraging, it’s also really easy to participate in — all you need is a smartphone or smartwatch. For those of us who are on the shop floor, we’re basically moving around all day, so it’s great. You might want to get a treadmill desk, Monica.

MJ: Oh my God, yes — I need to do that! Everyone in the office is at a disadvantage because we’re sitting down the whole time, so I try to get up to go to the bathroom, go to the photocopy machines, whatever to get in more steps. Oh, and the MVP — the person who has the most steps for each team — also gets a gift card.

 

Q: It sounds like in addition to being a fitness-minded program, this wellness program is also great for team building. Has that been your experience?

PP: I think it can be challenging to get people together for extracurricular things, like going for a hike, though I know there’s been talk of it. But doing it during the work day gets more people involved.

With the walking challenge, the teams are mixed, so it isn’t strictly shop people vs. office people — it’s a mix of production workers, engineers, sales, service, and so on. The people on each team aren’t necessarily working next to each other on a daily basis, which encourages inter-departmental social interactions and team building.

 

Q: What’s your favorite event that you’ve participated in so far?

PP: For me, it was the gardening seminar. I learned how to garden from my grandfather as a kid, so I consider myself an above average gardener, but I learned a lot from Carl, Monica’s husband — things I really had no idea about. He’s done a lot of research and has much deeper knowledge than the average homegrower.

MJ: I’ve enjoyed all of them, especially the juice cleanse. I don’t think I could have done it by myself; doing it as a group was really encouraging. The meditations have also helped me a lot, and I’m looking forward to the walking challenge. I don’t have one favorite, I like them all.

 

Q: Are there any upcoming events you’re especially excited about?

MJ: We have more meditation classes scheduled, and I think we’re hosting another event in June or July.

PP: Yeah, we have a personal trainer / strength and conditioning coach who’s going to come in and host a stretching and exercise seminar based on real examples. For example, here are some good stretches and mobility exercises that will help with back strain or hip pain if you’re on your feet all day, standing on cement. She’ll show us what equipment you can use, whether you’re at the gym or at home.

 

Q: Generally speaking, do you think it’s important for companies to offer this kind of wellness program to their employees?

MJ: I think it’s super important because it encourages people not only to participate, but also to improve their health. If you feel good about yourself, and you feel happy and healthy, it motivates you. You’re less likely to be like, “Oh my God, I have to go back and sit down for eight hours and not do anything.”

When I’m in the office, I look forward to going for a walk or a run during lunchtime or even today, we had a meditation session. The program really pushes you to do something for yourself and your health, so you can feel really good about yourself.

PP: I agree. It’s definitely a valuable thing a company can offer because it’s helpful to everyone when you come to work happy and healthy. I guess, indirectly, it can make you more productive because it makes work a nice place to come to rather than feel like, “Oh, man, I don’t want to go there five days a week” or whatever.

Participating in this kind of program gives you something to look forward to and an opportunity to learn things you can apply to your life outside of work and share with your family. It’s a great benefit to us that we’re able to help facilitate this program and share it with our colleagues.

 

Q: Last question — now that you’ve both organized and participated in this program, what advice would you offer to any company considering starting its own wellness program?

MJ: I think leadership really needs to encourage employees to participate because it can be hard, or some people may be reluctant to get involved. It’s also important to choose activities and events that appeal to a wide range of people, since every company is made up of people of all different ages.

At the end of the day, this kind of wellness program is beneficial not only for employees, but for the company itself because the happier your people, the more productive they’ll be.

PP: A big piece of advice I’d share is — especially starting off — it’s super important to invest company time into the program and hold events during work hours. What we found in the past is that when you do things off the clock, people are less likely to show up for it. Even if it’s a great event that everyone would benefit from, people will be on the fence about it. People obviously have families that they want to go home to and spend time with, so it’s better to host events and activities during work hours, when they’ll be more likely to participate in and benefit from them.

Our workplace wellness program is just one of the many benefits Consolidated Sterilizer Systems employees enjoy. From training programs to a 401k retirement plan, we believe in investing in our people’s long-term happiness and well-being.

Interested in joining the Consolidated team? We’re hiring — visit our Careers page today to learn more about our benefits and to submit your application.

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