Corporate Recreation Services and Wellness

Corporate Recreation Services and Wellness

Susan J. Hastings-Bishop

Trainer and client, Michigan Athletic Club, lngham County. (Photo courtesy of Theodore Haskell.)

Employee services, historically known as “industrial recreation,” are currently expanding the corporate leisure and recreation services to include a greater emphasis on wellness. Both large and small Michigan businesses and corporations are following similar trends for their employee services. There are several reasons for the expansion of the programs offered to employees. The most common ones are economic impacts and the changing work place with its physical and social-psychological problems which affect employee effectiveness. These have resulted in the current focus on the health and lifestyle of employees, as related to impacts on job performance. The traditional recreation formats for employees and their families are still

carried on in many of the company settings with multipurpose indoor and outdoor recreation facilities. The support for leisure and recreational services has expanded beyond the larger manufacturing companies to service sector, as well as smaller companies. Programming is being modified to accommodate the changing interests and needs of the work force with its higher percentages of women, minorities, single parents, both parents working, and retirees.

Justifications for Corporate

Recreation and Wellness

Corporations provided, as part of the industrial worker reforms era, recreation for the employee to develop better employer and employee relations and improve the living environment C for their workers. Today, companies and businesses are still motivated to provide leisure services as a recruiting and retention tool. However, the additional financial and long-term economic benefits of fitness and health promotion of employee services are increasingly recognized. The improvement of fitness and overall health of the employee helps to reduce health insurance claim costs, accidents on the job, absenteeism from the job and ultimately to increase productivity and effectiveness of the employee (Lovato, Green, Stainbrook, 1994). Actual fitness and exercise employee service programs focused on healthy lifestyle, behavior modification and physiological conditioning of individuals have been shown to decrease sick time, reduced health insurance claims from cardiovascular and skeleto-muscular problems, and reduce health conditions related to being overweight, smoking, chemical dependency, and se emotional disorders. In addition to the health promotion, concerns of the modern family unit (both parents working, single parents) are being addressed through recreational services and educational seminars to help employees cope with child care, elder care, and family issues so they may concentrate on their jobs more effectively.

Expansion of services and recreation programs for retirees aims to keep them active and healthy. Corporations see this as one way of promoting a healthy lifestyle after the person retires. Access to recreation facilities becomes a retirement benefit, which might not otherwise be mc accessible to former employees on limited incomes. Health costs go up with age. However, the mc more physically and socially active a retiree remains, the lower health costs and health insurance costs are likely to be. Recreation interests are likely to be different for retirees as compared to active workers. Retirees often wish to maintain their social peer group relations from work, remain active in communities, and seek recreational activities, such as travel and physical exercise on a regular basis. Corporations encourage and help plan for such activities be- by cause they are effective in reducing overall health costs and building effective relationships with employees.

The recreational activities, including sponsorship of athletic leagues, interest groups, and family-oriented programs and facilities, help small business and large corporation meet the changing needs of a culturally diverse work force.

Activities and Services Types and Trends

Only some of the activities and services dominating the employee services programming corn areas nationally and in Michigan are discussed.

36 Recreation in Michigan: Great Professional Opportunities

Aquatics exercise is one of the newer fitness activities being pursued by individuals to maintain aerobic fitness through an exercise format which places less stress on the body’s joints. Water aerobics and fitness lap swimming are the two top activities. The concept of cross training for athletes is now being applied to individuals who wish to exercise to improve their health and longevity but do not want to do the same form of exercise every day. Walking and power walking are increasingly popular with individuals. Employees have made these activities a part of their daily routines. Participation may occur before work, at lunch, or just before leaving for home to accommodate the preferences and needs of the employee. Such flexibility results in higher levels of activity and increased benefits for participants and employers, and is only possible through the programs and facilities provided by the employer.

Health promotion programming is a holistic approach. Both the physical and social-psychological needs of the individual are considered. Physiological needs are met through exercise and fitness education. Social-psychological needs are met by stress reduction education, diet and weight loss counseling, behavior modification seminars for smoking cessation, and programs to aid in the achievement of balanced life styles throughout the life span, including retirement preparation.

Family programming has expanded from the traditional company picnic to include special events, family exercise programs, extension of health promotion programs to spouses and next of kin, and assistance with child care. Some of the programs provided by companies include activity areas (tennis courts, racquetball courts, gymnasiums, workout areas, golf courses, and swimming pools), leagues for all ages, swimming lessons, campgrounds, and outdoor recreation areas similar to public parks with swimming pools, athletic fields, etc. Pre-school age child care centers are expanding their services to include school age children day camp formats to service employees’ needs during summer and other school vacations. These camps will sometimes be organized around special themes or athletic specialties for older age groups. Latchkey and overnight programs for children may also become more popular as many parents can not arrive at home for two to three hours after children are dismissed from school or must work the third shift.

