Leading by example, making wellness convenient

CONVENIENTLY HEALTHY: From healthy (and inexpensive) choices in the company cafeteria to a fitness center and organized activities, like a Pilates class in the gardens of the corporate campus, Amica helps its employees make good choices for their well-being. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
CONVENIENTLY HEALTHY: From healthy (and inexpensive) choices in the company cafeteria to a fitness center and organized activities, like a Pilates class in the gardens of the corporate campus, Amica helps its employees make good choices for their well-being. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

If you work at Amica Mutual Insurance Co., you have no excuse for not exercising.
The company’s Lincoln headquarters includes an 8,000-square-foot, on-site fitness center. The membership fee hasn’t changed since the facility opened in 1993: It’s $5 a week. There are exercise classes as well as personal trainers on duty.
And if a gym workout isn’t your thing, there are other options. Amica has built a regulation-size basketball half-court near the parking area, and carved a walking trail through the woods on the corporate campus. What’s more, the insurance giant takes part in the ShapeUp Rhode Island program, in which companies encourage employees to set up walking teams and award prizes for the most miles walked.
Larry Brown, a senior systems engineer with the company for 25 years, uses the headquarters gym regularly, and has seen the results. “At age 53, I ran a 5K road race for the first time,” he said. “The last time I saw my doctor, he told me my blood-pressure reading and blood-sugar levels were the best he’d seen in 10 years. Results like that have encouraged me to keep active.”
Jean Tapley, Amica’s senior wellness coordinator, says the company has found a successful strategy to get employees involved in the corporate fitness effort. “Everything is voluntary,” she said. “We have no required programs. What we do is make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
The best example can be found in the company cafeteria, where employees regularly fill up on salads or other low-fat, high-fiber items. “All the balanced-choice meals are subsidized by the company and discounted,” Tapley said. “The salad bar is $3.49 a pound. When we first started to subsidize that, the increase in sales was notable. The veggie burger is 99 cents every day.”
What’s more, adds Brown, the low-fat meals are not only a bargain – they taste great.
The company’s top incentive: reduced medical-plan costs for those who participate in the wellness program.
“One requirement is that they build a relationship with a doctor,” Tapley said. “They must meet with their regular physician at least once a year. We also ask that they be up to date with their preventative cancer screenings.”
The same requirements apply to a spouse covered by an employee’s health plan. “I got my wife to see a doctor for the first time in years by telling her how much we’d save,” Brown said.
Amica staff have other opportunities to save cash. If an employee or spouse joins an outside health club, the company will reimburse 75 percent of the cost. Those who join Weight Watchers get the same offer. Enroll in a diabetes-management program and stick with the regimen, and the company will pick up the entire tab for supplies and medications.
Even a morning coffee break can be a chance to grab a bargain – if you watch what you eat.
“Our company cafeteria is different from most in that we also offer hot breakfast. And again, we encourage healthy choices,” Tapley said. “If you like, you could opt for bacon and eggs, but we also have hot oatmeal, fruit smoothies and omelets made with egg whites. And once again, they’re company-subsidized and less expensive.”
There’s a healthy choice offered whenever food is served at the company headquarters. At least 50 percent of the items in vending machines are considered healthy options. And if you’re setting up a company meeting, at least one of the food choices will be low fat and low sugar.
That policy even extends to company cookouts. (There are at least three every summer, with senior staff members serving the food.)
“From entrees to desserts, there are healthy options, and options for vegans and vegetarians, too,” Tapley said.
Senior staff work to set an example. Chairman, President and CEO Robert A. DiMuccio often picks up the lunch tab when he sees employees in line at the cafeteria salad bar. On sunny days, Ted Murphy, senior vice president and superintendent of claims, might ask his top staff to join him for a lunch-break stroll around the grounds.
Tapley’s presence is another key part of the program. Many companies now provide their employees with the opportunity to consult with a wellness coach by phone or online. Tapley is trained in that profession, making Amica one of the few companies in Rhode Island with a coach on staff. She meets with employees in one-on-one sessions at which they brainstorm solutions to obstacles that prevent that worker from reaching optimal health.
Amica also has invited employees to help draft the wellness policy. There’s a wellness advisory committee that makes suggestions and offers criticisms.
“They do want to know what employees think,” said Brown, who serves on the panel. “They ask for suggestions, and they act on them. They make everything totally voluntary and they offer incentives.”
“We never want employees to feel we’re invading their privacy,” Tapley added.
Is it working? “We don’t have any hard data yet,” Tapley said. “But from what we see, it has been successful. People are telling us they’ve lost weight … that they’re feeling less stressed.”
She also believes the company is reaping benefits. “When people think about Amica, they think about a high level of customer service,” she said. “If employees are feeling healthier – emotionally and physically – they’ll be happier employees, and that’s where you get a high level of service. … It’s part of our culture here.”

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