The BeWell movement continues to evolve to meet organizational needs such as raising awareness of the connections between physical, financial, community, career, and social well-being to work performance and to personal and occupational health and safety. To highlight these connections, the BeWell committee recently began integrating the organization’s “competencies” into monthly programs. Competencies are aspects of work culture such as fostering a respectful work environment and encouraging employees’ self-awareness and emotional intelligence. These competencies complement the tenets of well-being identified by the Gallup study and are the framework for the city’s TWH movement. The monthly programs provide a common language for employees to share their personal and occupational journeys to BeWell.  MINDFULNESS Employees will not achieve well-being exclusively through #wellbeingwednesdays, program highlights, benefit plans, or information sharing. A critical component of a holistic journey to well-being is the recognition that safety is the foundation of the TWH approach.  The effects of workplace psychosocial stress on health and safety have been well documented, particularly for municipal first responders. Less well documented are the stressors related to modern library and planning work. Staff in the library and planning departments are required to interact extensively with the public and are continuously exposed to a stressed citizenry. In the case of library staff, interactions frequently include communities struggling with chronic trauma including the unhoused, the substance addicted, and those with untreated or undertreated mental health conditions. 

The BeWell program brought these seemingly different departments together for a single trauma-informed resiliency workshop. Trauma-informed practices are leadership models that encourage awareness of how an individual’s history or current circumstances may affect their ability to interact, connect, learn, or engage. Trauma-informed practices also encourage resiliency in staff and promote understanding of how to maintain proper boundaries in their interactions with the public. Workshop attendees learned fundamentals of trauma-informed self-care practices and how to “bounce back” after difficult encounters.  Shortly after the workshop, library staff set aside a “mindfulness room” for employees to take quiet time when needed. The room hosts resources to promote resiliency and rejuvenation, and allows space for staff to practice meditation. The city also provided access to a trauma-informed book club and workshop for staff and the community to assist them with interacting effectively and compassionately with clients who have experienced trauma. At the end of July, a six-month onsite Employee Assistance Program pilot was launched that will allow any staff working in the downtown area to schedule an appointment at their local library branch and visit with a counselor without having to leave a four-block area.  The Planning Division also engaged a mindfulness consultant for yearlong coaching. Mindfulness is a common practice similar to meditation that asks participants to be aware of their feelings, experiences, and thoughts. Mindfulness practices are linked to reduced stress and anxiety as well as improved productivity and feelings of contentedness. The consultant will help management and staff approach work through a TWH lens and may also support staff in organizing, prioritizing, and managing tasks in a way that helps them “be well.”  The mindfulness consultant, EAP pilot, and mindfulness room will be evaluated through an employee survey to gauge efficacy and progress. These actions all reflect the city’s intent to incorporate mental well-being as a key component of a safe work environment. COMMITMENT TO HEALTH The city also understands that TWH practice must be met with budget support. To strengthen its safety foundation, the Risk Division manages an account for unforeseeable but needed workplace safety enhancements. The fund has supported the expansion of TWH initiatives—for example, ergonomic assessments for all workgroups including those who aren’t based in office buildings, such as first responders and public works and library staff. To support data-driven safety decisions, the city developed a detailed workers’ compensation claims analysis for police and fire in 2015. The results continue to inform improved training protocols and physical fitness expectations geared toward injury prevention. With this commitment to enhance worker well-being so firmly incorporated into the organization’s culture, the city of Eugene continues to imagine new initiatives. The organization makes an effort to connect people and find ways to support all employees with ideas that sustain and promote TWH. Ideas such as the onsite EAP pilot, year-long mindfulness practice, and a new interview club are developed and operated entirely by department staff.  Data collection around the TWH movement is still evolving, since the early phase focused on coaxing engagement, fostering trust, and empowering new leaders. Employee surveys will play an important role in gauging success and identifying areas for improvement. The next priority is to track the employer self-funded health plan experience, which is expected to provide meaningful feedback.  The city isn’t limiting its efforts to employees alone. As a municipality, the city of Eugene recognizes itself as an important community resource, with the potential to positively affect the health, safety, and well-being of all community members. Staff continue to seek creative ways to engage the workforce around community by sponsoring volunteer events, launching a “couch to 5K” program open to employees and community members through the Recreation Division, and actively exploring a “Blue Zones” initiative with community partners. (Blue Zones is a comprehensive community approach to individual wellness and well-being.)  Eugene is demonstrating its commitment to the health and livability of its entire community, including those who live and work in Eugene. The city understands the connectivity between a vibrant workforce, the community, and the local economy. The investment in its workforce through BeWell is a clear illustration of the positive change that can come about through leadership commitment and employee engagement in Total Worker Health.    LIZ HILL, MPH, CIH, CSP, is Total Worker Health advisor at SAIF Corporation.  DEDE MONTGOMERY, MS, CIH, is senior research associate for outreach and education at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, Oregon Health and Science University. RANDI BOWERS-PAYNE, JD, is Risk Services Director for the City of Eugene.  Send feedback to The Synergist.