The retirees groups are involved in the use of regular fitness and health promotion programs. Travel is one of the more popular programs with such groups with trips organized, promoted, and staffed by employee services organizations. The newest retirees are younger and more active. They have planned financially for their retirement and remain active in social organizations and the community as volunteers. Another aspect that employers have been helping some employees with, that focuses on the retirement age group, is that of elder care. Employees need day care services for their elder relatives who live with them and need supervision while they are at work. This will be one of the growing areas of services provided by larger corporations.

Employees, professional staff and management often have advisor groups who help plan and implement new programs, make recommendations, and help communicate the needs and interests of the employee to the employer.

How Do Companies Provide Services?

Companies provide recreation services usually in one, or through a combination, of the following three ways: (1) the company owns its own facility and hires its own staff, (2) the company hires an outside organization which specializes in recreation and wellness to run the

Corporate Recreation Services and Wellness 37

program either at the company’s location or at the provider’s facility, or (3) employees organize activities themselves.

The first way is usually limited to large, firmly established companies with many employees to serve. Because the costs are spread over a large number of employees and the benefits c accrue from a large number of people (employees and family members), benefits meet or exceed the costs of providing facilities and hiring specialized staff. The corporation with its own internal organization 1) desires structured data collection about personnel fitness and wellness and convenient participation, 2) is committed to the employee and family, and 3) has the financial means to underwrite all costs or establish low fees. The facilities, staffing, and program offerings may be limited to fitness and wellness or may be more extensive, such as services offered by nationally recognized employee service organizations of Land’s End, Kodak, IBM, Xerox, Sentry Insurance, Conoco Oil, S. C. Johnson Wax, Adolph Coors, and Steelcase, which provide employees, families, and retirees with extensive multipurpose indoor and outdoor recreational facilities for year-round use.

The second way occurs in large to small-sized firms. The agreement between the employer and the service provider will define the services sought, costs, and payment. Payment may be covered entirely by the employer, the employee who uses the services, or a combination of the two. Commercial recreation, health and fitness clubs, or non-profit organizations, such as a YM-YWCA, often will solicit local companies and small businesses with discounts for employees and family members to use recreation facilities and program offerings. In most of these cases, participation is voluntary and no special programs or schedules outside of those offered to the community in general are developed. A growing area of fitness and wellness programs and services is the private consultant who sets up a fitness and wellness program with the desired testing and tracking of personnel at the company’s location. The goal sought with this type of arrangement is preventive health and ultimately reduced health and job related physical disability insurance claims. Programs from this group may include the traditional sp4 fitness exercise activities of weight lifting, aerobics, personal training and exercise education, and health promotion seminars. Hospitals have become especially active in expanding health related services on a contract basis to large corporations and smaller businesses. They are rot moving from a health rehabilitation orientation to prevention with smoking cessation, diet and weight loss, and exercise programs at the hospital, at the company’s location, or in some places a separate location convenient to their HMO clients and contracted companies. A leader has been Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The third option is for the corporation or small business to provide opportunities within the community for employee groups to organize themselves for recreational activities. The activities may be athletic teams for adults or employees’ children, recreational outings and special events, such as community wide corporate Olympic competitions which raise funds for worthy causes. Some companies are willing to act as a clearinghouse for special discount rates Am on travel fares and amusement park entrance fees for employees as a service when solicited by commercial businesses such as Disney.

In Michigan

Corporations, labor unions and small businesses all are providing recreation and wellness programs to the employee. The amount of involvement runs from sponsorship of the employees of a small business every year in a softball league to providing extensive rehabilitative health and fitness facilities with staff to a campground in lower peninsula. The large

38 Recreation in Michigan: Great Professional Opportunities

which have extensive employee services are Steelcase, Grand Rapid; Chrysler Technology Center, Auburn Hills; Dow Chemical Company, Midland; and Prince, Holland. They provide extensive fitness and wellness programs for employees and their families in some Steelcase has Camp Swampee Campground, which provides formal recreational activities facilities, in addition to a campsite.

The DDC-United Auto Workers Fitness Center and Auto Alliance Fitness Center are two organized and supported fitness and wellness centers. The Total Fitness Concepts, Inc. of Dexter, a private fitness consulting group, has a contract with the UAW to provide the staff and the programs on-site at the plant. They provide fitness and health education services to the ii members at the Ford, Livonia site.

Other commercial health and fitness clubs and local YM-YWCAs will offer special mem5hip rates to small businesses and companies which cannot afford their own facility or staff. YWGA in Grand Rapids is an example of this type of marketing.

Career Opportunities

Job opportunities for individuals with degrees in recreation are expanding with the grow-areas of corporate fitness and wellness, and children and retiree recreation programming.

Individuals with the ability to plan and schedule family and individual leisure services in e work place will find a number of areas in which to specialize. Specializations in fitness training, aquatics aerobics, swimming for fitness, organization of sports competition, family special events, traditional day care for pre-school age and day camp for older children, and programs and activities for retirees, to name a few, will be some of the niches requiring special concentrations of knowledge and skill recreation programmers will find in the employee services industry.

Management, marketing, and group leadership skills are essential to working in this environment. The needs of the client will vary according to the size, composition, location, structure, and interests of the business. Planning will be done by the professional to aid the employee in accomplishing a fuller and healthier life and to contribute to the mission of the particular business.

Organizations

American Corporate Health Programs Inc.

University Internship Services

2609 W. 491/ St.

Austin, TX 78731

Association of Worksite Health Promotion

60 Revere Dr. Suite 500

Northbrook, Illinois 60062

National Employee Services and Recreation Association

2211 York Road, Suite 207

Oak Brook, Illinois 60521-2371

Corporate Recreation Services and Wellness 39

National Strength and Conditioning Association

530 Communication Circle, Suite 204

Colorado Springs, CO 80905

References

Baun, William B., William L. Horton, and Jean Stolie (1992). Guidelines for Employee Health Promotion Programs. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books.

Lovato, C. Y., L. W. Green, and G. L. Stainbrook (1994). The benefits anticipated by industry in supporting health promotion programs in the worksite. In Joseph P. Opatz (ed.), Economic Impact of Worksite Health Promotion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.

Patton, Robert W., William C. Gratham, Richard F. Gerson, and Larry R. Gettman (1989). Developing and Managing Health/fitness Facilities. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books.

40 Recreation in Michigan: Great Professional Opportunities

Private Nonprofit Organizations

Susan J. Hastings-Bishop

Cristo Rey Community Center, lngham County. (Photo courtesy of Theodore Haskell.)

The private, nonprofit organizations, sometimes referred to as the nonprofit sector or quasi-public agencies, provide leisure service and recreational opportunities for individuals and groups in Michigan at the community and regional levels. Organizations which function at the local level often have national affiliations, but draw locally for membership and participants. Generally, these organizations have open membership policies, serving all individuals, regardless of race, religion, or income level. These organizations are administered under the direction of professional staff and a network of volunteers dedicated to the philosophy and goals of the organizations’ services and programs. Some of the organizations predate the public leisure services found in communities of Michigan.

There is a second large group of private nonprofit organizations, the special interest organizations. These may have national affiliation, but are most often local community-oriented. The membership usually is across the age span, with more adult members. They are organized primarily by volunteers, that is, their own members. Marketing for these groups tends to focus on population sectors with special social and community-oriented needs. The club or special

groups have much smaller sectors which are specialized by the common recreational or leisure activity that draws individuals to the group. These organizations will often cooperate with commercial recreation businesses and government agencies (federal, state, and local) to provide special services or events.

The nonprofit sector organizational structures allow them more flexibility than the public sector. This flexibility lends itself to more efficient and effective initiation of programs to meet local community recreational or leisure needs. A reason for the ability to take such quick action is that these organizations are responsible to a smaller population within the community (their membership), which allows faster feedback, either positively or negatively, to program proposals. Also, they can react faster to requests or needs within the membership as there is direct access. Further, the procedural mechanism to pursue adoption of new programs, allow changes to ongoing programs, or reassign staffing needs is often less bureaucratic, therefore quicker than a public recreation department.

The disadvantages that the private nonprofit or quasi-public organizations often face to providing programs are lack of adequate facilities and secure funding. Funding for the nonprofit sector is a combination of membership fees, fund raising drives, donations, foundations federal and state grants, and the United Way or Community Chest. These private orientation organizations are, for the most part, tax exempt, not tax supported, a distinct advantage for obtaining donations. Many of these agencies may not have a permanent facility to work out of, other than an office, and may need to rent or borrow facilities. Professional staffing is minimal, with a heavy reliance on volunteers, who have limits on their personal time available to the organization.